Business Class *A Award Flight Report: AC / SQ / TG (YLW - BLR part 2)
Jan 7, 2005, 11:34 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Programs: AC.SE
Posts: 2,578
Business Class *A Award Flight Report: AC / SQ / TG (YLW - BLR part 2)
The tray table was carefully set, from the pink “tablecloth” to the individual items of crockery and glassware positioned just so. The FAs were constantly available for requests. They were friendly and cheerful—though not familiar—and gracious. I ordered the wonton soup, and while I slurped away inelegantly, an FA came by with more bread. He recoiled slightly as I ducked my head toward the bowl and used my chopsticks as a shovel to convey noodles to my mouth. But he was still smiling and polite.
The meal was tasty and satisfying, and not at all heavy. I didn’t get to see any of the other entrées, so can’t comment on them. The Riesling and Barbera d’Asti were very good wines (I should have tried them all, but…well, I have no excuse). My plan was to watch movies until it was bedtime in SIN. Unfortunately, I began to fall asleep during my movie-watching, so changed and got ready for bed. Then, of course, I couldn’t quite fall asleep—a few hour-long naps, but not the good 6-hour stretch of unconsciousness.
I awoke for good about two and a half hours before landing at HKG. I changed and starting watching another movie. When one of the FAs noticed I was awake, she asked if I would like something to drink, then took my breakfast order. A hot towel soon arrived, followed not long after by the breakfast setting. A request for a cappuccino was quickly attended to.
San Francisco >> Hong Kong
Breakfast Menu
A Fresh Start
A choice of apple, tomato and freshly squeezed orange
A selection of fresh fruit
A Healthy Note
Cereal
with low fat or full cream milk
The Main Event
Lotus leaf rice
Steamed rice with marinated pork, dried scallops, chestnuts, black mushrooms and Chinese sausages
Braised Ee Fu noodles with beef brisket, mushrooms and leafy greens
Chive omelette served with turkey scallion sausage, roasted tomato and hash brown potato
From the Bakery
Assorted breakfast rolls
Butter – Fruit preserve
A Conoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
Staying with the non-Western meal choice theme, I asked for the Ee Fu noodles. Big chunks of beef for breakfast? Sure, when they taste this good. There was one piece of gristle, but it didn’t ruin the whole meal for me. The fresh fruit plate was exactly as advertised—a tasty (though small) selection of fresh, juicy fruit. Another cappuccino? No problem. Then I let KrisWorld spoon-feed my brain until just before we landed at Chek Lap Kok.
And what a landing! The flight crew literally poured the 744 onto the runway—not a bump on touchdown, no reverse thrust that I could hear, and just a gentle pressure on the brakes. A perfect ending to an excellent, if somewhat lengthy, flight. We were offered the option of staying on board or deplaning while servicing took place.
I decided to stretch my legs. Premium-class passengers deplaned first. On my way out, all of the upper deck cabin crew bid farewell, once again addressing me by name.
We didn’t have a great deal of time until we had to report to the departures level for the continuation of SQ 1. I wandered around for about 20 minutes, then overheard someone advising passengers to return to the departures level. I did as requested. Once at the gate, of course, we all waited. The doors to the bridge weren’t even opened for another half hour. Once things got underway, though, everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. I settled back into my seat, and this time found that I had no neighbor. I did notice, however, that the woman in 11K (who had boarded in SFO) was clipping her fingernails (how did she bring a nail clipper on board?) and sweeping the tailings onto the floor. Such a classy and hygienic display.
The pre-takeoff ritual was as before. The staff moved about more easily, as the upper deck was only perhaps half full. I took some water from the tray that was offered to me and flipped through the Straits Times I had asked for earlier. We pushed back on time and made a brief taxi to our assigned runway. Captain Fraser was in the left seat for this flight, and he wasted little time in unleashing the four turbines. The 744, relieved of many passengers and excess fuel weight, required less runway to reach takeoff velocity than it did in SFO and fairly leapt into the sky. As soon as I possibly could, I beseeched KrisWorld to entertain me further.
