Singapore Airlines has recently started selling “Preferred Seats” in economy (coach) class. These are seats located on exit and bulkhead rows which have extra legroom.

The seats are now available for passengers booking online at Singapore Air’s website and cost US$50 per sector. Preferred seats can be purchased at the time of booking or at anytime up to 48 hours before departure using the “Manage Booking” facility.

The number of Preferred seats varies by aircraft type:

Airbus A380-800 – 23 seats
Airbus A380-800A – 11
Airbus A330 – 4
Boeing 777-300ER – 8
Boeing 747-400 – 8
Boeing 777-300 – 4
Boeing 777-300A – 6
Boeing 777-200 (3 Class) – 4
Boeing 777-200 (2 Class) – 4
Boeing 777-200ER – 0 (no exit rows)

A Preferred seat is marked as ‘P’ on the seat maps. They are not available on short-haul routes around south-east Asia or flights to Taiwan and Japan.

Best seats on the A380 plane

The best seats to get are on the Airbus A380-800 upper deck which has a small economy cabin at the back of the aircraft with a 2-4-2 configuration. The pick of the bunch are the window seat pairs on row 81 – seats A/C or H/K at the “mini” cabin right at the back. Further forward, row 71 also has great legroom but is windowless.

We recently tried out the A380 upper deck economy cabin on a 13 hour flight between London Heathrow and Singapore Changi airport. We found the $50 investment for row 81 was money very well spent. In comparison, Qantas charges AUD80 (around US$80) for a pre-assigned exit row (A380 lower deck or 747) on the same route.

The upper economy deck has a quieter and more intimate ambience than the large cabins on the lower deck. However, Singapore’s newer A380 deliveries have the economy cabin removed so that the entire upper deck is dedicated to business class. The original configuration will remain on SQ’s first 12 A380s for the time being.

On the lower deck, preferred seats can be purchased for exit rows 44 and 55, and also middle row seat 48D which has no seat (47D) in front.

It is likely that the newer config aircraft (A380-800A) with no economy upper deck will eventually be deployed on the London-Singapore route – so check your aircraft type carefully when booking. You should also book early to secure a Preferred seat – particularly if flying on the A380 upper deck.

Other airlines that have a small economy cabin on the upper deck of the A380 are Air France and Thai Airways.