Singapore Airlines Service

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Although I've been getting the newsletter for a while (and am an occasional reader of the Disc Bd), this is my first post so forgive me if I'm going over old ground.

Another SNG-BNE flight this week reinforced my impression of how much SQF's service has declined.

The Business Class amenities kit is now nothing more than a pair of socks and - sometimes - an eye-mask; the request to be left undisturbed during the overnight flight is often ignored; my wife, travelling ECON on the same route recently, was shaken awake by an attendant who insisted she have the 4.30 am breakfast despite having the blanket over her head!); the legroom in BUS class on some aircraft (not all) is pathetically short; and the seats are less comfortable for sleeping than most.

Am I alone in this impression?
 
Welcome to AFF Prof Henry :)

The SIN-BNE flights are non-spacebed in business class, so you had the "old" style business seat - which will much better than economy is not as comfy as the newer spacebed and is not lie flat or even on an angle. You need the 747, A345 or some of the 777s (eg from AKL & CHC) to get the spacebed seat. New first and business seats are apparently coming out in 2006.

The business class amenities kit is very basic as you mention, but the bathroom is well stocked and other amenities (eg pen & paper, pack of cards, etc) are readily available on request. In all my SQ flights in business or first (lots), I have never not gotten an eye mask. The first class amenities kit is much more comprehensive including 50ml perfume/aftershave, pj's etc.

Yes I have noticed SQ FAs tend to assume you want all meals unless you specifically ask not to be woken. However if you ask they put a do not disturb sticker on your seat back which works well in my experience.
 
I travel regularly through out Asia and I do it exclusively on SIA flying economy class. In all the time I have been flying with them I have not had cause for complaint and have not been able to fault their inflight service. I find their FA's are very hospitable. I often take note of how they react when people are boarding a flight and they are very friendly and helpful.

I accept the fact that I am in Economy class and don't for one minute think that I am going to get the sort of service that one might get in business class or even first.

I enjoy their inflight entertainment system which in my opinion is better than you find in many other airlines business class, let alone economy.

I've recently cashed in some of my UA FF miles for a couple of business class return tickets to Singapore and I'm certainly looking forward to experiencing the service in that part of the cabin.

Maybe you are being too critical.
 
Just pray you make it home alive.

If a First Officer on SQ sees the Captain pulling the tabs marked "fire extinguisher' on engines 1, 2, 3, and 4 - he won't question it.
 
shillard said:
Just pray you make it home alive.

If a First Officer on SQ sees the Captain pulling the tabs marked "fire extinguisher' on engines 1, 2, 3, and 4 - he won't question it.

I believe Quaint cough aren't too different....remember Bangkok!!!!

At least with SIA my final moments would be that I've enjoyed the service up until that point. I'd certainly be far more satisfied with the service than if I'd flown quaint cough.
 
cssaus said:
shillard said:
Just pray you make it home alive.

If a First Officer on SQ sees the Captain pulling the tabs marked "fire extinguisher' on engines 1, 2, 3, and 4 - he won't question it.

I believe Quaint cough aren't too different....remember Bangkok!!!!

At least with SIA my final moments would be that I've enjoyed the service up until that point. I'd certainly be far more satisfied with the service than if I'd flown quaint cough.

Nobody died at BangCOCK, and the crew were doing precisely as Boeing had advised them.

Feel free to compare SQ/ QF Body Counts anytime you like. It's the only safety stat that counts in this business.

Sure, I'll fly SQ tomorrow - if they rip out their flat business class beds, and replace them with funky seats made by Martin Baker. The steel plate you sit on would be a bit rough about 8 hours into a transpac flight, but that little yellow & black handle would be very, very comforting.
 
Until January this year I was based in Singapore having Asia regional responsibility for my organisation. I made SQ's PPS level in seven months so I was flying a lot in Business Class - company policy was J for over 3 hours!

Before this I was in Hong Kong and exclusively flew Cathay (another GREAT airline).

Flew a lot of QF to/from AU. The grumbly crew were just so different.

So SQ was a pleasant surprise. Great aircraft, crew, IT, in-flight, entertainment, "book the cook" service (choose your meal before you fly from a range of 20 or so selections!) but no in-flight amenity kits.

BIG DEAL!

It would save them millions. I read that AA saved USD40,000 just by taking 1 olive from their first class salad on domestic flights! So I'd prefer nicer meals than another disposable razor and some moisturiser.

With everything else so good and other "amenities" available upon request, it makes absolutely no difference to my travel experience. Also, as with Cathay and many QF aircraft, the roll out of their new business class was re-scheduled due to 911, SARS, Bird Flew etc. Aircraft with the old seats are only used on short haul (and BNE :( ); they are a bit average after the new models...

I'm with shillard - I don't think Quaint cough come close.
 
AlwaysUpThere said:
I'm with shillard - I don't think Quaint cough come close.

I think you need to re read the comments from Shillard :!:

Though he may not love QF, he believes they're safe. :roll:
On the other hand however, he hates SQ and believes they are extremely unsafe:!:
 
straitman said:
AlwaysUpThere said:
I'm with shillard - I don't think Quaint cough come close.

I think you need to re read the comments from Shillard :!:

Though he may not love QF, he believes they're safe. :roll:
On the other hand however, he hates SQ and believes they are extremely unsafe:!:

Pretty much - QF dragons might not offer the world's best service, but at least they can be trusted to evacuate the aircraft when the balloon goes up.

The same can't be said for the bimbos on Vermin Blue, or the "hostesses" on SQ.

In all fairness to the SQ trolly-dollies, they probably wouldn't get the chance to even try. Bit hard to push pax down the slides if the Captain coughs up at 350kts.
 
