SIN-NRT-LAX in SQ Raffles
Aug 21, 2005, 5:05 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 274
SIN-NRT-LAX in SQ Raffles (w/ few pics)
A special tribute to the UA lover and SQ abuser, N227UA, whom I secretly admire on this forum. This absolutely hilarious thread is worth a read: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=435002
Greetings once again! This is my second attempt at a trip report, and hope it was as enriching as my first, which can be found here: LAX-NRT-SIN in NW J
This was only my second time flying Raffles on SQ’s fleet of 747s. Just like my first time in January 2004, and on this exact same route, I saw 45,000 of my hard-earned miles disappear in exchange for the one-way upgrade. As much as I hate seeing such a big chunk of miles being deducted for an upgrade, I think it is a wise investment compared to spending them on an economy class redemption ticket. That, in my opinion, is the worst way of redeeming miles but of course, this view is subjective. It all depends on how much one values flying up front in a premium cabin – for me, it is worth every mile since I don’t see myself paying for a full-fare J-class ticket anytime in the near future.
I had a choice of flying SQ 20, the direct flight to LAX on the A345. Had I not secured a good seat on the 744, that might have been a better option. The A345 offers better pitch in Raffles (6” according to SQ) and the aircraft is spanking new, some say quieter as well. But booking about four months out, I managed to secure seat 17H which is more than satisfactory, so I decided to take SQ 12 instead. Admittedly, I would have much preferred seat 17K, which has a window and the side storage bins, but someone had beaten me to this prized seat. Nevertheless, SQ 12 arrives in LAX a good 5 hours earlier than SQ 20, and I could use that spare time to unpack and relax. Expectations today were not particularly high, especially with my past 2 transpacific trips on Northwest Airlines which offers a decent business class product, but in all fairness, cannot and should not be compared to that of SQ’s.
Before I begin, a brief summary of my first Raffles experience in Jan 2004, SIN-NRT-LAX. I had managed to secure the elusive seat 17K on the upper-deck, and it was indeed one of the better seats Raffles had to offer. Sadly, I found the service and food on this flight to be lacking, perhaps due to the fact that all 50 Raffles class seats were occupied on both sectors, keeping the FAs extremely busy. I pre-ordered the Slipper Lobster Thermidor for SIN-NRT, and the Unagi Kabayaki for NRT-LAX, and they were rather disappointing. The lobster especially, was such a small portion that I could easily finish it in several bites. In contrast, the ‘real’ Lobster Thermidor I ordered when I flew F (same route again, in 2002), was absolutely delicious. Obviously, there is a significant difference between BTC meals in Raffles and First, and understandably so. For several hours, my personal IFE was not working, and the poor air stewardess had to keep resetting the system but to no avail. I hinted for a seat change, knowing that the Raffles cabin was full, in a cheeky attempt to get upgraded to F. Of course it didn’t work. What a joy it would have been – I was constantly visiting the F cabin to converse with two college friends seated there, in 4C and 4D. Those lucky souls were traveling on staff tickets – and should really be grateful to their dads – for they were granted seats in F on a space-available basis. The horror! Nevertheless, it was fun just being allowed access to the cabin so I could chat with them and to compare the subtle differences between First and Raffles class champagnes – Dom Perignon and Krug (offered in F) and Piper-Heidsieck Special Rare Cuvee (offered in C), as well as the not-so-subtle differences in our respective menu items. I was politely told to leave the F cabin prior to the commencement of their meal service, but allowed to return later at anytime. I appreciated that gesture. Anyway, I soon found out that my IFE was up and running, so I returned to my seat and remained there the rest of the flight, a wise move considering that another visit to the F cabin would have tempted me to make unfair comparisons between the meal service in F and the slightly disappointing one I was having in Raffles. Sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss. Later, I consoled myself with the fact that my friends would no longer enjoy these benefits upon graduation from college – they would have to rough it out in coach, join a frequent flyer program and start earning miles from scratch, and suffer the severe withdrawal symptoms of downgrading from F to Y. I can’t wait for that day to laugh in their faces.
