Over the past years, Singapore Airlines has had to make many service adjustments due to Covid,
but after this journey with them, I can say for sure they are back on the up and up.
Originally, I was booked on Singapore’s non-stop service- but after some ticketing
changes, I ended up on the direct service via Frankfurt- departing JFK on Thanksgiving day.
It should have been a travel headache, but it was far from it.
Typically it would be a normal routing via Frankfurt,
but the second leg had an added 45 minutes of flying in order to avoid Afghan airspace-
which is why you might notice the FRA-SIN leg is “late” every day.
I arrived at Kennedy’s Terminal 4, three and a half hours before departure expecting crazy long
lines, but it was surprisingly quiet. I’m generally a fan of terminal four which is
dominated by Delta even though I rarely fly Delta. Terminal 4 is also the home of a long list of
other airlines, including Singapore at the moment. But now, we need to get to the nitty gritty
process of checking in. Singapore had around 16 agents available for their two flights leaving
that evening. I was able to walk straight up to an agent, but it was a long process. I had a final
destination of Thailand and I cannot stress how important it is to be prepared with the correct
documents for your final destination. I had to show ten separate documents, which were each
individually approved by a supervisor. I kid you not, two passengers on each side of me were denied
boarding. One couple for not having a signature on their PCR test- a requirement for Cambodia,
one guy did not yet have his Thailand Pass QR code and the last insisted that he didn’t need
a prepaid quarantine hotel booking for Taipei and so the check in agents insisted he could not fly.
All of that said, the agents were truly the best I’ve seen having to patiently
navigate a system where every country has different requirements. My hat is off to them.
Security was surprisingly light and with unexpected time on hand, I was quickly off to
lounge hop a bit, with the Amex Centurion Lounge coming up first. Many travelers absolutely rave
about any and all Amex lounges. I’ll be honest- I generally just think they’re ok. Comfortable
seating, an ok food selection and a full bar were all on hand here. The JFK lounge is 2 levels and
100% you should go straight to the lower level. The Amex app said “Almost full” as I checked in,
but in reality just the upper floor was full. Down below, it was empty. Passing through
what I’m calling the Jelly bean stairwell you’ll find empty chairs, sweeping views,
a quiet bar and one other feature that makes this lounge quite special.
Do you see it?
How about now? The JFK lounge actually has a speakeasy
through this unassuming door. The atmosphere is completely different
and I was perhaps a bit too comfortable during my stay here. I suggest to get here as fast as
you can- and while you can actually get a seat before everyone knows about it.
After an hour, I passed by the non-stop flight’s gate and headed to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse.
Singapore uses the Clubhouse for their Business & First passengers departing JFK
and it was phenomenal. Inviting, quirky but comfortable with truly top rate staff. There
are a wide variety of seating areas as well as a pool table and a few other Easter eggs.
What really set them apart though was the food and drink on offer. Scan a QR code on your table
and you are given access to the longest F&B list I’ve ever seen at a lounge. The menu just goes
on and on. I settled for a Chicken burger which honestly blew my expectations out of the water.
Singapore has made a very wise choice in partnering with the Clubhouse.
Boarding commenced at gate A7 on a beautiful fourteen year old 777, sporting the Star
Alliance livery. I just learned why only SQ has a white tail for this special livery- do
you know why? Originally SQ kept their own tail colors on the special livery aircraft
as they believe the black Star Alliance tail was not in harmony with Feng Shui design principles-
and so they compromised by introducing a white Star Alliance tail. Learn something new everyday.
15K is where I was settled in for the full journey- a bulkhead bassinet fitted seat.
Noise canceling headphones, a COVID care kit and a bottle of water
along with eye shades and slippers were waiting at my seat. There were no amenity kits offered
on this leg- though they were proactively given out when reboarding in Frankfurt.
Let’s take a look at our aircraft today. This 777 features four First Class open suites,
48 Business Class seats, 28 in Premium Economy and finally 184 in Economy.
We all know though that not all seats- even in the same class- are created equal so here
is my rundown for this configuration. First off, avoid 19 and 21 A & K, all four seats are missing
windows. Also, keep in mind that rows 20, 22 and 23 are directly over the wing so you might not
be happy with your seat if you’re planning to use the window as your primary form of entertainment.
As for the best seats. 11 A & K are the clear winners, but good luck snagging one of these
without status. Otherwise, the middle seats of row 11 or all of row 15 are the next best options for
extra leg room. Unfortunately as is too common these days, there are no individual air vents
anywhere on the plane and keep in mind if you’re in row 15, there are some trade offs for all of
that extra leg room you’ll have. First, each seat in this row is outfitted with a bassinet-
which might be challenging. Second, because of the bassinet mounts the Entertainment monitors
are a good three inches higher than what would feel natural. The first 100mb of wifi
is free for all Business class passengers with opportunities to buy more at ridiculous prices.
Soon enough we were on a fairly short taxi to runway 22R for this 7 hour and three
minute flight to Frankfurt. And while the 777 is not my favorite aircraft to fly on,
the spool up of the GE90 engines is literally one of my favorite sounds on earth.
Taking off to the southwest, we bid farewell with views of the Manhattan skyline in the distance.
Before the first supper service, I browsed through the on board entertainment with my
hand held controller. In this area, Singapore is good- but not fantastic. There were plenty of
movies on offer, but it gets annoying when there are only only one or two episodes of a particular
show available. Either way though I was happy to settle in with my yearly dose of this classic.
