Carlous Moochous
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- Dec 31, 2010
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Flying home after a week in Taipei, I reviewed this Singapore Airlines A330-300 service in the pointy end of the cabin. Photos are up on my blog at Where to from Here? | Travel Blogging by CarlousMoochous for those interested. Cheers and Enjoy!
Route: Taipei to Singapore
Flight: SQ877
Carrier: Singapore Airlines
Class: Business Class
Terminal: Arriving early for departure we were greeted by a short queue at the Singapore Airlines check in desk as today check in opened 2 hours and 20 minutes before departure. While waiting in line, ground crew wandered the lines offering baggage tags and lollies to the waiting passengers. Check in was efficient and although staff were confused why my colleague and I didn’t mind not sitting next to each other, we were soon issued with boarding passes to Melbourne and heading for security, immigration and the lounge.
Unfortunately there isn’t any express lane for security or immigration, but fortunately there weren’t really any long queues at either, with the exception of a group of younger travellers that took forever getting laptops, LAGS and who knows what else sorted at security. There really needs to be two lanes at every security checkpoint – frequent travellers (e.g. “I’m familiar with what I can and cant take onto a plane”), and newbie (“what do you mean I cant take my water/swiss army knife/bazooka onboard?”). Once Immigration and security were cleared we explored the duty free shopping, disposing of the last remnants of Taiwanese Dollars that previously occupied my wallets and exchanging it with a watch which now occupies my wrist.
Singapore Airlines operate their own SilverKris lounge in Taipei which is located on the upper level directly in front of immigration. Surrounding the lounge are various massage offerings, including a “Blind Massage”. The lounge itself is pretty standard for a non home base SilverKris lounge and the full review of the lounge will be posted separately.
Departure: Awaiting my arrival at gate D8 was our Singapore Airlines A330 which had already commenced boarding by the time I finished taking photos of most planes between the lounge and the gate (if i’m honest, all of them, but there weren’t that many gates to walk past and thus not many #AvGeek pics). Photo opportunities were somewhat limited as the glass had a heavy tinting, although the emergency exit doors had a lighter tint which allowed for some photos to be taken.
Boarding was conducted via two aerobridges allowing business class passengers to skip the queue and board directly into the dedicated cabin. A welcoming glass of champagne accompanied by a wide selection of newspapers and magazines was a lovely way to pass the time while fellow passengers boarded.
Our pushback was within a few minutes of the scheduled time, and before long we were taxiing under our own steam for departure as the ground crew stood at attention and waved our aircraft goodbye. Departing to the north off runway 5L, the proximity of the coastline became readily apparent shortly after our quick take off roll. As we climbed the seatbelt light was switched off and the post take off drinks service commenced. Our track continued along the Taiwanese coast, making a few distinct turns which appeared to avoiding airspace surrounding some islands off the coast.
Seat: 11A. The seat numbering on the A330 starts at 11, so my row is actually the first row (bulkhead) row in business. The bulkhead provides ample legroom meaning no awkward climbing over your seat mate. Compensating for the lack of extra legroom, the remaining rows in business class have the TV screens in the seat back as well as a number of nifty storage compartments while the front row has TV screens mounted a little further away on the bulkhead wall and not as many storage units. Laptops can be stowed in an insert beside each seat while small items like a mobile phone can be stored in cutouts beneath the drink holder.
The seat itself is an angle flat bed covered in beige leather, which although isn’t a fully flat bed, does provide a comfortable seat and a great surface for napping. I found the seat most comfortable when placed in a cradle style position and not fully flat. The duration of this flight is around the 4.5 hour mark, meaning a full sleep seat isn’t really required (especially during the day) on this sector.
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300. The Business cabin is arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration sporting 5 rows in a dedicated cabin at the front of the aircraft. The business cabin includes two dedicated toilets for use by business class passengers and crew. The cabin is clean however having flown on a similar layout a few years ago it is starting to feel a little dated/aged. Behind business class the remainder of the aircraft is dedicated to economy class seating. I think I surprised the crew when I wanted to go for a walk to the back of the plane, after all, why would most business passengers wander behind that curtain?
IFE: KrisWorld is the onboard entertainment system providing Movies, TV, music and more to passengers in all classes. The OnDemand entertainment is easy to navigate, has a wide range of movies and TV shows loaded and on each flight I took worked seamlessly without and glitches. Business class passengers are provided with noise cancelling headsets however the quality of these is not up to the same standard provided by Bose. Having four flights on Singapore over a week, I had watched most of the TV series that I wanted to watch, however exploring new shows proved fruitful.
