Review of Singapore Airlines flight Tokyo → Singapore in First

Airline Singapore Airlines
Flight SQ11
Class First
Seat 4F
Aircraft Airbus A380-800
Flight time 07:40
Take-off 18 Mar 16, 20:50
Arrival at 19 Mar 16, 03:30
SQ   #5 out of 93 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 677 reviews
socalnow
By 3131
Published on 11th April 2016
Greetings Flight Report community and welcome to this series of flights.

Star Alliance Lounges LAX and Singapore Airlines LAX-NRT (A380) (Suites) http://flight-report.com/en/report-13908.html
ANA Suite Lounge NRT and Singapore Airlines NRT-SIN (A380) (Suites) SQ "Arrivals" Lounge (This Report)
The Private Room and T2 First Class Lounge SIN and Singapore Airlines SIN-KUL-SIN (A350) (Business) (Coming Soon)
DNATA and SATS Lounges SIN and Qatar Airways SIN-DOH (A350) (Business) (Coming Soon)
Al Safwa First CLass Lounge DOH and Qatar Airways DOH-AUH (A320) (First) (Coming Soon)
Etihad Premium Lounge(s) T1 and T3 and Etihad Airways AUH-NRT (A340-600) (First) (Coming Soon)
JAL First Class Lounge HND and Japan Airlines HND-SFO (777-300ER) (First) (Coming Soon)
Admirals Club SFO and American Airlines SFO-LAX (737-800) (First) (No Report)

We pick up the journey arriving at Narita Airport after a lovely Pacific crossing courtesy of Singapore Airlines. At the top of the jet way I encounter a sign with my name on it. I inquire with the SQ representative. She assures me they are doing there best to re-accommodate me in light of the inoperative electrical socket at seat 4A. She indicates that if they are able to secure another window seat they will deliver a new boarding pass to the lounge. I'm not sure the purpose of this encounter but I suppose I do commend their diligence and focus on customer service. Calling me aside to update me that nothing has changed is a bit odd.

My next course of action was to proceed through the brief security screening and then off to the ANA Suites Lounge adjacent to our gate.



As is procedure I am welcomed into the lounge and after selecting a seat I am asked for my beverage of choice. I request sparkling water and it is delivered with the omnipresent oshibori.

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I ask the attendant about shower arrangements and I am quickly assigned a well appointed shower suite.



Felling refreshed and back in the lounge I have a look around to survey the food and beverage offerings.



There is a somewhat minimalist buffet setup.



Self serve wine and spirits.

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The highlight of the lounge for me is the pill-box style opening in the wall called the Noodle Bar.



Not hungry per se but wanting a taste of something Japanese I request the curry from the little old man in the box. It's a very tasty dish and one of my favorite examples of Japanese comfort foods. I embelish with a few items from the buffet including some pickles.

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With so much time on this tech stop due to our early arrival I take a walk to the extreme ends of the terminal. I pop into the United CLub and the somewhat confused agent scans my boarding pass and grants me entry. Unfortunately the Global First Lounge is closed for the evening so I make my exit.

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I head to the Delta Sky Club next. It's a very nostalgic place for me as I have spent many hours over the years excitedly anticipating flights to all of Delta's destinations. I have an AMEX card that grants me entry but only when flying Delta. I thought the agent might look the other way and or not be fully informed of the rules but she would not accept my SQ boarding pass. She offered to charge me $50 to enter. That was thoughtful.

The flying day for Delta at NRT was just about finished with only the HNL and GUM departures remaining.

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I returned to the ANA lounge and feeling invigorated from the brisk walk. Shortly after my return I was approached by an ANA staff, who, in a deja vu moment said, "Mr. Socalnow I have been looking for you. We have moved your seat to 4F due the malfunction of seat 4A. Please accept this new boarding pass." There you go Singapore Airlines took this minor nuisance seriously and corrected the "problem".

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I enjoyed a water and coffee.

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With no sign of boarding yet I visited the old man in the pill box again and secured some nice kakiage soba and iced tea. Nice views form the dining area too.



The always entertaining Japanese TV.

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Finally it was approaching time to board so I made my way downstairs to rekindle my romance with this great airline.

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Boarding was announced and I was among the handful of Suites passengers to alight at this time.

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Welcomed by a cadre of smiles, colorful garments, addressed my name, and this time shown to suite 4F.



Very thirsty from the escalator ride down to the gate I found hydration quickly.

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Goodies were distributed but this time no amenity kit. I suppose I could have asked for one but I hadn't even opened the first one…

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There was a +/- 30 minute delay due to a malfunctioning smoke alarm in the lavatory but eventually were off and SQ11 resumed.

Meal service started promptly with the always wonderful satay.

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The luxury of caviar was presented next.

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In the interest of glutony I asked if I may have the seafood appetizer as well. This was the first misstep in the food that I sampled to this point and only manage a bite or two.

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Pea puree soup with onion custard was presented. It was somewhat flat even though bacon was invited into the pool. Maybe I was just overwhelmed with rich flavors at this point too. Probably a combination of both.

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Not wanting to miss a thing I order the salad with citrus yogurt dressing.

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The stir fried prawns in hot garlic sauce were my choice fore the mail. It was a simple dish but well cooked. I will dispute the "hot" moniker to describe any part of this dish.