Overall, I had a very satisfactory experience in Raffles – not considering the childish attempt to get upgraded or the slight envy of my friends’ fortune – I’d say it was an 8 out of 10. Had the meals been better, it would have been perfect. Now on to the actual report:
Checking-in
Yet again, my trip started out in the worst possible way. On my last night out in SIN, I decided to spend it at Zouk with friends and got a little too carried away, so I guess I could only blame myself for the slight hangover in the morning. But then I arrived at Changi only to find that SQ was experiencing a temporary system failure – would you believe it? This hardly ever happens but of course of all times, it had to occur on this particular date that I was flying. The entire Terminal 2 was congested with passengers (in all classes) trying to check-in for their flights, and some of the queues stretched so long that they spilled to the outside. I had never seen anything like this. It was worth the effort snapping two pictures of this morning frenzy for it will be some time that I ever see Changi Airport in such a mess. Luckily I managed to find a counter that had only 3 people in line – I must be really smart or the others really blind – and even then, it still took a good 30 minutes for me to finally get my boarding pass. Also, I was told that Raffles class on SQ 12 would be completely full – again. I let out a small sigh before heading inside the passenger terminal and straight to the Silverkris lounge.
PIC #1
PIC #2
Pic taken at 9:30am showing flight departures
Singapore Silverkris Lounge
I’ve read several negative comments about the Silverkris lounge in SIN, but to be honest, I think it’s as good as it gets. Maybe that’s because the only other lounges I have visited are Worldclubs, and honestly, they are of no comparison. Perhaps I will change my opinion if I see other airlines home-based lounges, those belonging to CX, TG and EK for instance. In the meantime, I’ll appreciate what SQ has to offer its passengers. In fact, entrance security was so relaxed today that I could have easily turned right to go to the F section of the lounge instead, but since I had been there before but never to the Raffles side, I chose not to take advantage of this situation. I helped myself to some ice-cream while waiting for the final boarding call.
SQ 12 SIN-NRT, Aug 18, 9.45am (Actual: 10.30am) Boeing 747-400 Seat 17H
Upon boarding, I was greeted and led up to my seat, 17H. No regrets whatsoever, but l missed the convenience of the side bins and had to make do with one small seat pocket as my only form of storage – which unfortunately was already bursting with the headset and the airline’s magazines. Suddenly the floor seemed to be a tempting option to store my blanket, which was taking up a lot of seat space. I did just that. Once we reached cruising altitude, various items such as my newspaper found their way to the floor as well, and of course, the very pitiful-looking Raffles amenity kit and eyeshades.
Despite my queasy stomach I did allow myself to have a glass of champagne. On offer today was Charles Heidsieck 1995 and tasted great. I reminded myself to have another only on the next sector or I won’t fully enjoy the lunch today, which was about to commence:
LUNCH MENU
To Nibble On…
Satay
With onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce
A Savoury Note
Prawn tikka salad
Indian style spiced roast prawns with tomato couscous, cucumber, baby lettuces and mint yoghurt chutney
Japanese cold noodles
The Main Event
Atlantic salmon stuffed with lemon and herbs served with roasted artichoke, fava beans and potato
Tori miso zuke
Grilled miso flavored chicken served with seasonal vegetables and steamed rice
Wok fried marinated pork chop served with sweet and sour sauce, seasonal greens and steamed rice
The Cheese Board
Gourmet cheese with garnishes
A Sweet Note
A selection of fresh fruit
Chocolate ice cream with bitter chocolate sauce and cookies
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
And pralines
The satay and the appetizer were excellent, but I made a huge mistake of pre-ordering the 6 oz. rib-eye steak, which was horrible. I know I should have heeded the advice of several flyers here to avoid it, but I recalled the 8 oz. steak in First (2002) to be pretty decent, so why not the 6 oz.? Surely, the catering of this BTC meal couldn’t be so disastrous every single time could it? Well, I paid the price for my curiosity. The beef tasted like pork chops – it was the most overcooked piece of meat I had ever consumed. If I can be served decent steak, medium-rare, on NW and KL, I don’t see why SQ can’t offer the same. Suddenly, I wished I had pre-ordered the slipper lobster thermidor instead – at least it would have been a pleasant albeit small portion.