The list of HKG-SIN brunch offerings was contained in the same menu as the meal choices from SFO-HKG. They were:
Hong Kong >> Singapore
Brunch Menu
A Fresh Start
A choice of apple, tomato and freshly squeezed orange
A selection of fresh fruit
A Healthy Note
Muesli
with low fat or full cream milk
The Main Event
Fish congee
Rice congee cooked with slice garoupa fillet and topped with Chinese crullers
Grilled chicken breast in chunky tomato sauce served with eggplant “caviare” and edamame
Basil pesto omelette served with Louisiana beef sausage, roasted tomato, sautéed mushroom and hash brown potato
A Sweet Note
Stewed white fungus with red dates and dried longan in light syrup
From the Bakery
Choice of bread rolls
Butter – Fruit preserve
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
So pleased was I to this point with the non-Western offerings that I chose the congee. I wanted something lighter than chicken breast or omelet, in any case. It was quite good, though not as flavorful (even with the addition of condiments) as the previous entrées I had ordered. I passed on dessert, but asked for some green tea. The flight attendant perkily complied with an “Of course, sir!”, but returned with consternation writ large on her face a few minutes later. No green tea! Profuse apologies followed. Well, oolong was just fine. I had several cups of that. Oh, yes—and a cappuccino to finish things off.
[An aside: Can you ever get tired of hearing things like “Of course, sir” or “No problem at all, sir” in response to a request you make of an FA? How about “It’s a pleasure, sir” when you thank one of the cabin crew for something he/she has done for you?]
We touched down at Changi on schedule. I weighed my options. Stroll around the airport for 9 hours? Try to sleep? Have a lot to drink? I thought it would be pathetic to start drinking heavily at noon, and I didn’t want to sleep too much because I wanted to feel tired in the evening. I went to the SilverKris lounge and had a shower and shave (drawing blood with the malicious free razor), then signed up for the free tour of Singapore. I have already been to Singapore, but the tour was timed so that it would devour the middle 2 hours of my wait. A nice break in the monotony.
At midday, the lounge had very few people in it. It filled up as the day progressed, and by evening was quite crowded. Enough seating for everyone, though. I had several Perriers and a can of Tiger during the course of the day. I also had several bowls of chicken broth, some Shanghai dumplings, some more congee, and some chicken breast in rosemary sauce (I think). I’m not sure why I had so much to eat; I didn’t even feel all that hungry, but I didn’t seem to get full, either.
Outside, Singapore was hot and humid. The air-conditioned bus wound through the streets, the guide’s informative commentary battling all the while against boorishly loud conversation in several languages. We were eventually let out at Sentosa, that we might absorb a little essence of Singapore. I reluctantly stepped into the draining heat, snapped the obligatory two pictures, and plodded unerringly back to the bus. We were deposited back at Changi at about 6 pm. With the tour finished, I sat in the lounge and wrote some more of my report. Once I could no longer focus on that, I read some of the book I had brought. Soon enough, it was time to head for the gate to board the flight to BLR.
November 6, 2004
Singapore – Bangalore
SQ 430 / Raffles Class / Supper
Boeing 777-200 / seat 11C
2055 – 2240 (Flying time 4 hours 15 minutes)
By now, I was very much looking forward to the final leg of the journey. Imagine my glee when, once inside the gate area, an announcement came over the PA advising us that the departure would be delayed for an hour. No reason given. I hauled myself out of my seat and asked the gate agents if I could go back to the lounge. I could, so off I went. At precisely the moment I reached the lounge, another announcement was made asking everyone to board the flight.
I admit that my fatigue made me a bit grouchy, and I expressed my displeasure to the gate agents about the runaround. All of them displayed absolutely no concern; in fact, one was openly disdainful. It then occurred to me that these agents probably aren’t employed by SIA, and couldn’t be in the least bothered that I had gone to my cushy lounge, only to be forced to turn around and trudge back to the gate immediately upon arrival there.
The waiting area was now empty, as those who had decided to stay put boarded the plane after the non-delay had concluded. I was hardly the last person on, though. Once again, I was greeted cordially by name. I settled into 11C, and had a pre-takeoff glass of water. I had a look at the menu (sorry—forgot to bring one with me when I deplaned), but decided to stay with my BTC option—pan-seared sea bass. Once airborne, I asked for a Singapore Sling. The cabin crew were still courteous, but quite a bit more rushed. The Raffles cabin was full and the service accordingly less personal.
The person next to me had his feet up on the bulkhead partition. I imagine he’s one of those people who plops his feet uninvited on coffee tables when he’s visiting the homes of friends. If I’m wrong, and he’s not so inclined, then why does he choose to become that way once seated in an airplane? I don’t get it.
