Hello everyone, welcome back to another flight review! Today, I'll be embarking on a journey from Beijing to Singapore aboard their Boeing 777-300 ER in F! With some of my older reviews (before discovering this site), they have slightly less indepth than my later journeys. Nonetheless, I've got some solid material and I really wanted to share this unique experience. Furthermore, I'll also get to experience the reverse trip from Singapore in a few months, this time as detailed as usual!
Let's get going!
A quick shameless plug: I stayed the night at the Hilton Airport hotel, which has this view of the terminal. There's routine shuttles taking you to and back, only five minutes per trip. Highly recommend for anyone with an early flight!
There are quite a few flights between Beijing and Singapore, only one on the 777-300 ER featuring a first class cabin. There are also flights that depart from Daxing airport. Unfortunately, no luxury of the A380s from Beijing. For anyone flying between China and Singapore, I'd recommend taking a short flight to Shanghai and taking the A380 fromt there, as prices are similar from Beijing and Shanghai. As awesome as SQ are, you just can't compare to the giant!
All F flights, regardless of airline, provide access to Air China's First Class lounge. At the time the F and J lounges were identical, but CA have made recent efforts to elevate the F lounge experience. Feel free to check out my review from Beijing to Vancouver for the new lounge additions, but I'm unsure if the mini F-exclusive dining section is reserved for CA F passengers only, or any carrier (despite gaining access for all carriers).
A good breakfast offering. My favorite being the made to order wontons. A mix of Asian and Western buffet options, overall very tasty.
After a brief lounge visit, I headed down for some plane spotting. A rare Iraqi airways bird in the distance, the first I've seen!
Some other early morning widebodies on display.
Here's my bird this morning, a 17 year old Boeing 777-300 ER.
Boarding began around 8:30, and I was among the first on board. Here's the first look at my seat today, 1F. A very unique seat. Perhaps not the most glamorous modern F seat, but extremely comfortable! The seat width was probably my favorite aspect.
Sitting down, the incredible space is truly emphasized. Waiting for me was a menu card and B&O heaphones. I loved the Ottoman's design and color. The IFE screen is also showing its age, not as large compared to some newer F products, but very responsive regardless. The right side under the IFE features charging ports.
The female crew member introduced herself and offered a La Lique branded amenity kit, pictured here on the Ottoman. Apologies for not showing the detailed offerings. La Lique branded pyjamas were also provided.
Welcome drinks were also offered, and some champagne was provided.
Upon request, a fluffy fleece blanket was offered. Again, sorry for this blurry picture!
Despite not having a door, the Suite's walls are sufficiently high to ensure decent privacy. The IFE controller is hidden under the armrest, with seat controls (very ancient ones) right above.
The F cabin was completely full today, and for an older product its privacy still holds up.
Breakfast was on the agenda today, here's a look at the options.
I asked the crew on whether I could steal some bears, and they came back a few minutes later with these adorable guys! SQ changes their bear designs once in a while, since these are usually reserved for children be sure to collect them if you travel with them often! The crew were more than happy to make an exception for me:)
Speaking of the crew, this was part of the experience that left more to be deisred. I've flown with SQ a few times, and the crew (regardless of class) were always wonderful. In particular, my journey in Suites had exceptional crew, far above and beyond what's required. I'm unsure whether the Beijing route is considered less prioritized, but the crew today were rather cold and distant. They were always attentive and happy to help, but often without a smile and seemed in a hurry to end any customer interactions. One of the passengers in my cabin was a young girl travelling by herself, and even then the crew didn't seem too engaged with taking care of her. No complaints on their professionalism or service, but it did feel they lacked some of the Singaporean love!
We soon began pushing back, and passed by the queen on our trek.
Taxxing over the T3 bridge.
Having only slept a few hours, I asked for turndown service immediately after take off. Despite only being a six-hour flight, SQ fully stocked all the bedding, which was incredible. I bring this up only to compare with China Eastern, who offer a full First Class experience between Shanghai and Singapore where they don't always stock full bedding, which is frustrating.
Both pillows were extremely fluffy, and the comfy mattress+duvet helped me grab 3 good hours of rest.
Looking in from above.
A few hours later, I woke up hungry and ready to eat. Meal service began with a fruit plate. Interesting to kick off the meal with fruit, but no complaints! Very fresh, and loved the mango that was offered.
Next up, which seems to be a custom across almost all F flights on all carriers, some milk and cereal. I also had the choice of a few pastries, I went with a sweet almond danish and an iced americano.
The best part of the meal service was essentially having a breakfast in bed!
For the main course, a very classic Asian breakfast of seafood congee with dim sum. I wish they'd have a larger assortment of dimsum, but Beijing catering is known for being rather lackluster. The shrimp congee tasted great, overall a wonderfully light start to the day.
As breakfast wrapped up, we already began descending into Singapore. I finished off the trip with some How I met your mother.
The F cabin has a very sleek design, with the back being my favorite. Looks like something taken out of an art gallery.
Dimmed cabin.
As we began descending into Changi, the lights turned off and windowshades raised.
We touched down into Changi at 15:12, seven minutes behind schedule. With no Garuda Indonesia flights operating in Beijing ,this was a first for me!
