Review of Singapore Airlines flight Amsterdam → Singapore in Business

With the rather high hotel rates in Amsterdam Central, I decided to stay at one of the many airport hotels in Schiphol instead as Schiphol is only a 15min train ride to town. Chose Hyatt Place Schiphol and did not regret my choice at all. There is a shuttle every half hour for the 10min ride between Schiphol and hotel, and the rooms are really big and comfortable, plus a view of take-off/landing planes (depending on runway in use). And, you can also do lots of shopping and dining in Schiphol!






View from room.




This was my 3rd visit to Amsterdam. Some pictures of Amsterdam central.














I Amsterdam




It was Ascension Day, thus flags were at half-mast.




Ascension Day ceremony at Dam Square.




Dinner at Castell for some tasty escargots, ribs and lamb chops.








And some dutch mini pancakes for dessert beside the canal.






Red-light District area



Got a hang-over?




I loved this view.




Next day, stopped by Schiphol's Panaroma Terrace for a bit of spotting.

Mini I amsterdam at Schiphol.




Delta in special livery.




A retired Fokker100 was parked on the rooftop for visits! Simply love Schiphol as an aviation-friendly airport!






Visit to Albert Cuyp Market










Flower market






Main reason to visit Amsterdam, Keukenhof Gardens in spring! Keukenhof is opened only for slightly more than a month each year.














More of Keukenhof
















Dinner at Seafood Bar








Final evening






Spent 15min of my last evening in Amsterdam at Schiphol's Panaroma Terrace.




Finally to end my trip on a high note, I would be flying SQ's Business Class back home. Was initially expected to fly on the new A350, but with the repeated delays in delivery, I ended up flying on the "officially" 3rd last SQ B773ER service (noted "officially" as one of the A350 flights was swapped with a B773ER a week into operation) from AMS. It would also be the 3rd last day of First Class service from Amsterdam.

Check-in at Schiphol's Hall 3, with no wait at the Business Class counters. Business Class was pretty full today though.




During check-in, the agent asked if we wanted to proceed to the lounge as the lounge is a bit of a walking distance away. Why not, I guess, and the agent proceeded to issue a lounge pass. SQ would be using the contracted Aspire Lounge.




Security was fast (there is a dedicated lane for premium pax) but departure immigration was painfully slow for holders of non-EU passports. The number of counters for non-EU passports could not cope with the non-EU departure travellers, a blip in the Schiphol experience.

And indeed, the lounge was a long 10-15min walk from immigration. Lounge was not only used by SQ, but some other airlines as well as Priority Pass holders too, to name a few.




Lounge seems rather basic and was quite packed. Fortunately, SQ passengers had a dedicated area towards the end of the lounge, with an SQ agent ensuring that only SQ pax get to use the area.






View from the lounge.




F&B selection in the dedicated SQ area was nothing too interesting, and was similar to the main F&B area outside.




Had some light bites and beverages. Now I understood why some regular flyers may turn down the lounge invitation. The lounge is nothing fantastic to be worth the 20min to and fro hike.






FIDS. Schiphol is indeed a very busy airport!




Decided to leave the lounge early to take a look at the terminal departure airside. Anyway, the hike to the gate was even longer than the walk from immigration.




Relaxing area with view towards the tarmac.




Plane-spotting during the long hike from the lounge to the gate. Think walking from Changi Terminal 2's F60 to almost E28.








SQ A350 advertisements.




Low-cost section of the terminal.




Turkish A330 in Star Alliance Livery




9V-SWB, which will be flying me back.




Boarding gate. There was a section reserved for premium passengers.






07 May 2016
Singapore Airlines
SQ 323
Amsterdam (AMS) - Singapore (SIN)
B777-300ER
9V-SWB
Business Class
Flight Time: 12H09M


Even though boarding was scheduled at 1045am, an announcement was made that due to late towing of the aircraft to the gate, boarding be slightly delayed as the crew were still rushing to prepare the aircraft.




View of the aircraft from another angle.




Boarding only started slightly after 11am. No way we were going to make it for an on-time departure. Premium passengers were invited to board first. Entered via Door 1 and welcomed at the door by the inflight supervisor.

First Class seat. Nope, I am not seated here.




My seat would be more of a pseudo First Class seat, aka 11A at first row of Business Class. The space available is definitely as good as First. As this throne seat and seat type has been reviewed countless of times, I would not mention more.




The more "exclusive" mini-J Class cabin.




More space than I would need.




Out the window.




All the inflight magazines and stuff.




Headphones (older type), socks, eyeshades, slippers and a bottle of water were already pre-set at each seat.




The standard SQ procedure or hot towels and drinks. I decided to go for the welcome featured mix cocktail "Sunrise Meadow", which is a mix of orange and pineapple juices topped with soda water.




A look at the menu selection.








Champagne and wines




The Alcohols




And the non-alcohols




Coffees and teas






Safety video shown.




Pushed back more than half hour late but the pilot informed that some time would be made up enroute. Flight time was expected to be about 12hrs.

TUI B787




Taxi to the runway.




And departure from Rwy18L.















My earlier ordered post-takeoff drink of Earl Grey was delivered.




SQ's signature satays was served as canapes. Also started on my IFE movie.




Visit to the lavatory before the start of lunch service.




SQ has replaced its Loccitane amenities to Miller Harris. I personally has never heard of the brand, and also much preferred the previous Loccitane products. Felt the fragrance of the new brand to tad too strong for my liking.




Other amenities are still there.




Lunch service started with an appetiser of Foie Gras with Duck Confit. It was a huge flap of foie gras, but I am not a big fan of it. Also had a champagne with the meal.




Garlic bread and breadsticks




For the main course, I had pre-ordered the Book-the-Cook Indonesian Beef Rendang with turmeric rice. It tasted authentically Indonesian and was tasty!




My travel partner had pre-ordered the Ikan Goreng Bumbu Bali (Pan fried seabass coated in a Balinese spice paste, Indonesian vegetables and grated coconut). It was tasty and spicy as well! AMS certainly can cook up quality Indonesian cuisine!




For dessert, there was a choice of Movenpick strawberry ice-cream or Lemon Cheesecake. Both selection were rather ordinary.






Cheeses and fruits to end. I only had a kiwi from the fruit tray.




Ending with a cappuccino and pralines. Service by the set of crew was of the consistently high SQ standards. However, I felt that even though the service can be considered "perfect", it felt rather clinical and lacked personality. At least, from a passenger point of view, you can expect similar standards of good service across almost all SQ flights.




Cruising




DIY turned down my seat into the flat bed. Though I was a bit disappointed with not scoring the A350 and new Business Class seat, 11A on the 773ER can already be considered as one of the best way to fly in Business Class.




TV in bed.




Sunset. Pity the badly scratched window.




Midflight after a movie, I went to the galley to grab some snacks.




A crew also proactively offered hot snacks where I chose to have the Ciabatta with creamy chicken salad and a tea. The Ciabatta was dry and but tasteless.




Slightly less than 2hrs before arrival, breakfast service started with some fresh fruits and breakfast pastries. Fruits were ripe and sweet.




Followed by the Bircher Musli




There was no Book-the-cook selection for Breakfast, thus only menu selections wee available. For the main, I chose the Baked Eggs with Hollandaise sauce and grilled ham and rosti potato. This was not bad but I still preferred the Economy Nasi Goreng on the inbound Garuda flight haha.




Flying above the sprawling city of Kuala Lumpur shortly before we start our descend.




Landing soon.




Landing in Singapore Changi Rwy02L. We arrived a few minutes behind schedule.








Thank you for surviving though my very long report!! All your comments are very much welcomed.