Service on this flight was excellent. One male FA in particular stood out from the other 2 assigned to the upper deck – he was extremely polite and attentive and never gave me a chance to request for anything! For instance, I loved the garlic bread and as soon as my bread plate was empty, he’d come round to offer the bread basket right away. Needless to say, I ate a lot of garlic bread on this flight. Now that’s what I call service. Very impressive considering that a male steward could outshine the famous “Singapore Girls” (and I am not gay by the way).
Throughout the 6h 30min flight I kept myself entertained with Krisworld. I can’t imagine anyone being bored when there are 60 movies to choose from. I watched The Interpreter followed by Miss Congeniality 2. Before I knew it, the captain made the announcement for landing.
NARITA SILVERKRIS LOUNGE
To put it simply, the Silverkris lounge in Tokyo needs to be expanded. As I entered the premises, I had difficulty finding an empty seat and passengers were still strolling in. I found this to be rather strange because I didn’t recall such a crowd the last time I was here. Perhaps the late arrival of my flight was to blame – and sure enough, the crowd eased up a lot after the boarding announcement for SQ11 to SIN. Nevertheless, I was very tempted to walk the extra distance to the Northwest Worldclub(s) where I could gain access to a much bigger (and hopefully quieter) space. But I thought better of it after seeing all that ice-cream in the freezer and eventually found a seat to enjoy 2 cups of my favorite flavor – green tea!
SQ 12 NRT-LAX, Aug 18th, 6.45pm (Actual: 7.15pm) Boeing 747-400 Seat 17H
As promised, I helped myself to another glass of champagne upon boarding. I figured there was a remote chance of an emptier Raffles cabin after seeing several Japanese passengers on the first sector, who probably wouldn’t make the connection to LAX. I was wrong – new faces were on board, and all but one Raffles seat were occupied.
Today’s dinner was as follows:
DINNER MENU
To Nibble On…
Satay
With onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce
A Savoury Note
“Hot” smoked salmon with nicoise salad
Oven smoked salmon with potato, green beans, olives, quail eggs, tomatoes, and mache lettuce served with choice of citrus vinaigrette or ranch dressing
Japanese cold noodles
The Main Event
Roasted stuffed chicken with forest mushroom served with port wine jus, sautéed spinach and buttered potato
Stir fried beef fillet in Chinese hot bean sauce, pumpkin, okra, corn and steamed rice
Japanese style simmered pork with pumpkin, summer vegetable and steamed rice
Sauteed prawns served with creamy shytake mushroom sauce and capeline pasta
The Cheese Board
Gourmet cheese with garnishes
A Sweet Note
A selection of fresh fruit
Rum and raisin ice cream with ginger peach salad
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
And pralines
I was pretty glad to see satay being offered again on NRT-LAX. This apparently doesn’t happen all the time and even more so on SQ 11. Then again, there are times SQ doesn’t offer satay at all – they won’t offer any explanation, neither would they compensate it with something else. So the best is to never expect satay when it is such a hit-or-miss dish.
I didn’t have a BTC meal for this flight, so I chose the stuffed chicken, which was excellent. What a relief after that nightmare ‘steak’ I had for lunch. In contrast, my seat partner in 17K, pre-ordered the fried seabass and didn’t touch it again after a few bites. That’s an option to strike off the BTC list ex-NRT. I skipped the cold noodles this time round, I find these noodles rather boring and it just doesn’t seem to do a good job of whetting my appetite. Am I the only one that feels SQ can scrap this course in exchange for something else?
