Great airline, not as great as its reputation
Written: Jul 19 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good in-flight entertainment, good food (for an airline), great airport for stopovers.
Cons: Aircraft are getting grungy, planes are cramped and crowded.
The Bottom Line: A safe choice - better than most, but not the best.
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| rajulkabir's Full Review: Singapore Airlines |
This is a review of Singapore Airlines (SQ) economy class service. It's not my first-choice airline but I end up flying about 50,000 miles a year with them.
Over the years Singapore Airlines has developed a legendary status among flyers as the pinnacle of achievement in in-flight service. In rates in the top three in every business traveler survey I've ever seen.
Well, it's good, that's true. The food is consistently edible, and always includes Asian choices, which is a great boon to the mayo-phobic among us.
The in-flight entertainment features video-on-demand with 80 or more channels of recent movies and TV shoes. The on-demand aspect is key, it means you no longer have to coordinate your nap schedule with the movie start times. Need to go pee? Pause the movie and it'll be waiting for you when you come back. And best of all, they don't censor the movies. Imagine that, the airline from the censorship capital of the world plays films as originally intended, without prudishly removing "foul" language or nudity. Uptight parents can rest easy, there are parental controls, and video screens are polarized so your neighbors can't see what you're watching.
And Singapore airport is the best place there is for a stopover. No other airport comes close in terms of entertainment options, comfort, food, and general good service.
But there's trouble in paradise, and this keeps SQ from being my top choice for long-haul flights.
First of all, because of their reputation, the flights are always packed to bursting. The chance of having an empty seat next to you on a Singapore Airlines flight is about the same as your chance of being asked to pilot the plane.
Secondly, the seating is cramped. The seat rows are much closer together than competing airlines like Malaysia Airlines. Combine that with the crowdedness and it means you're going to feel like a sardine.
Third, the staff are robots. They get good reviews, but I think it's because the women wear really tight dresses and not because they're particularly helpful or understanding.
Fourth, the planes are going downhill. More and more often I find myself on a plane with weird stains on the walls, video screens that are washed out or don't work at all, controllers with broken buttons, seats that don't recline, and the like.
Fifth, they absolutely never upgrade Star Alliance Gold or Platinum members. On Thai I am upgraded half the time. On Singapore I haven't been upgraded once in over a hundred flights.
So, while Singapore Airlines is a solid choice, it's not the best. If you can get on a Malaysia Airlines flight, it will almost always be nicer, more spacious, and less crowded. Same on selected flights with other airlines - such as Northwest's A330 service. Even Emirates, which has more movies, far larger screens and more comfortable seats - not to mention lower fares - looks pretty good by comparison, as long as you don't have to spend too long at Dubai's dull mall/airport.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
rajulkabir
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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