Hello Flight-Reporters, I hope you enjoy segment 7 of 11 on this 32K miles around the world Star Alliance journey.
After a very nice dinner in Sydney next to the Opera House, an early morning flight from SYD to Singapore was on the agenda. I remember having a choice. The early flight on a 777-300 with 1x2x1 business class seating, or the A330 with 2x2x2 seating later on. The choice was obvious, and wrong.
If you ever transit through Sydney, the Rydges hotel is just outside the international terminal. Plus the train to downtown is inside the terminal. It's all super convenient to take an overnight stay and visit beautiful downtown Sydney. Although be forewarned, the train fare is 50% higher from the airport instead of the first stop after at Mascot. But if you stay at a hotel at that stop you pay for shuttle bus to the airport so in the end it's a wash and only a few bucks anyway.
Another modern airport. Immigration was empty as was security. But the airport was fairly busy at 7AM.
Off to the SilverKris lounge which was right above the gate.
A single room with a nice view of the airfield.
Breakfast was being served with an eclectic selection.
What's this outside the window? Is Star Alliance following me? In fact yes, after making a couple other SIN-MEL runs it was dispatched to Sydney to take me back.
Once on board because of my experience I found my seat without guidance. The flight attendant was impressed.
At least it was daytime so I could get some better interior photos.
Wait, that's not my seat. It is one of the 8 empty first class seats on this flight. Even with no one in first they still kept the curtains pulled and didn't allow deplaning through the front cabin.
Since there were no occupants I thought it was nice of them to properly place the pillows for my photos.
I fail to see the privacy in this first class cabin, unless no one is in it.
Row 2 has less leg room than row 11 in business class.
Back to business, literally.
Not much has changed in a couple days, except the sun was out.
11A. And why does business get two pillows and first only one?
11A legroom - take that first class.
Storage under the side bench, not allowed on take-off and landing.
Plenty of room upstairs.
The seats don't recline very far. But your feet get a rest.
Bulkhead seat phone storage.
Non-bulkhead seats have a different storage area for your phone.
This was not allowed on take-off, even when closed. And I know the phone doesn't weigh 2 pounds.
For your drink, except you can't reach it sitting down.
To freshen up, when not sitting down.
Nicely positioned seat controls.
Headphones hook.
Coat hook.
Reading lamp. (and a 2nd headphone jack)
And away they go across barren Australia.
Time for breakfast. Orange juice was served upon boarding. I suppose one could have gotten some champagne. I'm not one of those AM champagne ones.
Showing the beverage menu again is pointless other than to prove a point. Skeptical of all these selections are actually available, I asked one of the flight attendants if they were. She told me absolutely. Later on I asked the other flight attendant for a Guatemala coffee. He apologized and said they were out.
My suspicions were confirmed.
I was anxious to try the Malaysian breakfast Nasi Lemak having had it before, especially after the disastrous American style breakfast on this very plane a couple days ago.
Service began with the typical fresh fruit served on nice sized tray. Have to love the salt and pepper shakers.
The muesli was tasty, and tiny.
If I thought the Melbourne scrambled eggs were bad, then I was in for a huge surprise in the bad category.
Enjoy your bowl of grease. The chicken was a wing of skin, the shrimp were not good and the peanuts had been soaked in oil I think. But the chili sauce tasted like chili sauce. For a supposedly health dish, this was not. I ate the rice.
Before arrival a light lunch was served. This time I opted for the more international cuisine.
Be wary of the last selection on that menu.
The seared tuna nicoise salad was a presentation disaster. It tasted slightly better yet the tuna loin was anything but quality tuna.
The veal was tender and flavorful with a single fondant potato lurking beneath. Baby?? carrots must be in season.
And where did "light lunch" come from??
The ice cream fit nicely in the small bowl, but the name "Serendipity Salty Pistachio Ice Cream" would not have.
But wait. What is this page in the front of the menu?
Pralines for a sweet celebration of National Day. I'm in!
Here is a photo of the pralines.
Oh, they didn't have any.
All in all I was very disappointed in the Singapore business class food on the 3 flights this trip.
Amenities
At least I got the right size slippers this time.
Sydney International was great for some plane spotting.
Looking forward to this one next trip.
And this one's sister the A330 on that trip too.
We'll see this guy next.
And this one soon too!
SQ A350
A final thought.
I don't get it.
Hello, rewardflying, and thank you for this FR :)
The SilverKris lounge at SYD looks quite nice! Natural lighting and view of the apron are fantastic, but was there a business facility of the sorts?
Yikes, the catering fell short for Singapore. I'm a bit surprised you didn't use their "Book the Cook" service, why was that so?
QF's new Business Class on their A330s sure do look snazzy, and I think more competitive than what SQ has to offer on the same route. If I had to choose between the two, I'd be more likely to choose QF, I think.
Thanks again, and happy flying!
Hi Razza_PR, thanks for your comments. While the lounge was nice I don't recall seeing a business facility, although I'm sure there was one. I was too busy hunting down coffee at 7AM.
I guess book the cook never crossed my mind seeing that the 2 long haul flights were overnight then early morning. Wasn't thinking food. But next year on the A380 JFK-SIN suites and 777 4 seat FC to AKL I will for sure be booking many cooks as all 3 are dinner or lunch flights.
I'm looking forward to the QF/VA cabins. QF has the Vantage plus which SAS flies and I really like the seat. Then VA has the Super Diamond which Air Canada, Qatar, and now American among others have. Having been in both either one is great for a long haul flight. I guess it will depend on the soft product to see who wins that showdown. Report on SAS is the last one in this series coming soon. Next up is the surprise of the trip. Thanks again for reading.
Nice report, an honest insight for SQ which has proven its recent trend of downward progression. Someone in the planning team must checkout your two flights down under and think about what can be done to salvage their reputation before they end up being like EU carriers.
Nevertheless a correction on the nasi lemak part, it is the worst nightmare for cholesterol and weight watchers, it was never meant to be a health dish. Disproportionate distribution of carbs and protein plus the lack of greens makes it among the unhealthiest yet tastiest dish of Malaysian food. Guess I should try it out on my upcoming SQ J flight, should they offer, to see how bad it is.
Thanks for your comments JW19. Ha, I was thinking the western bacon or sausage breakfast with my "healthy" comment. But you are correct, there wasn't anything healthy about this one either. Will be interested in reading about your upcoming SQ flight
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It's not so often that SQ gets a bad grade in J !
I can undestand your appreciation of the catering and your dissapointment as it's not exceptionnal but I must admit that I am surprised by the rating you give to the cabin as the seat are wide confortable etc.
Hi Skyteamchic. Thanks for reading. You are correct, the seats are wide for sure, the widest business class seats in the industry by far. But I don't agree that they are comfortable. They don't recline and are worn so not much cushion. I thought the regional 2x2x2 A330 seats were more comfortable for sitting. Granted the 777 long haul seats are being replaced with the newer J class seats which I only experienced on their A350 for a short 20 minute flight so can't really comment. But the same goes with those. SQ gives you width in business class but not length. I'm thinking maybe more length is better. I could be wrong.