After dinner I was exhausted and fell asleep almost immediately. I love the spacebed design. Granted it’s not perfect, but there’s only so much SQ can do with the limited amount of pitch they can afford to give passengers (58”). In my opinion, angled lie-flat seats are here to stay, and flat beds will continue to be the big pull factor for flying F. Besides, it is impossible to sleep on one’s side in those old-fashioned cradle seats, so the spacebed is still a massive improvement over the short-lived ultimo seats. It must be said however, that at times I did feel myself sliding off the seat when lying on my back. Not everyone experiences this problem, but for those who do, I recommend turning to your side to minimize the effects of the seat’s incline.
After about 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep, breakfast was about to commence.
BREAKFAST MENU
A Fresh Start
A choice of apple, tomato and freshly squeezed orange
Fresh fruit
A Healthy Note
Choice of cereals
Cornflakes or rice krispies with milk
The Main Event
Japanese breakfast
Braised swordfish with ginger and sake served with summer vegetables, steamed rice and miso soup
Fried noodles with roast chicken, cabbage and mushroom
Omelette with melted brie cheese, rosemary veal sausage, roasted tomato and griddles hotcake
From the Bakery
Assorted breakfast rolls
Butter – Fruit preserve
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
I am a big fan of fresh OJ and was rather disappointed that the juice served prior to the actual breakfast service wasn’t freshly-squeezed. It’s a small gripe but I do believe they serve fresh OJ in F, at all times. For breakfast I chose the omelette, which had a nice chunk of melting brie on top and I enjoyed it. The hotcakes were unremarkable so I left it on the plate. I rounded off the breakfast with a nice cup of cappuccino.
Today’s landing at LAX was about 45 minutes late but that wasn't the worst part - the landing itself was the roughest I’ve ever experienced on SQ. Seconds prior to touchdown I noticed that we were descending a little too fast, and sure enough, despite the routine nose-up maneuver, we hit the ground with a very loud ‘thud’. I can’t imagine how bad it must have been for passengers flying downstairs in economy, for they would have taken the full brunt of this punishment. What a terrible landing, any harder I’m sure the tires would have burst. According to some flyers, poor landings are not unusual when flying SQ. To further prove this theory, I had a friend who took SQ 20 the next day (Aug 19th) and she reported that the pilot had to abort the landing at the last minute – and only landed on the second attempt a whole 30 minutes later. Apparently, he had miscalculated the landing approach and was “too high” for a successful first attempt. Who on earth misses an afternoon landing approach in perfect weather conditions? Is the A345 a particularly difficult plane to handle? What a ridiculous excuse in my opinion, and worthy of a complaint to SQ if my friend ever bothers.
The arrival terminal was packed with passengers today. I think there were at least 5 international flights that arrived within minutes of each other. I got through immigration in 10 minutes, but it must have taken a good 45 minutes for the non-US citizens. The bags were on the carousel almost immediately – hooray again for priority tags – I must have been the first one on SQ 12 to leave the terminal. I was just so eager to head home and have a nice, long shower.
All in all, I had an very satisfactory experience with SQ today. No doubt it wasn't first class, but if I'm happy flying in Raffles, I'm doing myself a favor keeping my expectations at a reasonable level. I'd just need to avoid steak in future and hope I don't get some disgruntled pilot. Anyway, my loyalty to NW means that I shall still be flying them interchangeably on my transpacific routes, but SQ has proven today that it truly is in a class of its own.
Hope you guys enjoyed the report!
Greetings once again! This is my second attempt at a trip report, and hope it was as enriching as my first, which can be found here: LAX-NRT-SIN in NW J
This was only my second time flying Raffles on SQ’s fleet of 747s. Just like my first time in January 2004, and on this exact same route, I saw 45,000 of my hard-earned miles disappear in exchange for the one-way upgrade. As much as I hate seeing such a big chunk of miles being deducted for an upgrade, I think it is a wise investment compared to spending them on an economy class redemption ticket. That, in my opinion, is the worst way of redeeming miles but of course, this view is subjective. It all depends on how much one values flying up front in a premium cabin – for me, it is worth every mile since I don’t see myself paying for a full-fare J-class ticket anytime in the near future.
