I've been meaning to add a report of my impressions of Singapore Airline's Business Class product for a while now, so since I appear to have a few minutes free at the moment, let's see if I can recount how this trip went. It was the first leg towards my ultimate destination of Sydney and is a good reflection of how all my flights with Singapore have been so far.
I arrived in good time on the Sunday night, partly due to my preference for having spare time for unexpected occurrences but mainly because it would give me more time in the Clubhouse! Upon presenting my boarding card to the lady at the stand, I was asked to take a seat while she 'checked something', which I assume is a euphemism for checking that I wasn't trying to blag entry on an invalid ticket! I didn't take it personally - I wonder how many SQ Raffles/First passengers know they can use the CH, never mind the staff - and was let in a couple of minutes later.
It wasn't too busy when I arrived but I did notice that it doesn't take much for the place to get noticeably more crowded the place was running out of comfy seating within half and hour of my arrival. Phase two of the CH will make a huge difference of course, and I can only hope I get another trip out with work in the spring to check out the new facilities! I definitely like the idea of the games room with a pool table winner stays on, anyone? :-) I didnt have too much while sitting back with a paper, but the service was friendly and efficient as usual. A pre-flight vodka and coke, a reasonably short walk to the gate, and I was being shown to my seat.
I have to say before anything else just how exceptionally good the flight crew are on SQ flights. Theyre uniformly polite, friendly and good at their jobs. I was asked by name if Id like to hang up my coat (yes, please) and was offered a pre-flight drink (juice or champers) about 30 seconds after settling into my seat (champers, ta very much!) Id managed to get hold of an aisle-seat upstairs which I prefer to the main deck it feels quieter and more relaxed, although downstairs is hardly bedlam.
A pleasant bonus when I flicked through the in-flight entertainment magazine. Id pretty much exhausted all the film options I wanted to see at the beginning of the month when I did this trip once before, so I was expecting that I would have to choose to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory again and then read my book. However, I can only assume theyd rotated the films a little early on this plane since I had several new releases to choose from hurrah! Including the Wallace and Gromit movie hurrah again!
My memory fails me a little here - did this happen before or after takeoff? but I was then asked what Id like to drink. Well, it had to be a Singapore Sling of course! They do a very good one as well. So good in fact, that I had another. I declined a third at that point the attendants seem to have an almost psychic ability to detect an empty glass! dropping down to water.
Dinner service came quite soon afterwards starting with a lovely prawn salad with a choice of two dressing (I had the balsamic vinegar.) The accompanying choice of breads was varied and the ones I tried throughout the trip on both flights were warm and fresh. The dinky bottles of olive oil were a nice touch, too. I went for the braised soy lamb and rice as a main course, which was excellent restaurant quality. I overlooked dessert in favour of the port and cheese selection, with a nice brie as one of the choices. And I couldnt say no to a couple of chocolates to go with a gourmet coffee!
A quick word about the presentation the cutlery and crockery used was of a lovely quality. Its just a shame the only exception to this was the continued use of plastic knives. Frankly, someone could do just as much damage with a stainless-steel fork as they could with a butter knife!
After the meal I settled down to watch a couple of movies the aforementioned Wallace and Gromit movie and then Transporter 2, if only to see how they managed to stretch out an already thin plot from the first film. For those not aware, the system on these flights is Video on Demand with the resultant huge choice. You dont have to sit through an obligatory news program either, although the adverts before everything you choose to watch are a little irritating even if you can fast-forward through them.
When it comes to sleeping on planes, Im definitely someone who dozes rather than sleeps and more often than not will spend most of my time awake especially if flying economy. This was to be a long day however, so I attempted to grab at least a couple of hours. You get socks and a face mask with Singapore, but oddly no earplugs. The headphones are those lovely noise-cancelling types but theyre a bit on the bulky side to be used as earmuffs! The seat reclines to an almost-flat angle once fully extended and its pretty comfortable when sitting back and watching a film. It would be much nicer if it was completely flat of course, and it can be something of a challenge to find a spot thats comfortable enough to sleep in. I should mention I do enjoy the amount of elbow-room you get with these seats though no battling for armrest-rights! The only downside is that those in the window seat are pretty much trapped when someone is fully reclined next to them. Since I dont sleep much on planes I tend to get up and about quite often (hence my preference for aisle seats) so I imagine being stuck with a window seat would be a bit restrictive.
Throughout the flight, the service continued to be attentive and efficient. It was noticed early on that I was one of the few not sleeping and drinks were offered/refilled on a regular basis. Since I was drinking water and tea for the most part, this gave added weight to my preference for an aisle seat as I jumped up to the toilets more often than most! Theres no personal amenity kit with Raffles Class (Ill have to fly First for that!) but the toilets themselves were well maintained, with hand lotion, towels, eau de toilette and so on.
Towards the end of the flight (maybe about 90 minutes away from Singapore), the breakfast service began. Fruit, cereal, tea, coffee were all offered while I had the veal sausage for the main choice again, all excellent.
Just before landing, coats were handed back to their respective owners (again offered by name) and a smooth touchdown was made at Changi airport. After seemingly taxiing the entire length of the aiport, we deplaned pretty soon after the air-bridge was in place an on to the Silver Kris lounge. Overall it was an exceptionally good trip and has me severely tempted to see if I can upgrade to First for one my return sectors to see how they can improve on it!
Darryl
