Singapore Airlines removing the Airbus A380 from Melbourne in Jan

With Singapore Airlines removing the Airbus A380 from Melbourne in January, passengers should pick their flights carefully to get the best business class seating on the Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft that will be left on the routes.SQ will keep its three daily Melbourne-Singapore return flights, but the planes it uses will be shuffled around, and your level of comfort in business class will vary significantly.

Here's the full rundown of the business class options on Singapore Airlines' three daily return flights between Melbourne and Singapore. SQ227 and SQ238 will lose the Airbus A380 from 15 January 2012. It will be replaced by a smaller Boeing 777-300, which will hopefully by then have been upgraded to the new regional business class seats although those aren't as good as the wider, fully flat business class beds on the A380.SQ237 and SQ228 will have a Boeing 777-300 between 30 October and 15 January, but will then see an older Boeing 747 with older business class seats from 16 January through 6 March. From 7 March, the 777-300 will return.

SQ217 and SQ218, though, are the best flights to aim for if they fit with your schedule. These flights will stay on Boeing 777-300ER planes, which have the same wide, fully flat beds in business class as the A380.Why are fully flat beds better than the angled lie-flat seats? Check out our exposé of the lie-flat lie. Singapore Airlines has also swapped its Sydney flights around, so make sure that you have the best seat on your new flight to or from Sydney too.