Different A380 configuration on the upper deck – the new one with business throughout the upper deck – it had me thrown with the ‘hat racks’ (as EK still sometimes call them), on the outbound the bins were on the outsides, on the return in this configuration on the inside – I felt like the poor schmucks who don’t know that a LHR VS 747 doesn’t have bins above the front seats downstairs, as I fumbled for non-existent ones to stow my bags to the delight of the CC.
No repeat of the HL / slinky dropping of items in the gap between the wall and seat this time. But I did realize that I left my Bose QC’s two-plug socket thingy in the seat on the outbound (SQ uses the two plug adaptors for it’s headphones so to get stereo you need yours if you want to use your Bose’s), oh dear, however I am sure in a cupboard somewhere I stashed spares from previous purchases - will get to that tomorrow.
The flight was quite empty on the upper deck, I’d say a quarter full if that, which is quite a low load indeed. Strangely many, of the seats occupied were clustered around me … the couple to my left formed a unit of what the no. 1 and I often call “types” and looked rather disdainfully at me as I laughed through a German film, ‘Resturlab’, which I highly recommend (so I just laughed louder!). BTW it may appeal more to lads, but 'Resturlab' was hilarious and highly recommended!
Staff were prompt, polite, used one’s formal name at all times, but just ever so perfunctory … I again much prefer the interaction and conversation that is possible with VS cabin crew. Also, for long periods of the flight they were non-visible and I used my call bell much more than normal (I never seem to have this issue on VS).
Taking HL’s advice I cancelled my book the cook offering and frankly wished I hadn’t this time (see outbound), the menu options were
LUNCH - served soon after take-off
Prelude
Satay with onion, cucumber and peanut sauce
Starter
Mesclun with oriental lobster salad and melon
Mains
Veal blanquette with paprika, baby carrots, wild mushrooms and crystallized baby turnip
Braised duck with yam rice
Seafood crepe with grilled vegetables
Pia Kao Lard Prik
Finale
Pistacchio macaroon
Movenpik tiramisu ice cream
Gourmet cheese
Fresh fruit
Gourmet coffees and tea
LIGHTER BITES
Instant chicken noodle
Vegetarian and non-vegetarian instant noodles
Soya chicken with pickled ginger ciabatta
Smoked salmon with tapenade in focaccia
Roasted vegetable and cheddar cheese in ciabatta (this ran out before I had one)
Nuts
Ferrero Rocher chocolate bar
Granola cereal bar
Chips
Buscuits
Fruit
LIGHT MEAL MENU - served three hours before landing
Yum Som or Kung
Braised ee-fu noodles with prawns, fish, scallops and leafy greens
Quiche Lorraine with fresh seasonal vegetables and grilled chicken sausage
Capelline pasta tossed with tomato sauce served with pan fried salmon and basil butter
Chendol with ice cream
WINES
Champagne Henriot Brut Soverain
2010 D’Arenberg Olive Grove Chardonnay
Tinput Hut Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Marlborough
2008 Tatachilla Shiraz – McLaren Vale
2007 Chateau la Garde – Pessac-Leognan
Fonseca late bottled vintage 2005
For lunch I chose lobster salad, seafood crepe, cheese and the tiramisu ice cream. The crepe was small and just OK, the lobster salad was poor, and the tiramisu was also poor. I had always read and therefore perceived that SQ was a notch above VS with regard to food, and although my outbound was better, the return confirmed this is not the case. The salad lacked any taste (a dressing would have helped), the crepe was moderately tasteful but paltry, the tiramisu ice cream bought in. Wines were OK with the la Garde representing the best. I find port to be too much to drink on a flight (bizarrely after the last four nights in Manila oops to that is all I can say, you can go very bad in Manila!). My later lighter meal was the quiche, and that was good.
OK, and there was one major issue – see what you can spot in this picture!
Answer on a postcard please
.The flight map would not work on this trip which was slightly infuriating, a lot of it is dark and I’d have loved to have tracked the route, and then after the ‘Resturlab’ film, all I could find to amuse was Coldplay at Glastonbury last year and then it was back to the iPad.
Sadly VS couldn’t get me to Manila via HKG on one PNR with a connection, and I didn’t want to risk such a long journey with two separate itineraries. I moved my return by a day for example and that was no hassle at all with SQ. I would prefer to have been routed LHR-HKG-MNL with VS and someone else, shame VS couldn’t get my business but if it would think about some of its customer base and work on the alliance issue, it would be appreciated.
After four flights, about 18,000 miles, and 32 hrs in the air with SQ over the last six days I come away thinking dull, solid, great seat, probably beaten in every other area by someone else if not VS. I simply don't get why they are lauded to the degree they are!
There's a plane at JFK, to fly you back from far away
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
.