I had a choice of flying SQ 20, the direct flight to LAX on the A345. Had I not secured a good seat on the 744, that might have been a better option. The A345 offers better pitch in Raffles (6” according to SQ) and the aircraft is spanking new, some say quieter as well. But booking about four months out, I managed to secure seat 17H which is more than satisfactory, so I decided to take SQ 12 instead. Admittedly, I would have much preferred seat 17K, which has a window and the side storage bins, but someone had beaten me to this prized seat. Nevertheless, SQ 12 arrives in LAX a good 5 hours earlier than SQ 20, and I could use that spare time to unpack and relax. Expectations today were not particularly high, especially with my past 2 transpacific trips on Northwest Airlines which offers a decent business class product, but in all fairness, cannot and should not be compared to that of SQ’s.
Before I begin, a brief summary of my first Raffles experience in Jan 2004, SIN-NRT-LAX. I had managed to secure the elusive seat 17K on the upper-deck, and it was indeed one of the better seats Raffles had to offer. Sadly, I found the service and food on this flight to be lacking, perhaps due to the fact that all 50 Raffles class seats were occupied on both sectors, keeping the FAs extremely busy. I pre-ordered the Slipper Lobster Thermidor for SIN-NRT, and the Unagi Kabayaki for NRT-LAX, and they were rather disappointing. The lobster especially, was such a small portion that I could easily finish it in several bites. In contrast, the ‘real’ Lobster Thermidor I ordered when I flew F (same route again, in 2002), was absolutely delicious. Obviously, there is a significant difference between BTC meals in Raffles and First, and understandably so. For several hours, my personal IFE was not working, and the poor air stewardess had to keep resetting the system but to no avail. I hinted for a seat change, knowing that the Raffles cabin was full, in a cheeky attempt to get upgraded to F. Of course it didn’t work. What a joy it would have been – I was constantly visiting the F cabin to converse with two college friends seated there, in 4C and 4D. Those lucky souls were traveling on staff tickets – and should really be grateful to their dads – for they were granted seats in F on a space-available basis. The horror! Nevertheless, it was fun just being allowed access to the cabin so I could chat with them and to compare the subtle differences between First and Raffles class champagnes – Dom Perignon and Krug (offered in F) and Piper-Heidsieck Special Rare Cuvee (offered in C), as well as the not-so-subtle differences in our respective menu items. I was politely told to leave the F cabin prior to the commencement of their meal service, but allowed to return later at anytime. I appreciated that gesture. Anyway, I soon found out that my IFE was up and running, so I returned to my seat and remained there the rest of the flight, a wise move considering that another visit to the F cabin would have tempted me to make unfair comparisons between the meal service in F and the slightly disappointing one I was having in Raffles. Sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss. Later, I consoled myself with the fact that my friends would no longer enjoy these benefits upon graduation from college – they would have to rough it out in coach, join a frequent flyer program and start earning miles from scratch, and suffer the severe withdrawal symptoms of downgrading from F to Y. I can’t wait for that day to laugh in their faces.
Overall, I had a very satisfactory experience in Raffles – not considering the childish attempt to get upgraded or the slight envy of my friends’ fortune – I’d say it was an 8 out of 10. Had the meals been better, it would have been perfect. Now on to the actual report:
Checking-in
Yet again, my trip started out in the worst possible way. On my last night out in SIN, I decided to spend it at Zouk with friends and got a little too carried away, so I guess I could only blame myself for the slight hangover in the morning. But then I arrived at Changi only to find that SQ was experiencing a temporary system failure – would you believe it? This hardly ever happens but of course of all times, it had to occur on this particular date that I was flying. The entire Terminal 2 was congested with passengers (in all classes) trying to check-in for their flights, and some of the queues stretched so long that they spilled to the outside. I had never seen anything like this. It was worth the effort snapping two pictures of this morning frenzy for it will be some time that I ever see Changi Airport in such a mess. Luckily I managed to find a counter that had only 3 people in line – I must be really smart or the others really blind – and even then, it still took a good 30 minutes for me to finally get my boarding pass. Also, I was told that Raffles class on SQ 12 would be completely full – again. I let out a small sigh before heading inside the passenger terminal and straight to the Silverkris lounge.
