Had my first ever SQ J flight yesterday and I am feeling a little bit mixed about the experience. People here and on other sites rave and rave about how good SQ but overall I felt it was a bit pedestrian with nothing that greatly sets itself better than its competition.
Maybe this is more reflective of the regional J product that Brisbane gets lumped with but still not the best first impression.
A few notes from the trip:
- The Brisbane SilverKris lounge was extremely small and had disappointing catering. I would hate to see this lounge with a bunch of status holders plus J in there. I would rate the Plaza premium outpost above this lounge.
- Priority boarding enforced which is a tick.
- Welcome drinks offered with a decent selection vs the standard sparkling, water or juice.
- I don’t eat seafood and the lack of a non-seafood based appetiser was disappointing. Equally disappointing was the lamb dish which lacked flavour or flair. Asked for a snack in between lunch and the refreshment service and was a little shocked that the only snack on offer was a short bread biscuit. Apparently the
Virgin Australia pantry is better stocked for snacks than Singapore Air, who knew.
- Couldn’t fault the service or the drinks. Drinks was reactive via call bell vs anything proactive.
- The regional J seat is fine, but I suspect this isn’t SQs best foot forward and this is the biggest area where I don’t see much of a difference to any other major J carrier out of Brisbane.
Overall, it was a fine trip. It just didn’t live up to the expectations set by others online.