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701 reviews
This is the fourth in a series of five flight reviews involving Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines. The trip spans 26th May to 3rd June, taking the author across three Southeast Asian destinations: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok (then back to Singapore and later Manila).
The Bangkok-Singapore leg was the leg I was most looking forward to for two reasons (at least so I thought). First, this is the only leg which features an A350-900. SIA is the largest operator of the A359 so I was glad to take a piece of this action. Given that there was not much for me to do in Singapore on this day, I would not mind departing later in the day. But there were no A350 flights available later in the day. The second reason is that Bangkok is home to not just one or even two - but four Star Alliance lounges. So lounge-hopping was an exciting prospect here. But more on that later.
There were plenty of bags for me to bring. Given the relative infrequency of the Airport rail service early in the morning, I could not take that risk. Thus I decided to pay for a Grab, which offered a reasonable promo.
Within about a half hour, I was at the departure hall. It was fairly massive.
SIA desks were at row K. No fuss, they processed me fairly quickly.
I took some photos of this grand departure hall. After that I went to the post office located at the far-end of the terminal's right side to send postcards to my friends. I was lucky they accepted foreign debit cards for postage stamps.
As I was a business class passenger, I was entitled to use the fast track security and passport control. Its entrance was also located at the far end of the departure hall, close to the post office.
This trip would feature something I have not done since 2019. As Singapore Airlines is part of the Star Alliance, it means that in theory, I could access any of the Star Alliances that were open shortly before my flight's departure. So it was time for lounge-hopping. This time, it would not be one, not two, not even three, but four lounges on my list.
Because of the SIA's check-in desks opening three hours before departure, I would not spend as much time in all of them as I hoped to do. I also had to be mindful of my diet.
Our first lounge is the EVA Airways. The physical set-up was appealing. The green ambience associated with EVA is evident all around. Plenty of places to sit in. I had only a sweet or two. But the meals would have been lovely to try. Magazines, which were once a staple of lounges, were available only in digital formats and accessible via QR scanning. But I had no time to read them as I had to spend most of my time in this lounge tending to some business back home and sorting which hotel in Singapore to stay.
The next lounge to visit was Turkish Airlines' lounge. I took some peanuts here. A fairly substantial food offering. This is the lounge to be if you don't have a computer and need to get some work done because it has a couple of computers and a meeting room.
About 75 minutes left before departure and I realised there were two more lounges to go. The third lounge to visit had to be the host airline at BKK, Thai Airways International. It had plenty of lounges at its home airport but for obvious reasons, I had to go to the lounge closest to my gate. It was a bit of a walk from the Turkish Airlines lounge and the SIA Silver Kris lounge, which we would visit later. It is obviously the largest of the four lounges I visited and it was divided into a section for first class and another for the rest. The plush green-ish background made it inviting to stay. Though I realised I had only had a few minutes before I had to go to the final lounge.
Then it was time to go to the lounge which actually invites us, Singapore Airlines' Silver Kris lounge. It is a bit of a walk from the closest Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge, more so than you think. It was smaller than the other lounges and slightly crowded. But this is where I had my most substantial pre-flight meal: some omelette, cereals, and bread. I sat by the bar and ordered hot mocha. The food selection was much more superior than its counterpart in Manila. I still haven't decided on what to do with my Singapore hotel yet and I tried to sort it out. This is the lounge I believe I made a nasty discovery that would preoccupy my mind come the flight - I was passed the cancellation deadline for a hotel (and it would not be the only cancellation deadline I would be passed, but that is a different story for another time).
SQ705 from BANGKOK-SUVARNABHUMI to SINGAPORE-CHANGI
Flight Number: SQ705
Gate: D6
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
Scheduled Departure Time: 09:40
Aircraft Registration: (TBA)
Just under a half hour before the flight, I found myself boarding the plane. An odd thing is that even if there was a separate door for business class, I boarded through the economy class door because my seat would be closer to that door.
One advantage of the A350 is that there were two business class cabins. I chose to sit in the smaller cabin. It had a more intimate feeling with just three rows.
Having covered this seat in detail in the SQ915 trip report, there is nothing much to add about it except to say that as it is a bulkhead seat, there was space for a baby bassinet next to the large IFE monitor. So it meant more space for me to store my stuff. The foot cubby was slightly larger than the ones in the non-bulkhead seats so my feet would move comfortably. It was slightly closer to the aisle so it was slightly less private but with the extra space for everything, I thought it was worth it.
As the plane was taxiing, I still had to sort the hotel cancellation issue out so it meant having to call the booking engine to see what could be done. Unfortunately I had to cut the call as I didn't want to get more crossed eyebrows from the cabin crew and told them I had to come back. I just waited with anxiety to see if I would part with over S$250.
Shortly after the seatbelt sign was switched off, it was time to serve breakfast. One thing that was different about this flight compared to the MNL-SIN flight was that the main course and appetiser were served together. The crew prepared our table with white linens. For some reason, I preferred this set-up more. I enjoyed the sausage and the omelette. I ate some of the spinach and other sides as well.