The Sling and sea bass were fully consumed and wholly appreciated. By then, Morpheus could find no more willing victim than me. I arranged a blanket around myself and slept soundly until we began the descent into BLR. We touched down without fuss and taxied to the gate.
Bangalore Hindustan Airport is too small for the number of passengers it must accommodate. Although LH, SQ, TG and several other international carriers fly there, there are no lounge facilities for their elite or premium-fare passengers (that I’m aware of). There is no fast-track line (for premium-fare passengers) for immigration, so with the languorous inspection of passports, followed by the orgy of rubber-stamping, the process can be quite time-consuming. Further, there are only two luggage carousels. I made my way to one of these to wait for my belongings, and was soon joined by a crowd of other passengers.
The first-class bags were off first, as might be expected. The Raffles bags then followed. No, wait—that’s not what happened at all. A steady stream of economy-passenger bags flowed along the conveyor after the First bags had all been placed on. Not a Raffles tag to be seen. I wasn’t in a huge rush, but after the otherwise excellent SQ service I had experienced to now, I was a bit bemused. However, the man next to me was of a different frame of mind, and had given into stamping his foot and growling at intervals. He eventually looked at me and said, “This happens every time!” I smiled sympathetically. Then, he focused his rage on a hapless airport employee, who had the misfortune to say to him, in a comforting tone, “Don’t worry, sir—your bags will be here very soon.”
The irate passenger then rounded on him, bellowing (and I quote verbatim), “You’d better bloody well do something about it!” In true Indian style, the airport employee put on a show of doing something about it, while in reality not improving the situation in the least. He jabbered into his two-way radio, then disappeared through a door next to the conveyor. He emerged looking quite satisfied with himself, and strode back to his station. The blue-tagged bags, however, were still being coy, as not one had revealed itself to a longing owner.
About 10 minutes after the first-class passengers had left, the Raffles bags finally made their appearance. I hoisted mine off the conveyor and made my way to the exit.
The meal was tasty and satisfying, and not at all heavy. I didn’t get to see any of the other entrées, so can’t comment on them. The Riesling and Barbera d’Asti were very good wines (I should have tried them all, but…well, I have no excuse). My plan was to watch movies until it was bedtime in SIN. Unfortunately, I began to fall asleep during my movie-watching, so changed and got ready for bed. Then, of course, I couldn’t quite fall asleep—a few hour-long naps, but not the good 6-hour stretch of unconsciousness.
I awoke for good about two and a half hours before landing at HKG. I changed and starting watching another movie. When one of the FAs noticed I was awake, she asked if I would like something to drink, then took my breakfast order. A hot towel soon arrived, followed not long after by the breakfast setting. A request for a cappuccino was quickly attended to.
San Francisco >> Hong Kong
Breakfast Menu
A Fresh Start
A choice of apple, tomato and freshly squeezed orange
A selection of fresh fruit
A Healthy Note
Cereal
with low fat or full cream milk
The Main Event
Lotus leaf rice
Steamed rice with marinated pork, dried scallops, chestnuts, black mushrooms and Chinese sausages
Braised Ee Fu noodles with beef brisket, mushrooms and leafy greens
Chive omelette served with turkey scallion sausage, roasted tomato and hash brown potato
From the Bakery
Assorted breakfast rolls
Butter – Fruit preserve
A Conoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
Staying with the non-Western meal choice theme, I asked for the Ee Fu noodles. Big chunks of beef for breakfast? Sure, when they taste this good. There was one piece of gristle, but it didn’t ruin the whole meal for me. The fresh fruit plate was exactly as advertised—a tasty (though small) selection of fresh, juicy fruit. Another cappuccino? No problem. Then I let KrisWorld spoon-feed my brain until just before we landed at Chek Lap Kok.
And what a landing! The flight crew literally poured the 744 onto the runway—not a bump on touchdown, no reverse thrust that I could hear, and just a gentle pressure on the brakes. A perfect ending to an excellent, if somewhat lengthy, flight. We were offered the option of staying on board or deplaning while servicing took place.
I decided to stretch my legs. Premium-class passengers deplaned first. On my way out, all of the upper deck cabin crew bid farewell, once again addressing me by name.
