Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer - Service on SQ directly proportional to cost of seat

I have travelled three segments on SQ recently, all first class and all with different seats, namely:

747 - 400 Old first class sleeper seat
A340 - sleeper seat
747 - 400 Super leather sleeper suite

Each plane had the same non-on-demand Krisworld, rather than Wiseman...but thats another topic.

The flight was Ewr-Ams with the nice leather suite, very comfortable blah blah blah, but the service was of the standard of United - in fact that does a disservice to United. When 1-1 contact was made it was the usual SQ style, polite, gracious but missing that friendly touch which UA usually delivers although it may miss out on everything else!

The reason I am a little annoyed with the flight is that other flights I have done with SQ recently have shown far more regard to sevice and attention than this one - maybe I suffer from attention deficit disorder!


The best service on SQ was on the A340 - measured on the basis of 1-1 contact. In fact the flight was fun as the crew made jokes and took time out to ensure I too was having fun. The A340 of course does not have the sleeper seat.

The flight from Cape Town was fine, a little too book-based but I cannot complain as they took time to ensure that everything was as it should be.

Reason for this topic is that I thought the service for first class was lacking in 1-1 contact - I had to go to the galley for a drink on two occasions (I'm not one to press the call button) which may sound pathetic but I think shows general lack of awareness of the cabin, bearing in mind First was only half full.

In general, I felt that safety came second to appeasing the First class passengers:
- glasses werent collected prior to take-off (and this was glass, not plastic as with UA)
- cabins were not checked prior to take-off or landing!
- other items were left lying around and not put away or collected

I ended up feeling that the only plus point was the seat as I slept for 3.5 hours out of 6.5 and was very comfortable when horizontal - although when seated and trying to read, the foot rest would not descend far enough to be comfy.

If I wanted comfort but not the service I would fly UA and get the double miles as a 1K.

Has anyone else observed this, or is it just me? I would have thought that following the problems SQ have had, safety would have been paramount.



[This message has been edited by PITBULL1K (edited 06-14-2001).]

I think it's just you!

SQ will clear the glass when they see it. If you have it tucked away, then maybe you should just bring it to their attention. I have on some occasion just passed it along to the passing FA. I don't think it's a MAJOR issue.

Your attitude towards the 1-1 contact will directly reflect the attention in return. I have always received excellent service in any route, any class, anywhere. I don't demand, I don't expect, and I just treat them like...well, friends.

If you don't buzz the call button, how else do you expect them to come to you? Telepathy?
I know on UA flights that FA's don't even bother coming to you even when you buzz the call button.

I have never flown UA long haul with American crews. My experience so far has only been within Asia with totally asian crews and their service has been excellent. I have heard of horror stories once the US based crews take over for the Pacific runs to the USA. But then that's another story.

SQ had been one of the last airlines to offer FF mileage in economy class. And yet, people are still packing themselves on the flights not because the fares are low - sometimes not, but because the service levels are much better than any airline they have taken before.

As a frequent First Class traveller myself, I can vouch that SQ will remain one of the best airlines in the world, even though I don't fly them very often.

Well Guy I think you missed the whole point.

I was trying to portray the differences in service between this particular flight on SQ and my others - the ones mentioned being in First as well as some previous ones in economy.

To make it easier to understand, I would add that if a flight attendant was around to hand the glass to, I would have done - this is not a major point but neither is it minor. A full cabin check should be performed prior to take-off and it was not.

In fact a cabin check was not performed prior to landing either - both really are not little points that can be missed or dismissed that quickly.

Not only was the glass lying about but so other was other junk belonging to both passengers and cabin crew - it was just a little odd thats all.

And maybe you would think it acceptable for a premium passenger to be standing up chatting to a colleague 3 minutes before we land.

If the crew were attentive, none of this would have occurred, unless they permit it in order to accede to customers in the premium cabin - and I hope this is not the case.

In fact if I had crew that were as helpful, friendly and attentive as on my Sin - Per flight, I would have been in heaven. I like SQ, but the recent flight has made me sit up and take notice of some shortcomings.

By the way, if the crew had been keeping an eye on their passengers, they would know when they may need need a drink or other assistance - how often have you been in a bar and needed to go get a waitress for another drink? Would you criticise the service in the restaurant if they failed to offer you some more water or wine - or do you take a bell to ring when you need some.

This is not telepathy, this is a service-orientated business.

I am sorry if you don't like my opinion, hopefully this was a one-off, but at the end of the day I cannot understand how experienced crew can 'forget' to perform cabin checks.

I believe that SQ service is better than UA, whether it is better than say LH is harder to answer - the day that the differentiation between SQ and UA is only with the seat, then SQ lose big time and so do we.

[This message has been edited by PITBULL1K (edited 06-13-2001).]

[This message has been edited by PITBULL1K (edited 06-14-2001).]

SQ is NOT one of the last airlines to offer FF miles in economy class.

In fact, SQ is one of the few airlines who only give you 50-75% of miles flown as FF mileage in economy class.

Most other airlines (e.g. Lufthansa) give you full mileage in economy class even on the most discounted tickets.

Actually, there are some promos going on right now that will give you full mileage on Y fares and nice promos for selected routes that give you 2x and 3x mileages (for J and F fares). Guess its not too busy a season for SQ right now.

Link for the point mentioned above:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum88/HTML/000198.html

I flew SQ for the first time in December, as part of a 1st class *-alliance RTW trip. I flew six segments:

Madras - Singapore
Singapore - Bali
Bali - Singapore
Singapore - Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City - Singapore
Singapore - Los Angeles via Taipei

My expectations had been raised to such fever pitch by the SQ enthuasiasts on this board that perhaps it was impossible for them to be met. Service was acceptable, but not extraordinary.

I'll give just one example: I drink a lot of water on long flights. I don't drink alcohol, I don't drink soft drinks, and I rarely drink coffee or tea. I drink water. On my flight from Singapore to Taipei, and again with a second cabin crew from Taipei to Los Angeles, my water glass was not kept filled. I turned on my light at least half a dozen times on each flight, asking for water. If Singapore service is so extraordinary, by the second request, the cabin crew should have figured out that I like water! I couldn't believe that I had to put on my call button over and over and over and..... well, you get the picture. By contrast, on both LH and UA in first class, I have been given a liter bottle of water so that I can replenish my glass whenever I like.