PIC #1
PIC #2
Pic taken at 9:30am showing flight departures
Singapore Silverkris Lounge
I’ve read several negative comments about the Silverkris lounge in SIN, but to be honest, I think it’s as good as it gets. Maybe that’s because the only other lounges I have visited are Worldclubs, and honestly, they are of no comparison. Perhaps I will change my opinion if I see other airlines home-based lounges, those belonging to CX, TG and EK for instance. In the meantime, I’ll appreciate what SQ has to offer its passengers. In fact, entrance security was so relaxed today that I could have easily turned right to go to the F section of the lounge instead, but since I had been there before but never to the Raffles side, I chose not to take advantage of this situation. I helped myself to some ice-cream while waiting for the final boarding call.
SQ 12 SIN-NRT, Aug 18, 9.45am (Actual: 10.30am) Boeing 747-400 Seat 17H
Upon boarding, I was greeted and led up to my seat, 17H. No regrets whatsoever, but l missed the convenience of the side bins and had to make do with one small seat pocket as my only form of storage – which unfortunately was already bursting with the headset and the airline’s magazines. Suddenly the floor seemed to be a tempting option to store my blanket, which was taking up a lot of seat space. I did just that. Once we reached cruising altitude, various items such as my newspaper found their way to the floor as well, and of course, the very pitiful-looking Raffles amenity kit and eyeshades.
Despite my queasy stomach I did allow myself to have a glass of champagne. On offer today was Charles Heidsieck 1995 and tasted great. I reminded myself to have another only on the next sector or I won’t fully enjoy the lunch today, which was about to commence:
LUNCH MENU
To Nibble On…
Satay
With onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce
A Savoury Note
Prawn tikka salad
Indian style spiced roast prawns with tomato couscous, cucumber, baby lettuces and mint yoghurt chutney
Japanese cold noodles
The Main Event
Atlantic salmon stuffed with lemon and herbs served with roasted artichoke, fava beans and potato
Tori miso zuke
Grilled miso flavored chicken served with seasonal vegetables and steamed rice
Wok fried marinated pork chop served with sweet and sour sauce, seasonal greens and steamed rice
The Cheese Board
Gourmet cheese with garnishes
A Sweet Note
A selection of fresh fruit
Chocolate ice cream with bitter chocolate sauce and cookies
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
And pralines
The satay and the appetizer were excellent, but I made a huge mistake of pre-ordering the 6 oz. rib-eye steak, which was horrible. I know I should have heeded the advice of several flyers here to avoid it, but I recalled the 8 oz. steak in First (2002) to be pretty decent, so why not the 6 oz.? Surely, the catering of this BTC meal couldn’t be so disastrous every single time could it? Well, I paid the price for my curiosity. The beef tasted like pork chops – it was the most overcooked piece of meat I had ever consumed. If I can be served decent steak, medium-rare, on NW and KL, I don’t see why SQ can’t offer the same. Suddenly, I wished I had pre-ordered the slipper lobster thermidor instead – at least it would have been a pleasant albeit small portion.
Service on this flight was excellent. One male FA in particular stood out from the other 2 assigned to the upper deck – he was extremely polite and attentive and never gave me a chance to request for anything! For instance, I loved the garlic bread and as soon as my bread plate was empty, he’d come round to offer the bread basket right away. Needless to say, I ate a lot of garlic bread on this flight. Now that’s what I call service. Very impressive considering that a male steward could outshine the famous “Singapore Girls” (and I am not gay by the way).
Throughout the 6h 30min flight I kept myself entertained with Krisworld. I can’t imagine anyone being bored when there are 60 movies to choose from. I watched The Interpreter followed by Miss Congeniality 2. Before I knew it, the captain made the announcement for landing.