We didn’t have a great deal of time until we had to report to the departures level for the continuation of SQ 1. I wandered around for about 20 minutes, then overheard someone advising passengers to return to the departures level. I did as requested. Once at the gate, of course, we all waited. The doors to the bridge weren’t even opened for another half hour. Once things got underway, though, everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. I settled back into my seat, and this time found that I had no neighbor. I did notice, however, that the woman in 11K (who had boarded in SFO) was clipping her fingernails (how did she bring a nail clipper on board?) and sweeping the tailings onto the floor. Such a classy and hygienic display.
The pre-takeoff ritual was as before. The staff moved about more easily, as the upper deck was only perhaps half full. I took some water from the tray that was offered to me and flipped through the Straits Times I had asked for earlier. We pushed back on time and made a brief taxi to our assigned runway. Captain Fraser was in the left seat for this flight, and he wasted little time in unleashing the four turbines. The 744, relieved of many passengers and excess fuel weight, required less runway to reach takeoff velocity than it did in SFO and fairly leapt into the sky. As soon as I possibly could, I beseeched KrisWorld to entertain me further.
The list of HKG-SIN brunch offerings was contained in the same menu as the meal choices from SFO-HKG. They were:
Hong Kong >> Singapore
Brunch Menu
A Fresh Start
A choice of apple, tomato and freshly squeezed orange
A selection of fresh fruit
A Healthy Note
Muesli
with low fat or full cream milk
The Main Event
Fish congee
Rice congee cooked with slice garoupa fillet and topped with Chinese crullers
Grilled chicken breast in chunky tomato sauce served with eggplant “caviare” and edamame
Basil pesto omelette served with Louisiana beef sausage, roasted tomato, sautéed mushroom and hash brown potato
A Sweet Note
Stewed white fungus with red dates and dried longan in light syrup
From the Bakery
Choice of bread rolls
Butter – Fruit preserve
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
So pleased was I to this point with the non-Western offerings that I chose the congee. I wanted something lighter than chicken breast or omelet, in any case. It was quite good, though not as flavorful (even with the addition of condiments) as the previous entrées I had ordered. I passed on dessert, but asked for some green tea. The flight attendant perkily complied with an “Of course, sir!”, but returned with consternation writ large on her face a few minutes later. No green tea! Profuse apologies followed. Well, oolong was just fine. I had several cups of that. Oh, yes—and a cappuccino to finish things off.
[An aside: Can you ever get tired of hearing things like “Of course, sir” or “No problem at all, sir” in response to a request you make of an FA? How about “It’s a pleasure, sir” when you thank one of the cabin crew for something he/she has done for you?]
We touched down at Changi on schedule. I weighed my options. Stroll around the airport for 9 hours? Try to sleep? Have a lot to drink? I thought it would be pathetic to start drinking heavily at noon, and I didn’t want to sleep too much because I wanted to feel tired in the evening. I went to the SilverKris lounge and had a shower and shave (drawing blood with the malicious free razor), then signed up for the free tour of Singapore. I have already been to Singapore, but the tour was timed so that it would devour the middle 2 hours of my wait. A nice break in the monotony.
At midday, the lounge had very few people in it. It filled up as the day progressed, and by evening was quite crowded. Enough seating for everyone, though. I had several Perriers and a can of Tiger during the course of the day. I also had several bowls of chicken broth, some Shanghai dumplings, some more congee, and some chicken breast in rosemary sauce (I think). I’m not sure why I had so much to eat; I didn’t even feel all that hungry, but I didn’t seem to get full, either.
Outside, Singapore was hot and humid. The air-conditioned bus wound through the streets, the guide’s informative commentary battling all the while against boorishly loud conversation in several languages. We were eventually let out at Sentosa, that we might absorb a little essence of Singapore. I reluctantly stepped into the draining heat, snapped the obligatory two pictures, and plodded unerringly back to the bus. We were deposited back at Changi at about 6 pm. With the tour finished, I sat in the lounge and wrote some more of my report. Once I could no longer focus on that, I read some of the book I had brought. Soon enough, it was time to head for the gate to board the flight to BLR.