Meal: A late lunch / early dinner service was provided on this flight, starting with pre dinner drinks and hot mixed nuts which was followed by a starter of Smoked Duck. I’m not a huge foodie nor a fan of duck generally however airline duck seems to always be done really well and this provided to be no exception.
I had “booked the cook” which meant pre-selecting my main meal prior to travel from a much wider selection that that available onboard. Although I was sure I had selected a beef fillet, the manifest listed a pork loin for me. I asked the crew if i could see it before accepting it as i really felt like beef which the crew accommodated gracefully. As it wasn’t really what i was looking for the crew suggested the beef dish from the onboard menu which I accepted.
The main, a filet of beef served on a delicious bed of mashed green peas was delightful. Served medium rare, the beef wasn’t at all tough like i’ve experienced on other airlines and was genuinely delightful. Before long it was time for dessert for which I opted for the Chocolate cake followed by a selection of cheeses an of course some chocolates to finish off the meal.
The welcome glass of champagne was enough alcohol for me for the flight so I tried out a few of the non alcoholic mocktails that Singapore offer in their onboard menu. I had previously tried, and enjoyed, the apple fizz so this time branched out to the tropical fizz which as a mix of pineapple juice, 7-Up and bitter lemon. The verdict: Win!
Arrival: After a few short naps and finishing off the movie “Turbo” it was time for decent into Singapore ready for a connecting flight home to Melbourne a few hours later. A few turns here and there before lining up and landing pretty much on schedule before a long taxi to the other side of the airport arriving at terminal 2 about 10minutes behind schedule. Terminal 2 definitely lacks the fresh and stylish feel of Singapore Airlines main terminal (terminal 3) and took a while to walk to the air train across to T3 and into the SilverKris lounge ready for my last flight of the day to Melbourne.
Crew: Although there has been a bit of discussion around the Singapore Girl image, and whether or not the airline is still as focussed on it as they may have been in the past, the image is still alive and well onboard. The crew are amazingly attentive, professional and personal in their interactions with every passenger being referred to by name by each crew member in the cabin (generally without the obvious use of the manifest). The attention to detail and service standards could not be faulted.
Overall: In summation, although the A330 is hardly the jewel in Singapore Airlines fleet, it is a comfortable aircraft for short/regional haul flights especially during the day when a full flat bed is really not required. On an overnight or longer haul flight the lack of such an amenity would be disappointing however for this segment it seemed a good fit. The crew were faultless and the meals of a high standard as you would expect from Singapore. Thus, overall I had a great flight and would recommend taking this service again.
Route: Taipei to Singapore
Flight: SQ877
Carrier: Singapore Airlines
Class: Business Class
Terminal: Arriving early for departure we were greeted by a short queue at the Singapore Airlines check in desk as today check in opened 2 hours and 20 minutes before departure. While waiting in line, ground crew wandered the lines offering baggage tags and lollies to the waiting passengers. Check in was efficient and although staff were confused why my colleague and I didn’t mind not sitting next to each other, we were soon issued with boarding passes to Melbourne and heading for security, immigration and the lounge.
Unfortunately there isn’t any express lane for security or immigration, but fortunately there weren’t really any long queues at either, with the exception of a group of younger travellers that took forever getting laptops, LAGS and who knows what else sorted at security. There really needs to be two lanes at every security checkpoint – frequent travellers (e.g. “I’m familiar with what I can and cant take onto a plane”), and newbie (“what do you mean I cant take my water/swiss army knife/bazooka onboard?”). Once Immigration and security were cleared we explored the duty free shopping, disposing of the last remnants of Taiwanese Dollars that previously occupied my wallets and exchanging it with a watch which now occupies my wrist.
Singapore Airlines operate their own SilverKris lounge in Taipei which is located on the upper level directly in front of immigration. Surrounding the lounge are various massage offerings, including a “Blind Massage”. The lounge itself is pretty standard for a non home base SilverKris lounge and the full review of the lounge will be posted separately.
Departure: Awaiting my arrival at gate D8 was our Singapore Airlines A330 which had already commenced boarding by the time I finished taking photos of most planes between the lounge and the gate (if i’m honest, all of them, but there weren’t that many gates to walk past and thus not many #AvGeek pics). Photo opportunities were somewhat limited as the glass had a heavy tinting, although the emergency exit doors had a lighter tint which allowed for some photos to be taken.
Boarding was conducted via two aerobridges allowing business class passengers to skip the queue and board directly into the dedicated cabin. A welcoming glass of champagne accompanied by a wide selection of newspapers and magazines was a lovely way to pass the time while fellow passengers boarded.