Years ago, SQ used to hand out "gifts" in business class. They included Mont Blanc pens (hubby was a PPS and we ended up with so many, we gave them to the kids), electronic organisers, designer brand leathergoods, french perfume etc etc. These suddenly dissapeared around 1999.
So, yes, things have declined. The amenity kits used to be fabulous, too (and they came in both a men's and ladies' version).

However, there is a whole OTHER sub class of perks in the air on SQ in business and first class. Next time just WATCH the female staff. Put it this way, the expat wife set in Singapore circulated warnings loud and clear...Many of us heard incredulous stories from our spouses about what they COULD have done (if they hadn't been so devoted...) And there is a whole availability code happening re the type of watch being worn.
 
Re. Qantas v Sa on safety.

No doubt that Qantas have a better record, but then again, as they only do a dozen flights a day compared to SA doing bloody hundreds, it follows that there would be a difference.

Personally, I'm quite happy to "take my chances" on SA, simply because they are a much better airline to fly with, treat you much better, and have a decent airport (Changi) to wait around in, compared with the bloody awful Australian airports.

On top of which, I prefer trolley dollies to gays anytime!
 
pomjim said:
Re. Qantas v Sa on safety.

No doubt that Qantas have a better record, but then again, as they only do a dozen flights a day compared to SA doing bloody hundreds, it follows that there would be a difference.

Personally, I'm quite happy to "take my chances" on SA, simply because they are a much better airline to fly with, treat you much better, and have a decent airport (Changi) to wait around in, compared with the bloody awful Australian airports.

On top of which, I prefer trolley dollies to gays anytime!

I'm with you pomjim.

I'm on an SQ flt the week after next and Sammy's comment about "....there is a whole availability code happening re the type of watch being worn" is intriguing. I don't suppose that is documented in their inflight magazine in the same manner as they describe the status associated with the different colour uniforms that they wear!
 
pomjim said:
Re. Qantas v Sa on safety.
Note SA is the IATA code for South African Airlines. I assume the discussion is still about Singapore Airlines, which is either SQ (their IATA flight code designator) or SIA (their ICAO designator).
pomjim said:
No doubt that Qantas have a better record, but then again, as they only do a dozen flights a day compared to SA doing bloody hundreds, it follows that there would be a difference.
This one might need some explanation please?

Just looking at the fleet sizes, I see that QF operates more aircraft and more daily and weekly flights than SQ. The SQ fleet is currently made up of 80 aircraft (27 x 744, 12 x 773, 31 x 772, 15 x 772ER and 5 x A345). QF mainline operates well over 100 aircraft (6 x 744ER, 24 x 744, 5 x 743, 4 x A332, 7 x A333, 24 x 763, 22 x 73H, 18 x 734). This does not include the likes of SilkAir and QantasLink, Australian Airlines, JetStar etc.

SQ may operate more RPKs than QF, but QF has more flight operations and a larger fleet.

pomjim said:
Personally, I'm quite happy to "take my chances" on SA, simply because they are a much better airline to fly with, treat you much better, and have a decent airport (Changi) to wait around in, compared with the bloody awful Australian airports.
Your choice entirely.

Personally I would rather not wait around at Changi when I am travelling between my home base (BNE) and HKG, or AKL, or USA. And I do choose to transit through SIN when travelling to KUL, FRA, and LHR, just not with SQ as my carrier (my choice), giving me a nice airport, a very nice lounge, good duty-free prices, and FF points and status credits in my FF program of choice :D
 
shillard said:
Pretty much - QF dragons might not offer the world's best service, but at least they can be trusted to evacuate the aircraft when the balloon goes up.

The same can't be said for the bimbos on Vermin Blue, or the "hostesses" on SQ.

How did you arrive at this conclusion?
 
Prof Henry said:
Although I've been getting the newsletter for a while (and am an occasional reader of the Disc Bd), this is my first post so forgive me if I'm going over old ground.

Another SNG-BNE flight this week reinforced my impression of how much SQF's service has declined.

(...)

Am I alone in this impression?

Last week I had my first SIA flight in a long time. Now, granted I was in Economy, so wouldn't expect all the stuff that goes with Business Class. I would say, however, that I found their service fine, and can't really find a reason to fault it.

I was also intrigued by the 'type of watch being worn' comment. Might not apply to economy class, but I have never even heard of it before.
 
oz_mark said:
Last week I had my first SIA flight in a long time. Now, granted I was in Economy, so wouldn't expect all the stuff that goes with Business Class. I would say, however, that I found their service fine, and can't really find a reason to fault it.

I have flown SQ 6 times this year to date. 3 times in business, and 3 times in economy. I find their service great (though less than CX/ NH/ JL), and to be honest can't understand the safety concerns - though am willing to learn...
 
oz_mark said:
Last week I had my first SIA flight in a long time. Now, granted I was in Economy, so wouldn't expect all the stuff that goes with Business Class. I would say, however, that I found their service fine, and can't really find a reason to fault it.

One tip for *A Gold people, if you're travelling on Singapore Airlines in Economy Class, ask to be seated in an aisle seat in the centre section (althought not too close to the front) and when you check in, ask if they will consider blocking the adjacent seat. I do this quite regularly and providing the flight is not heavily booked, you can most likely end up with a spare seat alongside you.
 
Obviously that depends on the flight you're on. Most of the time SQ285/6, for example (to/from AKL), is totally full in econ.
 
Kiwi Flyer said:
Obviously that depends on the flight you're on. Most of the time SQ285/6, for example (to/from AKL), is totally full in econ.

Correct there. Most of the time I've been fairly luck on the flights to and from Sydney to Singapore. Don't expect to be so fortunate around the time of Chinese New Year...the flights are usually bursting at the seams.
 
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