November 6, 2004
Singapore – Bangalore
SQ 430 / Raffles Class / Supper
Boeing 777-200 / seat 11C
2055 – 2240 (Flying time 4 hours 15 minutes)
By now, I was very much looking forward to the final leg of the journey. Imagine my glee when, once inside the gate area, an announcement came over the PA advising us that the departure would be delayed for an hour. No reason given. I hauled myself out of my seat and asked the gate agents if I could go back to the lounge. I could, so off I went. At precisely the moment I reached the lounge, another announcement was made asking everyone to board the flight.
I admit that my fatigue made me a bit grouchy, and I expressed my displeasure to the gate agents about the runaround. All of them displayed absolutely no concern; in fact, one was openly disdainful. It then occurred to me that these agents probably aren’t employed by SIA, and couldn’t be in the least bothered that I had gone to my cushy lounge, only to be forced to turn around and trudge back to the gate immediately upon arrival there.
The waiting area was now empty, as those who had decided to stay put boarded the plane after the non-delay had concluded. I was hardly the last person on, though. Once again, I was greeted cordially by name. I settled into 11C, and had a pre-takeoff glass of water. I had a look at the menu (sorry—forgot to bring one with me when I deplaned), but decided to stay with my BTC option—pan-seared sea bass. Once airborne, I asked for a Singapore Sling. The cabin crew were still courteous, but quite a bit more rushed. The Raffles cabin was full and the service accordingly less personal.
The person next to me had his feet up on the bulkhead partition. I imagine he’s one of those people who plops his feet uninvited on coffee tables when he’s visiting the homes of friends. If I’m wrong, and he’s not so inclined, then why does he choose to become that way once seated in an airplane? I don’t get it.
The Sling and sea bass were fully consumed and wholly appreciated. By then, Morpheus could find no more willing victim than me. I arranged a blanket around myself and slept soundly until we began the descent into BLR. We touched down without fuss and taxied to the gate.
Bangalore Hindustan Airport is too small for the number of passengers it must accommodate. Although LH, SQ, TG and several other international carriers fly there, there are no lounge facilities for their elite or premium-fare passengers (that I’m aware of). There is no fast-track line (for premium-fare passengers) for immigration, so with the languorous inspection of passports, followed by the orgy of rubber-stamping, the process can be quite time-consuming. Further, there are only two luggage carousels. I made my way to one of these to wait for my belongings, and was soon joined by a crowd of other passengers.
The first-class bags were off first, as might be expected. The Raffles bags then followed. No, wait—that’s not what happened at all. A steady stream of economy-passenger bags flowed along the conveyor after the First bags had all been placed on. Not a Raffles tag to be seen. I wasn’t in a huge rush, but after the otherwise excellent SQ service I had experienced to now, I was a bit bemused. However, the man next to me was of a different frame of mind, and had given into stamping his foot and growling at intervals. He eventually looked at me and said, “This happens every time!” I smiled sympathetically. Then, he focused his rage on a hapless airport employee, who had the misfortune to say to him, in a comforting tone, “Don’t worry, sir—your bags will be here very soon.”
The irate passenger then rounded on him, bellowing (and I quote verbatim), “You’d better bloody well do something about it!” In true Indian style, the airport employee put on a show of doing something about it, while in reality not improving the situation in the least. He jabbered into his two-way radio, then disappeared through a door next to the conveyor. He emerged looking quite satisfied with himself, and strode back to his station. The blue-tagged bags, however, were still being coy, as not one had revealed itself to a longing owner.
About 10 minutes after the first-class passengers had left, the Raffles bags finally made their appearance. I hoisted mine off the conveyor and made my way to the exit.
Last edited by ylwae; Jan 8, 2005 at 12:01 am Reason: Restored cut-off text
Jan 8, 2005, 3:01 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: here and there
Programs: some
Posts: 3,381
Fantastic - I love your somewhat formal writing style; quite humourous too 
(BTW - you could post the second of the two parts of your report in a reply to your own initial post; that way it all stays in one thread).
(BTW - you could post the second of the two parts of your report in a reply to your own initial post; that way it all stays in one thread).
Jan 8, 2005, 10:57 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Programs: AC.SE
Posts: 2,578
Originally Posted by Fliar
Fantastic - I love your somewhat formal writing style; quite humourous too
(BTW - you could post the second of the two parts of your report in a reply to your own initial post; that way it all stays in one thread).
(BTW - you could post the second of the two parts of your report in a reply to your own initial post; that way it all stays in one thread).