Singapore Airlines Is Spending More Than $1.5 Billion on New Cabins. Its “Largest Double Bed in the Sky” Comes One Per Plane

The headline feature of Singapore Airlines’ new first class is a bed for two, and on every flight that carries it, exactly two passengers will be able to sleep in it.

On Nov. 6, 2026, Singapore Airlines (SIA) unveiled its new first class suites and the rest of its next-generation long-haul cabins, backed by more than S$2 billion, or about $1.56 billion.

The centerpiece is a pair of middle seats that join into a double bed 80 inches long and 60 inches wide (203 by 152 cm), which SIA calls the largest double bed in commercial aviation.

According to the Singapore blog Mainly Miles, SIA confirmed that each plane gets one center pair, so one double bed per flight. None of it flies before the second half of 2027.

Why the Double Bed Only Fits Once

The new first class is a 1-2-1 layout: solo suites along the windows and a pair in the middle. On the Boeing 777-9, that means six seats, two window suites on each side and one center pair. The A350-900ULR gets four, one window suite per side plus the same center pair.

Only the center pair can become a bed for two. A divider between the seats retracts on request, and the seats move in tandem into a two-seat sofa by day or a double bed by night.

SIA’s chief commercial officer, Lee Lik Hsin, told CNBC the design came out of focus groups that said premium travelers wanted to sit closer together. “In first class, we’ve created a living room space for two people,” he said.

Making room for it had a cost. In SIA’s current 2013 first class, a fixed storage console sits between the middle seats, so couples sleep in two separate beds. The new suite moves that storage to the outside of each seat.

Solo travelers pay for that with width. Today’s first class bed is 35 inches (89 cm) wide; the new single bed is 30 inches (76 cm) wide and two inches shorter, at 80 inches. Mainly Miles called it “essentially the price of the double bed.”

The Numbers Behind the S$2 Billion Cabin Program

The program covers 72 aircraft: 41 Airbus A350-900s being retrofitted and 31 Boeing 777-9s on order. Lee told CNBC that is “almost half of our fleet,” and called it the biggest investment the airline has ever made.

Not every jet gets every cabin. Only the 777-9 gets all four new products, including new premium economy and economy seats. The 34 standard long-haul A350s get the new business class only, and the seven ultra-long-range A350-900ULRs get first class for the first time.

That makes first class a small cabin on a small number of planes: six seats on each 777-9 and four on each A350-900ULR. Business class is the volume product, with 54 seats on the 777-9, 42 on the standard A350 and 70 on the ULR.

The new business seat, built by RECARO, turns into a flat bed 79 inches long and up to 24 inches wide (201 by 61 cm), behind a sliding door. In alternate rows the middle seats sit close together and can form a companion bed when the divider drops.

The bill has grown with the scope. When SIA first announced the A350 retrofit in November 2024, it priced it at S$1.1 billion for 41 jets. The new figure of more than S$2 billion adds the 777-9 fleet.

Each first class suite gets a 32-inch 4K touchscreen, a 27 by 22.5 inch table for two to dine face to face, and curved sliding doors 67 inches (170 cm) tall. The business class doors stop at 52 inches (132 cm). The new KrisWorld system behind those screens was announced separately.

Why Singapore Airlines Needs This Cabin to Land

SIA’s reputation rests on its premium cabins, and it is losing those categories. Skytrax named it the world’s best airline for 2026, but gave best first class to Air France and best business class to Qatar Airways.

Our own ranking of the best first class airlines has SIA second behind Air France for 2026. On the business side, SIA’s long-haul seat dates from 2013. Qatar Airways, whose Qsuite brought doors and couples seating almost a decade ago, sits first in our best business class airlines ranking, with SIA second.

The first reviews were not unanimous. One Mile at a Time’s Ben Schlappig called the first class “on brand” but wrote that the new business class finishes look cheap and mismatched, with gray, black and yellow accents he compared to SIA’s low-cost arm, Scoot.

The two cabins came from different design firms: PriestmanGoode for first class and Designworks, a BMW Group company, for business. SIA addressed the color choice before the launch.

“We do not subscribe to a fixed colour palette across our cabins. Instead, our design choices are guided by the overall vision and experience we seek to create for each product.” Ong Wah Li, vice president, product experience, Singapore Airlines

The new seats also arrive as Cathay Pacific readies its own new first class, a product OMAAT expects to outclass SIA’s. Our Singapore Airlines vs Cathay Pacific comparison shows where the two stand today.

When You Can Actually Book the Double Bed

Not soon. SIA’s November 2024 release promised the first retrofitted A350 in the second quarter of 2026. The Nov. 6 launch moved the start to the second half of 2027, more than a year late.

The A350s are expected to come first, though SIA has not confirmed it. CNBC reports the 777-9s were slated to arrive in 2021, and Boeing now says it will not deliver the first 777-9 to any customer until 2027. Lee said the delay was the reason the new seats went onto the A350s at all.

In May, SIA’s chief operating officer, Tan Kai Ping, said the 777-9 would not join the fleet in the financial year ending March 2027. “Fingers crossed, it shows up in the next financial year,” he said.

That most likely ties the double bed’s debut to the A350-900ULR, the jet SIA uses on its longest nonstop flights. The retrofit of all 41 A350s is expected to run to 2030 or 2031.

Until then, the double bed exists only as the seat shown at SIA’s Marina Bay Sands launch. When it does fly, the airline’s own math still applies: one per plane, two people per flight.