I adjusted my seat with the simple to use controls that are not easily accidently pushed and a drink
service started. The appetizer on offer was a cold-poached Salmon with caper and lemon
aioli served with a selection of breads. For the main, I went with the slow roasted beef filet
from the Book the Cook menu. Keep in mind, Book the cook offerings from Singapore are limited,
but going to Singapore are extremely limited. Service was rounded out with a trio of fresh
fruit, cheese and crackers and a lemon cheesecake. Overall a good meal, if not a bit typical.
Bathroom tours are not usually my thing, but I will point out one thing I always look for
now as an indication of overall cleanliness. High touch fixtures. Are they full of smudges?
Kinda clean? Over a decade old and still shining like new?
It’s details like this which I think sets SQ apart from some competitors.
Somewhere over the eastern Atlantic we were treated to a stunning sunrise which
literally made the engines glow.
Around an hour before landing we were offered a snack service. It was much better than it looked.
In descent, we left our blue skies behind and passed through layer after layer of cloud cover-
eventually breaking through the last layer just north of Frankfurt.
Our downwind approach took us out past the airport with an eventual final into runway 25R.
A grey and gloomy downtown Frankfurt was there to
greet us as we touched down and then began our very long taxi to gate B46-
interestingly enough the same gate I flew into on this very flight six years earlier.
Eventually pulling in next to a Turkish 777. All passengers are required to disembark
while the plane is refueled, refreshed and the crew changed.
We had around an hour to kill in Frankfurt which could be spent
plane spotting- or if you prefer you could make your way to the nearby Lufthansa Senator Lounge.
The lounge is bright and open- and pretty busy- with a variety of seating areas, many
drink options with a limited assortment of snacks to go along with your oh-so-German 10:00 beer.
There’s also an awkwardly placed First Class section smack in the middle of the lounge-
I supposed for your viewing pleasure.
Boarding started again a few minutes late and we taxied to runway 18-
through a sea of fellow Star Alliance carriers.
Before eventually taking an extended aircraft selfie. I suppose if there’s
any benefit to the direct service, it’s that you get to hear the spool up, twice.
Once again through those clouds and ready for the largest meal service of the journey,
starting of course with their famous chicken satay and followed by a sauteed prawn and quinoa salad-
which I’ve now had three times, not one of which was enjoyable to be honest.
All of that was made good though by the main, Bavarian style pork belly with beer sauce.
But first, let’s admire that jiggle courtesy of a bit of turbulence.
If you love pork belly like me, you understand. If you’re vegan, I apologize.
The meal was rounded out with a Chocolate Hazelnut cake which was supposed to be one of those
“I’ll have just one bite” desserts. I tend to tell myself lies more often these days.
The sun set in spectacular fashion as we crossed into Saudi Arabia over the Hijaz Mountains.
One of my favorite things to do on overnight flights is try to identify small cities we’re
flying over while in flight. If you know which city in Saudi this is,
leave it in the comments below.
As I mentioned earlier, amenity kits were waiting at each seat when we reboarded in Frankfurt.
Provided by Penhaligon’s of London- the pouch is actually a great size and quality
with lotion, lip balm, facial mist and perfume oil inside.
Our final meal service, breakfast, started around 90 minutes before landing.
It started off with some fresh fruit followed by copious amounts of iced americanos,
some pastries that have seen better days, yogurt and a really really nice cold cuts plate-
which I much prefer over eggs on a plane that were cooked 12 hours ago.
Day broke as we began our approach for Changi’s runway 02L.
I’ve flown into Changi, I don’t know, 30 times? And not once have I ever been on the correct
side of the aircraft to enjoy a skyline view. At least, I always have the boats.
While aviation in the US is practically back at pre-pandemic levels- that is still very much not
the case in Asia, which you’re always reminded of flying past rows and rows of parked aircraft.
At least though, I can say I’m happy the A380s have returned to regular service with SQ-
in fact this very flight will transition to an A380 in the very near future,
giving New York a taste of their new First Class suites for the first time.
A short taxi later, we were at our gate, pulling in next to a baby SQ in her new livery.
After a very organized deplaning, we were free to enter the airport without restrictions-
so I made my way to the brand new Silver Kris lounge, which opened just 3 days prior.
I’ll give a bit of a tour in my next video, detailing my arrival
into Bangkok under the Test & Go scheme. But for now let’s jump into the Flip Flop Score.
SQ has one of my favorite business class seats, when I manage to get a bulkhead,
but the monitor is at a funny angle, 8/10. The service on both sectors was extremely
attentive without hovering, a solid 10. From this ticket I had access to the
Virgin Clubhouse, Senator Lounge and Silver Kris lounge, how could this not be a 10/10?
I’m sensing a pattern here because cleanliness also gets a full 10. The website is easy to
navigate, though their app has been glitchy lately when logging in, 9/10. Book the cook
is very limited on this service, but it’s still a wide selection for mains, 9/10. The appetizers
were hit or miss, but the mains all carried them through- also a 9. The entertainment system is
sufficient and had a great holiday section, just wish its TV offerings were better 9/10.
Amenities were a definite improvement over my last flight at an 8 and It’s nice to have a free 100mb
of fast wifi, but their data caps for additional data make the prices steep, 8/10. Overall,
a very solid 90/100 and a great indication of where SQ will be headed in the next year.
As always, thanks for watching and subscribing and I’ll see you in a few days with a new video.