Our pushback was within a few minutes of the scheduled time, and before long we were taxiing under our own steam for departure as the ground crew stood at attention and waved our aircraft goodbye. Departing to the north off runway 5L, the proximity of the coastline became readily apparent shortly after our quick take off roll. As we climbed the seatbelt light was switched off and the post take off drinks service commenced. Our track continued along the Taiwanese coast, making a few distinct turns which appeared to avoiding airspace surrounding some islands off the coast.
Seat: 11A. The seat numbering on the A330 starts at 11, so my row is actually the first row (bulkhead) row in business. The bulkhead provides ample legroom meaning no awkward climbing over your seat mate. Compensating for the lack of extra legroom, the remaining rows in business class have the TV screens in the seat back as well as a number of nifty storage compartments while the front row has TV screens mounted a little further away on the bulkhead wall and not as many storage units. Laptops can be stowed in an insert beside each seat while small items like a mobile phone can be stored in cutouts beneath the drink holder.
The seat itself is an angle flat bed covered in beige leather, which although isn’t a fully flat bed, does provide a comfortable seat and a great surface for napping. I found the seat most comfortable when placed in a cradle style position and not fully flat. The duration of this flight is around the 4.5 hour mark, meaning a full sleep seat isn’t really required (especially during the day) on this sector.
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300. The Business cabin is arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration sporting 5 rows in a dedicated cabin at the front of the aircraft. The business cabin includes two dedicated toilets for use by business class passengers and crew. The cabin is clean however having flown on a similar layout a few years ago it is starting to feel a little dated/aged. Behind business class the remainder of the aircraft is dedicated to economy class seating. I think I surprised the crew when I wanted to go for a walk to the back of the plane, after all, why would most business passengers wander behind that curtain?
IFE: KrisWorld is the onboard entertainment system providing Movies, TV, music and more to passengers in all classes. The OnDemand entertainment is easy to navigate, has a wide range of movies and TV shows loaded and on each flight I took worked seamlessly without and glitches. Business class passengers are provided with noise cancelling headsets however the quality of these is not up to the same standard provided by Bose. Having four flights on Singapore over a week, I had watched most of the TV series that I wanted to watch, however exploring new shows proved fruitful.
Meal: A late lunch / early dinner service was provided on this flight, starting with pre dinner drinks and hot mixed nuts which was followed by a starter of Smoked Duck. I’m not a huge foodie nor a fan of duck generally however airline duck seems to always be done really well and this provided to be no exception.
I had “booked the cook” which meant pre-selecting my main meal prior to travel from a much wider selection that that available onboard. Although I was sure I had selected a beef fillet, the manifest listed a pork loin for me. I asked the crew if i could see it before accepting it as i really felt like beef which the crew accommodated gracefully. As it wasn’t really what i was looking for the crew suggested the beef dish from the onboard menu which I accepted.
The main, a filet of beef served on a delicious bed of mashed green peas was delightful. Served medium rare, the beef wasn’t at all tough like i’ve experienced on other airlines and was genuinely delightful. Before long it was time for dessert for which I opted for the Chocolate cake followed by a selection of cheeses an of course some chocolates to finish off the meal.
The welcome glass of champagne was enough alcohol for me for the flight so I tried out a few of the non alcoholic mocktails that Singapore offer in their onboard menu. I had previously tried, and enjoyed, the apple fizz so this time branched out to the tropical fizz which as a mix of pineapple juice, 7-Up and bitter lemon. The verdict: Win!
Arrival: After a few short naps and finishing off the movie “Turbo” it was time for decent into Singapore ready for a connecting flight home to Melbourne a few hours later. A few turns here and there before lining up and landing pretty much on schedule before a long taxi to the other side of the airport arriving at terminal 2 about 10minutes behind schedule. Terminal 2 definitely lacks the fresh and stylish feel of Singapore Airlines main terminal (terminal 3) and took a while to walk to the air train across to T3 and into the SilverKris lounge ready for my last flight of the day to Melbourne.
Crew: Although there has been a bit of discussion around the Singapore Girl image, and whether or not the airline is still as focussed on it as they may have been in the past, the image is still alive and well onboard. The crew are amazingly attentive, professional and personal in their interactions with every passenger being referred to by name by each crew member in the cabin (generally without the obvious use of the manifest). The attention to detail and service standards could not be faulted.
Overall: In summation, although the A330 is hardly the jewel in Singapore Airlines fleet, it is a comfortable aircraft for short/regional haul flights especially during the day when a full flat bed is really not required. On an overnight or longer haul flight the lack of such an amenity would be disappointing however for this segment it seemed a good fit. The crew were faultless and the meals of a high standard as you would expect from Singapore. Thus, overall I had a great flight and would recommend taking this service again.
