Kristastic.
Written: Jun 27 '05 (Updated Jul 06 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Generally everything...
Cons: ...they need to get their handling partner to sort out Rome.
The Bottom Line: Exceptionally good cabin service, great food and diverting entertainment.
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| munkus's Full Review: Singapore Airlines |
As most of the Western world, and a good third of the Eastern world, is aware I have recently been a-gallivantin' round the mother continent. Currently in the death-like grip of jet lag that occurs when you cross nine time zones in the wrong direction (true story: I woke up in the middle of the night and freaked out because I couldn't turn the light on or find the door. I now believe I was looking for both as if I was still in my Roman hotel room), to soothe my brain that is currently doing backflips trying to work out what day it is, I decided to start Epinioning all over the joint in a particularly obnoxious I'm-a-global-jetsetter-and-you're-not manner.
Those in the know often are heard to repeat in Silver Kris Lounges around the world that Singapore Airlines isn't what it used to be. There is certainly a lot of truth in this- gone are the little snack bags for one. However, even when good ol' SQ (I shall be using their IATA code from here on out cos I can't be bothered typing their name in full) isn't at its best its still a helluva lot better than the competition (though, let it also be a warning for SQ that a lot of the competition is catching up).
I recently took four Economy trips with SQ in five weeks. For accuracy's sake, here they are:
SQ246 Brisbane-Singapore (7hrs 30mins)
SQ318 Singapore-London (13hrs 30mins)
SQ339 Rome-Singapore (12hrs 5mins)
SQ245 Singapore-Brisbane (7hrs 10mins)
SQ is Australia's biggest international airline after Qantas, with three daily flights on awfully big planes to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and a few flights a week to Adelaide. They are really big players in the India-Australia market and also in connecting the thousands of travellers between Europe and Australia. They offer three daily flights between London and Singapore, and three flights a week between Rome and Singapore. The London flights arrive at 0530, 1530 or 2100ish and of these I can recommend the 1530 arrival (my flight) because it means by the time you clear the wasteland that is Heathrow and reach your hotel you only need to stay awake for a few more hours before a normal bedtime.
If you do fly SQ you will in all likelihood at least spend some time in Changi Airport, my absolute favourite airport in the world. Why, just Monday morning at 0600 I stumbled across a sunflower garden on the roof. There is free internet throughout the terminal as well, along with hundreds of shops selling more than a bottle of Scotch and the latest Dan Brown novel, a sauna, swimming pool and so forth. The showers are a godsend, but head to them as soon as you get off the plane before a queue starts. They're in the transit hotels in each terminal, and cos S$8 which includes a free drink afterwards. If you want to reserve a room in the transit hotels (minimum stay 6 hours) you must book before you leave home and bring a confirmation of this booking- as they are usually full by around 7am. If one terminal is full you can try the other- you can easily travel between terminals without having to re-clear any passport or security formalities. Changi also has the fastest baggage claim in the world- last time (not this trip) I collected bags in Singapore they arrived at the carousel the same time I did.
On the Ground
In Brisbane, SQ is handled by Qantas staff and check in proceeded at a fair pace and everything was fine. I didn't actually do anything in Singapore asides from walking compulsivey up and down the miles of terminal (a favourite airport activity of mine) checking out where everyone else is flying to so I can't really comment, but when I have departed from Singapore previously it was super-efficient.
Rome check-in was a nightmare, and I arrived with three hours before departure to spare. It took an hour to actually reach a check in counter, and I kept hoping I'd be pulled out of the queue for a random security check as after you got put at the head of the queue. However once I finally got there the girl was very polite and friendly and the process was very quick (I don't know what everyone else was fussing over). I think the queue was not so much the handling partner(I think it was Avia)/SQ's fault but the fact that Columbus landed in the New World with less luggage than most of my fellow-travellers. Seriously, there was one woman with two daughters under five who had, and I'm not making this up, FIVE large suitcases and a piece of substantial hand luggage each.
Boarding in Brisbane was fine (the flight was only half full). In Singapore security is at the gate and the lounge is enclosed, so it makes things easier there too (and tell you what, those Singapore airport security people really aren't mucking around- almost everyone got wanded- but they're also super-polite and quite charming really which is a refreshing change from most airport security around the world). No surprises here, but Rome was a disaster again. The sign at the gate said boarding would commence at 1125 for a midday departure. At the dot of 1125, 300 passengers (almost entirely Australians and Filipinos funnily enough, with a few Italians) rushed the gate despite it still being rather closed. Eventually a stout Italian women in an SQ Ground staff uniform marched out, gave everyone a death stare and said "we WILL NOT be boarding the aircraft in THIS MANNER. GET BACK from the gate and WAIT" it was firm and effective. Everyone slunk off as they called forward assisted passengers and boarding then continued as it should in the civilised world.
Somewhat confusingly, Singapore Airlines flights from Rome check in at Terminal B but actually depart from Terminal C (once you clear security in Terminal B you turn left for Terminal C passport control)- I asked the check in girl why this was so and apparently only Terminal C can handle the size of the Boeing 772.