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Far too tired and stuffed I tapped out and declines the dessert/fruit/cheese/praline parade. My throne was quickly converted to bed and I was out for the duration.

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I compose myself and become upright about 30 minutes before arrival. I question the scheduling of this flight as 03:30 is not a humane time to arrive anywhere.

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We touch down at 45 minutes behind schedule.

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I was too cheap to pay for a hotel for a 3:30 arrival so my status as a transit passenger came in handy as I proceeded to the T3 Silver Kris Lounge complex. I will only need one night hotel rather than two.

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I was welcomed into the lounge and it was explained that The Private Room will open at 5:00 and the agent will come fetch me at that time. Until then I will have to "make due" with the First Class Lounge. It is acknowledged that my connection to KUL isn't until that evening. The host inquires if I plan to stay at the lounge until that time but I inform her that I will leave and go into town after breakfast.



Really only an hour until TPR is available so I make use of the shower.



I have a look at the rather generous spread in the First Class Lounge, for the time of day. I decide to save my appetite for TPR.



At about 5:01 I was informed of the opening of TPR and I relocated to the dining room for breakfast.

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The menu, a cappuccino and water.

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I have a look around the dining room. I always wonder why they bother with the buffet…



Knowing I'll be in town for over 24 hours and that I will will get my fill of Singaporean food I opt for the eggs benedict. My goodness it was perhaps the best example of this dish I have ever encountered.

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I retire to the seating area to plan my next move.



I decide to head to the hotel for the night in hopes of an early check in. Breeze through immigration and into a taxi. See you again in a few hours Changi!
See more

Verdict

Singapore Airlines

8.8/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering8.5

ANA Suite Lounge Satellite No. 4

8.0/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Services8.0

Tokyo - NRT

9.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Singapore - SIN

9.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

Thank you for joining me on continuation of SQ11.

The Ground Service: Again, I will commend all of the staff that I encountered and how they were very proactive in dealing with the minor issue of the plug in 4A being inoperative. 4F was perfect.

The Lounge: I like the ANA lounges. Aesthetically they are handsome and the food is very appealing to me. The staff is always fantastic. The shower and amenities were perfect.

The Cabin: It a feast for the senses to board the SQ A380 in Suites and this was no exception.

The Crew: Fun, thorough, thoughtful, and rather easy on the eyes. I can't say enough about this group of professionals who also give the appearance of enjoying their work.

The Food and Beverage: Excellent champagne was plentiful. There were a few dishes that missed the mark, in my opinion, but still a lovely meal, perfectly paced, and of course very generous in choice and diversity.

Overall: I could copy and paste from any number of SQ reports. I'll let their marketing tag line explain, Singapore Airlines, a great way to fly.

Information on the route Tokyo (NRT) → Singapore (SIN)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 20 avis concernant 5 compagnies sur la ligne Tokyo (NRT) → Singapore (SIN).

Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Singapore Airlines avec 8.6/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 8 heures et 5 minutes.

  More information

4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 161877 by
    mognut 20 Comments

    Great report, it's really good that got to go into TPR when you arrived and have some breakfast. The Singapore product looks so good.
    • Comment 346045 by
      socalnow AUTHOR 978 Comments
      Hello mognut and thanks for leaving a comment.

      The Singapore products is very solid and getting some extra time in TPR is always welcome. It's such a relaxing and peaceful space.

      Thanks again and happy flying.
  • Comment 161894 by
    hometoyyz BRONZE 542 Comments
    Thanks for a continuation of this great series.

    Not really a lot to add to my comments on the last report, other than to voice my pleasure and relief that our long national nightmare of a seat without a functioning power outlet is finally over.

    And again, equal parts endearing and hilarious how much attention SQ lavishes on such a small issue. It shows the desire to not accept anything short of perfection.

    And also reaffirms that next time I find myself fortunate enough to book such an experience, I'm holding out for a route like this.

    So looking forward to the rest of the trip.... and to see if anyone further down the trip recognizes you as the guy with the seat without a working power outlet and offers their condolences.

    At this point, I wouldn't be at all surprised.
    • Comment 346046 by
      socalnow AUTHOR 978 Comments
      Greetins Hometoyyz and thanks for the cheeky comments, much enjoyed.

      ...voice my pleasure and relief that our long national nightmare of a seat without a functioning power outlet is finally over.
      -Now we can start the healing process. Grief counselors were made available in the lounge. ;)

      And also reaffirms that next time I find myself fortunate enough to book such an experience, I'm holding out for a route like this.
      -I agree if maximizing the SQ Suites experience is part of your objective this route is a good one. SQ25 isn't a bad choice either. The JFK Clubhouse is a great lounge and you get two full Service sectors on JFK-FRA and FRA-SIN. It might even be better in that you arrive in SIN at a more humane time.

      So looking forward to the rest of the trip.... and to see if anyone further down the trip recognizes you as the guy with the seat without a working power outlet and offers their condolences.
      -Too funny. Alas this didn't happen but I did get a lot of interesting feedback from the crew when I disembarked in KUL and then boarded the same airplane with the same crew about 30 min later, only to return to where we started.

      Thanks again and happy flying.

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