NARITA SILVERKRIS LOUNGE
To put it simply, the Silverkris lounge in Tokyo needs to be expanded. As I entered the premises, I had difficulty finding an empty seat and passengers were still strolling in. I found this to be rather strange because I didn’t recall such a crowd the last time I was here. Perhaps the late arrival of my flight was to blame – and sure enough, the crowd eased up a lot after the boarding announcement for SQ11 to SIN. Nevertheless, I was very tempted to walk the extra distance to the Northwest Worldclub(s) where I could gain access to a much bigger (and hopefully quieter) space. But I thought better of it after seeing all that ice-cream in the freezer and eventually found a seat to enjoy 2 cups of my favorite flavor – green tea!
SQ 12 NRT-LAX, Aug 18th, 6.45pm (Actual: 7.15pm) Boeing 747-400 Seat 17H
As promised, I helped myself to another glass of champagne upon boarding. I figured there was a remote chance of an emptier Raffles cabin after seeing several Japanese passengers on the first sector, who probably wouldn’t make the connection to LAX. I was wrong – new faces were on board, and all but one Raffles seat were occupied.
Today’s dinner was as follows:
DINNER MENU
To Nibble On…
Satay
With onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce
A Savoury Note
“Hot” smoked salmon with nicoise salad
Oven smoked salmon with potato, green beans, olives, quail eggs, tomatoes, and mache lettuce served with choice of citrus vinaigrette or ranch dressing
Japanese cold noodles
The Main Event
Roasted stuffed chicken with forest mushroom served with port wine jus, sautéed spinach and buttered potato
Stir fried beef fillet in Chinese hot bean sauce, pumpkin, okra, corn and steamed rice
Japanese style simmered pork with pumpkin, summer vegetable and steamed rice
Sauteed prawns served with creamy shytake mushroom sauce and capeline pasta
The Cheese Board
Gourmet cheese with garnishes
A Sweet Note
A selection of fresh fruit
Rum and raisin ice cream with ginger peach salad
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
And pralines
I was pretty glad to see satay being offered again on NRT-LAX. This apparently doesn’t happen all the time and even more so on SQ 11. Then again, there are times SQ doesn’t offer satay at all – they won’t offer any explanation, neither would they compensate it with something else. So the best is to never expect satay when it is such a hit-or-miss dish.
I didn’t have a BTC meal for this flight, so I chose the stuffed chicken, which was excellent. What a relief after that nightmare ‘steak’ I had for lunch. In contrast, my seat partner in 17K, pre-ordered the fried seabass and didn’t touch it again after a few bites. That’s an option to strike off the BTC list ex-NRT. I skipped the cold noodles this time round, I find these noodles rather boring and it just doesn’t seem to do a good job of whetting my appetite. Am I the only one that feels SQ can scrap this course in exchange for something else?
After dinner I was exhausted and fell asleep almost immediately. I love the spacebed design. Granted it’s not perfect, but there’s only so much SQ can do with the limited amount of pitch they can afford to give passengers (58”). In my opinion, angled lie-flat seats are here to stay, and flat beds will continue to be the big pull factor for flying F. Besides, it is impossible to sleep on one’s side in those old-fashioned cradle seats, so the spacebed is still a massive improvement over the short-lived ultimo seats. It must be said however, that at times I did feel myself sliding off the seat when lying on my back. Not everyone experiences this problem, but for those who do, I recommend turning to your side to minimize the effects of the seat’s incline.
After about 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep, breakfast was about to commence.
BREAKFAST MENU
A Fresh Start
A choice of apple, tomato and freshly squeezed orange
Fresh fruit
A Healthy Note
Choice of cereals
Cornflakes or rice krispies with milk
The Main Event
Japanese breakfast
Braised swordfish with ginger and sake served with summer vegetables, steamed rice and miso soup
Fried noodles with roast chicken, cabbage and mushroom
Omelette with melted brie cheese, rosemary veal sausage, roasted tomato and griddles hotcake
From the Bakery
Assorted breakfast rolls
Butter – Fruit preserve
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
I am a big fan of fresh OJ and was rather disappointed that the juice served prior to the actual breakfast service wasn’t freshly-squeezed. It’s a small gripe but I do believe they serve fresh OJ in F, at all times. For breakfast I chose the omelette, which had a nice chunk of melting brie on top and I enjoyed it. The hotcakes were unremarkable so I left it on the plate. I rounded off the breakfast with a nice cup of cappuccino.