Interestingly, I don't think I've ever been on an SQ flight that has departed on time yet they all seem to arrive early or, at least, on time. Either their pilots are very good at making up time in flight, or they have generous scheduling. The only SQ flight I've ever arrived late on was the last one to Brisbane, and we were actually in Brisbane airspace fifteen minutes early at 1900 but were put in a holding pattern for twenty five minutes, then Quarantine decided to come onboard and fart around in the galleys for a while- so we actually got off the plane fifteen minutes behind schedule.
In the Air
Food was, generally, very good on all flights. I had one yucky meal and it was the lunch on Singapore-London. Some Gordon Ramsey designed salmon confection and it was bland and not very tasty. You can also ask the crew for a snack at any time of the flight from a range of pre-packaged snack foods like chips and chocolate bars, to fresh fruit, instant noodles and sandwiches. One of the tastiest sandwiches of my life was the snack I had somewhere over Albania en route to London. A wide range of alcoholic and non drinks are available, and I believe SQ is the only airline in the world to have free champagne in Economy (actually this may have been dropped in cost-cutting).
All the aircraft were spotlessly tidy and the toilets were regularly freshened up by the crew (good luck seeing that happen on a Qantas flight). The first flight was on a Boeing 777-300 that had a new car smell and looked like it was just out of the factory, the London flight on a Boeing 747-400 that was starting to show its age but was still very clean and tidy and the last two flights both on Boeing 777-200 aircraft. Also, I once doubted a reviewer who complained that her 777 didn't have air conditioning nozzles. As often happens to the smugly correct, I was wrong and she was entirely right. If I could find that review again, I'd say so there, but as I can't- here is my public apology. The 777 does not have individual air vents.
Almost all SQ flights now have the Wiseman 3000 entertainment system. They were one of the first airlines to give each passenger their own tv- but now every man and his dog has their own tv. But SQ's system gives Economy passengers over sixty (60!!!!) movies to choose from, over 100 complete CDs to listen to and a seemingly endless array of television programming along with about fifty Nintendo games and so on. I really like the feature that allows you to create an audio playlist with selected tracks from any CD. And its all under the passenger's control, which is great for when you want to pause the movie for a toilet break or fast forward a boring bit. The movies weren't the most recent releases, but I'm not a big cinema-goer so it was good to catch up on a lot of movies I had wanted to see but didn't get around to. The selection on the comedy channel had me desperately trying to supress hysteria in a crowded space- the Madonna Reading Her Children's Book in French and Saunders and Little Britain had been going red in the face and making spitty spluttering noises.
And now, to one of the most famous aspects of SQ.
The glamour factor has been largely sucked out of air travel and we're probably not too far off from it being just like a rather elevated bus trip. One notable exception is the Singapore Girl. You can see them in packs in Singapore's Changi Airport- gliding prettily through the terminal. They're all young, pretty and immaculately made up with red lipstick (SQ actually has their own inhouse brand) and black hair in shiny China Doll style. And the prettiest uniform in the sky- the sarong kebaya.
Of course the Virgin girls are very well made up too, and whilst its nice to look at doesn't necessarily mean they're any good.
But I'm pleased to report that the SQ girls not only look fantastic (and to be fair, whilst the SQ boys miss out on all the attention they're equally well presented) they have a gracious, warm style of service that is all but long forgotten in the travel industry. When we boarded, they were all arranged through the cabin and actually ushered passengers to their seats, offering to hang up and coats and helping with overhead luggage (personally I always feel if you can't lift it into the overhead locker, its too heavy for cabin at any rate). During the flight at almost any given moment there was a flight attendant patrolling the aisles with cups of water and juice and generally making sure everyone was comfortable. Requests were responded to swiftly- with one exception.
I was absolutely starving on the flight to London, to the extent I was feeling quite ill. So I put on the crew call light in the hope of getting a snack. I'm a strong believer in not going up to the galley unless you really have to because I don't like intruding on the crew's space if I can help it. And so I waited. And waited. In fact the light was on for all of Afghanistan (I was following the flightpath map on the TV). In fairness, the flight had been a particularly difficult one for the crew. I was surrounded by a big group of Indians who were particularly demanding for the novice crew (here's a helpful hint- novice crew are nearly always positioned at the back of a 747 cos the galley is the worst to work- cramped and hot). At meal times for example, they each seemed to require a slightly different version of the Hindu meal. When we came in to London we had quite a spectacular view of Westminster, and whilst we were making a rather tight bank into Heathrow they all got up, and climbed over to the other side of the plane to look out the windows which actually left the pretty 20 year old Chinese stewardess open-mouthed for a while as she worked out how best to handle this. So, back to my original point, they may have just decided to ignore the crew lights in this entire section. It was also at the point of the flight were most of the crew were taking their nap break and the Captain kept switching on the seatbelt sign and changing his mind. But, selfishly, it was still annoying.
Its a long way from Australia to Europe and I was determined to be comfortable. SQ is not the cheapest airline usually on a route, but you get what you pay for and although spending 13 hours in an airline seat will never be my leisure activity of choice, SQ do a fantastic job in making it as painless as possible.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
munkus
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Location: Ruritania
Reviews written: 205
Trusted by: 113 members
About Me:
Munkus now lives in America. He is the size of a house.
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