TIP: Secure your meal preference by prebooking it online up to 24 hours before the flight. Meal selections are the same as what is written on the menu for the flight.
The IFE interface for this aircraft is another difference from what is seen at the 787-10. The remote control also looks different and you can point and aim it at the main IFE screen. But your content and settings, subject to rights restrictions, remain fairly intact. I spent some time setting up my playlist which I could then continue using on future SIA flights. You can also customise the views and information shown on the airshow channel. But one notable feature that is absent from this regional A350 is live satellite TV.
Wifi was also available and working well. It is free-of-charge for business class passengers but one's allocation cannot be used on more than one device at the same time.
After getting connected to wifi, I got an email saying they would waive the cancellation fees for the hotel in question. It was a huge sigh of relief for the time-being. (That would not be the only hotel I forgot to cancel but I will leave that for another report.) It meant I could reallocate the money to attempt unlocking one of my phones.
TIP: Having a Kris Flyer frequent flyer account has some IFE advantages. You can get some free wifi for at least part of the flight. Also, you can create a playlist and continue viewing/listening to your content on a future flight.
Later on, I used the lavatory. As this aircraft is also used for some medium-haul flights, it came with toiletries for passengers who wished to freshen up. I got some shavers for myself others such as a dental kit were also available.
I took a peek at the economy class cabin. That cabin was not completely full. Others could spread out across all seats on their bloc if they wanted to.
Given what I was preoccupied with earlier, I barely had any time to try the seat's bed mode. At most, I spent 10 minutes playing with it.
Soon enough, it was time for the flight to descend and approach Singapore. We found out that we would be using Terminal 3, which has been a rarity for me on my flights from Manila.
After we landed and stopped at the gate, I asked the crew to take a few more photos of me sitting on my seat.
One thing that I was slightly irked out with was that the flight used only one aerobridge even if it was in its home airport and there was a second aerobridge that could be used. Luckily our gate was near passport control. It seems as if I tried going through a kiosk that was intended for Singaporean citizens as it had difficulty letting me through after scanning my passport there. A member of staff sent me to the kiosks meant for foreigners.
I got my bags quickly but I was whisked for a random search at customs. That has never happened to me previously at Changi Airport. The staff asked me to put my bag through the scanner. They asked me if I had electronic devices. They drew attention to my hand luggage and the item that set the alarm off was the remote to my Apple TV device. They did not confiscate anything and I was on my way soon.
But I had business to take care of at the nearby Jewel. First I dropped my Macbook Pro off at the Apple Store so they could repair it. Then I had to attend a virtual meeting with my boss regarding a conference I would attend the following week. These would keep me in the vicinity for a few more hours. Given the amount of bags I had, I had to take a Grab to my hotel and arrive there shortly before 16.00.
That would not be my only time to be at Changi Airport on this day. I had to return late at night to see off a friend who would be visiting the Philippines. It would be my first time to see Terminal 4 then.
RATINGS FOR THE FLIGHT
These are rated from 1 to 10 with ten being the best score. Also, please note that given the COVID-19 pandemic, expectations have been adjusted accordingly. This covers aspects of the flight experience that Singapore Airlines and its ground agents are responsible for with a focus on Business Class.
- Check-in (10/10): It was a fairly straightforward check-in process
- Lounge (9/10): The Silver Kris lounge in Bangkok is much better (and busier) than the Manila lounge. I loved the food selection. It was a slightly small lounge though.
- Boarding Process (9/10): It was fairly organised. Too bad I didn't take advantage of the early boarding for business class not used the business class-only boarding door.
- Seating area (10/10): Please tell me a carrier that guarantees a flat bed on all regional flights. This easily passes as a long-haul product on many other carriers and given what I've heard about SIA's long-haul business class, I wouldn't be surprised if I like this regional business class better. If there was any criticism of it, it is that the flight was way too short to enjoy it.
- Food (10/10): Very delicious offering. I liked that the food was served more quickly and in one go this time.
- Cabin Crew (10/10): If there is one thing that makes SIA the best, it has to be their crew. They pay attention to detail and are courteous. I am especially pleased with the young male flight attendant who served my section.
- Punctuality (10/10): We left the gate early, flight was shorter than actually advertised. We landed way ahead of schedule.
- In-flight Entertainment and Connectivity (9/10): Content was about the same as the 787's IFE. Interesting interface especially where you aim the remote at the main TV screen. You can customise the views and information seen on the moving map. You can also continue where you left off from the previous flight and if you use your Kris Flyer account (though if you have trips at the end of the month, some saved content could be withdrawn). Wifi was available and reasonably fast under the circumstances. But unlike the 787 flight I was on, this one did not feature live TV.
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 67 avis concernant 10 compagnies sur la ligne Bangkok (BKK) → Singapore (SIN).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Singapore Airlines avec 8.7/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 2 heures et 17 minutes.
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