SilkAir business class is just Singapore Airlines domestic business (if they did it).

This flight from Singapore to Koh Samui was technically the 3rd leg of our journey from Sydney. We had taken the overnight flight from Sydney which has a brief stop in Canberra and a 3 hour layover at Changi. So I was definitely ready to just get to the island.

I have read reviews saying that SilkAir was fine, just not as polished as Singapore Airlines. The reality is, of course that’s correct. They’re smaller planes, shorter routes, and mainly fly to leisure destinations. Similarly you’d expect a Qantas 737 flight between Cairns and Brisbane to not be as polished as a Qantas 330 flight between Sydney and Singapore.

Booking

When my partner and I are travelling together, we use points for one and pay for one. Which effectively means we get half price business class flights. In July last year we started to think where we could go for Easter 2019, which had points availability and paid flights for a good price.

I found return flights to Koh Samui with Singapore Airlines for 130,000 velocity points plus AUD $214.96 taxes. And I could pay $3,489 cash for the other flight – which is pretty good to get to Koh Samui (a premium airline, and a connection through Singapore Changi). So we paid $3,703.96 all up, for 2 people.

By paying for one of the flights with cash, means we’ll also earn some velocity points and status credits. All up, we earned 320 Velocity status credits, at a price of $11.57 per status credit – which is pretty good value.

Singapore KrisFlyer Lounge at Changi (Terminal 2)

We landed into terminal 3 at Changi, jumped on the skytrain to terminal 2, and were in the Krisflyer lounge there within about 15 minutes. The Singapore Krisflyer lounge at Terminal 2 is nice and large, with fantastic catering. The 3 hours we had there passed quite quickly – you can see my review of that lounge soon.

Cabin and Seat

Our SilkAir A319 (9V-SBH) aircraft business class cabin had 2 rows of 4 seats. Upholstered in a very, very brown colour, the seat style is very comparable to a standard domestic business class seat for Qantas and Virgin Australia.

Admittedly the recline is much better than the Virgin Australian business class seat – and these ones had a footrest and legrest – again, better than Virgin Australia.

Entertainment

SilkAir has an in flight entertainment app that you can download to your smartphone or tablet, called SilkAir Studio. Admittedly I didn’t research what entertainment SilkAir had before the trip, so I didn’t know about it until they mentioned it after we’d boarded. before the trip to know about it, so I quickly downloaded it (while we were delayed, removing someone’s baggage from the hold, because they didn’t show up…)

There was a good selection of things to watch, I chose Snatched (with Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn). Which lasted perfectly until we started the descent into Koh Samui.

Food and Drink Service

After boarding we were offered orange juice, apple juice or water.

Then there was 2 options for breakfast, along with tea, coffee, and bakery.

I had the Malay style braised chicken with turmeric rice and mixed vegetables. The chicken was very tasty but the vegetables were very watery – not much flavour. The fruits were delicious as well.

My partner had the frittata and I had a bite – I guess they need to have a western option, I found it really bland.

What else?

The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful, as I watched my movie and took in the views of the Thailand coast.

The bathroom was pretty standard for a domestic style business bathroom. It was kept incredibly clean, the cabin crew insisting on freshening it up after someone used it just before me.

Summary

Comparing SilkAir business class to Australian domestic business class, SilkAir wins on the seat comfort and bathroom cleanliness. Qantas and Virgin win on catering though, absolutely hands down. Arriving into Koh Samui, all guests board small open air buses to get to the terminal. And business class guests have their own bus – which is much better than what happens when you get buses between aircraft and terminal at Sydney Airport.

My seat tips for SilkAir business class on their A319, I would choose row 2. Unlike Virgin Australia’s B737 row 1 which has ample legroom – I didn’t think row on on SilkAir’s A319 had nearly as much. In row 2 you can stretch out under the seat, and you don’t feel as guilty for reclining in row 2!