Today’s landing at LAX was about 45 minutes late but that wasn't the worst part - the landing itself was the roughest I’ve ever experienced on SQ. Seconds prior to touchdown I noticed that we were descending a little too fast, and sure enough, despite the routine nose-up maneuver, we hit the ground with a very loud ‘thud’. I can’t imagine how bad it must have been for passengers flying downstairs in economy, for they would have taken the full brunt of this punishment. What a terrible landing, any harder I’m sure the tires would have burst. According to some flyers, poor landings are not unusual when flying SQ. To further prove this theory, I had a friend who took SQ 20 the next day (Aug 19th) and she reported that the pilot had to abort the landing at the last minute – and only landed on the second attempt a whole 30 minutes later. Apparently, he had miscalculated the landing approach and was “too high” for a successful first attempt. Who on earth misses an afternoon landing approach in perfect weather conditions? Is the A345 a particularly difficult plane to handle? What a ridiculous excuse in my opinion, and worthy of a complaint to SQ if my friend ever bothers.
The arrival terminal was packed with passengers today. I think there were at least 5 international flights that arrived within minutes of each other. I got through immigration in 10 minutes, but it must have taken a good 45 minutes for the non-US citizens. The bags were on the carousel almost immediately – hooray again for priority tags – I must have been the first one on SQ 12 to leave the terminal. I was just so eager to head home and have a nice, long shower.
All in all, I had an very satisfactory experience with SQ today. No doubt it wasn't first class, but if I'm happy flying in Raffles, I'm doing myself a favor keeping my expectations at a reasonable level. I'd just need to avoid steak in future and hope I don't get some disgruntled pilot. Anyway, my loyalty to NW means that I shall still be flying them interchangeably on my transpacific routes, but SQ has proven today that it truly is in a class of its own.
Hope you guys enjoyed the report!
Last edited by Jaffar; Aug 21, 2005 at 1:19 pm
Aug 21, 2005, 7:00 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Agoura Hills, CA USA
Posts: 2,662
Having just flown the same segments in F class I must say that the food experience was quite different. One could NOT finish all of the food that was presented . Also I really love the fact that the excellent satay is served on BOTH nrt-sin and sin-lax segments in both first and raffles.l..
Aug 21, 2005, 11:32 pm
#5
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA 1K MM, Accor Plat, Htz PC, Natl ExEm, other random status
Posts: 2,876
Thanks for the report - very interesting - great details.
A side note - my personal feeling is that a "go-around" is never grounds for a letter of complaint to an airline.
If a pilot believes that something is wrong with a landing, he should never hesitate to go-around. I don't believe that anyone who's not sitting on the flight deck with the handling pilot should ever criticize the decision to go around - who knows what might have caused the decision - perhaps ATC issued instructions too late - it could be anything.
The potential consequences of not going around are too severe.
Monday morning quarterbacking is fun and all, but without any facts at all, and unless you or your friend are ATP's yourselves, I'd suggest there's no basis for a letter.
Greg
A side note - my personal feeling is that a "go-around" is never grounds for a letter of complaint to an airline.
If a pilot believes that something is wrong with a landing, he should never hesitate to go-around. I don't believe that anyone who's not sitting on the flight deck with the handling pilot should ever criticize the decision to go around - who knows what might have caused the decision - perhaps ATC issued instructions too late - it could be anything.
The potential consequences of not going around are too severe.
Monday morning quarterbacking is fun and all, but without any facts at all, and unless you or your friend are ATP's yourselves, I'd suggest there's no basis for a letter.
Greg
Aug 22, 2005, 11:45 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 274
Originally Posted by greg99
If a pilot believes that something is wrong with a landing, he should never hesitate to go-around. I don't believe that anyone who's not sitting on the flight deck with the handling pilot should ever criticize the decision to go around - who knows what might have caused the decision - perhaps ATC issued instructions too late - it could be anything.
Greg
Greg