Bangkok-Singapore-Paris, Singapore Airlines New Business Class on the 77W
Mar 22, 2008, 5:21 am
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Bangkok-Singapore-Paris, Singapore Airlines New Business Class on the 77W
The Background
This is the start of a trip which eventually leads to Buenos Aires, Atlanta, New York and Frankfurt. Joining me for the first two legs (and a few more after that) is Patgarrett. He’d spent the previous four days in Myanmar “finding himself”. They forgot to exchange addresses and have since lost contact somewhat. This was Pat’s first trip in business class, and what a way to start. Bangkok to Singapore on Singapore Airlines, followed by Singapore to Paris in the new business class on the Boeing 777-300ER.
The Itinerary
Bangkok (BKK) – Singapore (SIN)
Singapore Airlines
Business class
Singapore (SIN) – Paris (CDG)
Singapore Airlines
Business class
This is the start of a trip which eventually leads to Buenos Aires, Atlanta, New York and Frankfurt. Joining me for the first two legs (and a few more after that) is Patgarrett. He’d spent the previous four days in Myanmar “finding himself”. They forgot to exchange addresses and have since lost contact somewhat. This was Pat’s first trip in business class, and what a way to start. Bangkok to Singapore on Singapore Airlines, followed by Singapore to Paris in the new business class on the Boeing 777-300ER.
The Itinerary
Bangkok (BKK) – Singapore (SIN)
Singapore Airlines
Business class
Singapore (SIN) – Paris (CDG)
Singapore Airlines
Business class
Mar 22, 2008, 5:30 am
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Bangkok (BKK) to Singapore (SIN)
Date Friday 21st March 2008
Airline Singapore Airlines
Class of service Business class
Flight number SQ971
Aircraft type Boeing 777-200
Scheduled (actual) departure time 0745 (0806)
Scheduled (actual) arrival time 1110 (1129)
Flight duration 1:52
Distance 876 miles
Average speed 469 mph
Departure
We checked out of the Lebua State Tower at 0530, and quickly got a taxi to Suvarnabhumi airport. The taxi driver didn’t want to use the meter and was going to charge us 500 Baht. We insisted on the meter, and the bill came to a more realistic 270 Baht. It took about 25 mins on the quiet roads before we reached the terminal drop off point.
A quick check-in was followed by a 30 minute queue to go through immigration. Therefore we only had about 15 minutes in the Thai Royal Silk Lounge before we had to leave and make our way to the aircraft. The Thai lounge was quite comfortable, but the food and drink selection was relatively poor, and certainly no where near as good as what we were expecting in the Silver Kris Lounge in Singapore.
Push back was delayed by 21 minutes due to some people not turning up for the flight and having to wait for their luggage to be off-loaded. It was a relatively short taxi to the departure runway, 19L, but we had to wait for about 10 minutes behind two Thai Airbus A300’s and a Thai Boeing 747-400.
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport terminal
The boarding passes
The Thai Royal Silk Lounge in Bangkok
Boeing 777-200 at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi before operating SQ971 to Singapore
Routing
After departure from runway 19L, it was a small left hand turn before making a direct course for Changi. After about 1 hour we made landfall over Malaysia. We approached the airport from the north before making a downwind leg, and then two right turns for an approach to runway 02L.
Singapore Airlines flight SQ971 on Friday 21st March 2008.
Seat and cabin
2-3-2
This was Singapore Airlines’ regional configured 777-200, and therefore it didn’t have the Spacebed. However, the pitch (about 60”) was more than sufficient for a flight of less than 2 hours.
Entertainment
A relatively small screen and not on-demand, but still good enough for a short flight. The flight wasn’t long enough to watch a film, and the cabin crew apologised for this, which shows commitment to service.
Food and drink
Breakfast was served just after take-off and consisted of a complete tray with some fruit and a choice of three main dishes. I went for the rice vermicelli with salmon, which was very tasty and plentiful, albeit a bit on the cold side. Patgarrett had the same. The other choices were Khao Mok Kai which is a Thai style chicken rice, and scrambled egg with panfried ham, sautéed mushroom and hash brown. One thing to note was that today being Good Friday, hot cross buns were served too. The steward seemed particularly proud of the offering and wasn’t happy until Pat and I had several rolls. The usual array of soft drinks and juices were offered along with alcoholic drinks such as beer and Charles Heidsieck Champagne. Cocktails such as the infamous Singapore Sling were also available.
Rice vermicelli with salmon
Cabin crew
The usual very friendly and able cabin crew made this flight a pleasure. From the very start it was “Mr Mofomat” and “Mr Garrett”. If I ever have a surly Singapore Girl I wil be very surprised.
Arrival
We arrived at terminal 2, slightly behind schedule, which Patgarrett was disappointed about as he wanted as much time as possible in the new Silver Kris business lounge before our Paris flight.
Overall
As a regional flight it cannot be faulted. A similar length trip in Europe or the U.S. would be nowhere near as comfortable. A proper business class seat and proper food made this flight very good indeed.
Downwind leg before landing at Changi’s runway 02L
Aircraft ahead of us on final approach
Airline Singapore Airlines
Class of service Business class
Flight number SQ971
Aircraft type Boeing 777-200
Scheduled (actual) departure time 0745 (0806)
Scheduled (actual) arrival time 1110 (1129)
Flight duration 1:52
Distance 876 miles
Average speed 469 mph
Departure
We checked out of the Lebua State Tower at 0530, and quickly got a taxi to Suvarnabhumi airport. The taxi driver didn’t want to use the meter and was going to charge us 500 Baht. We insisted on the meter, and the bill came to a more realistic 270 Baht. It took about 25 mins on the quiet roads before we reached the terminal drop off point.
A quick check-in was followed by a 30 minute queue to go through immigration. Therefore we only had about 15 minutes in the Thai Royal Silk Lounge before we had to leave and make our way to the aircraft. The Thai lounge was quite comfortable, but the food and drink selection was relatively poor, and certainly no where near as good as what we were expecting in the Silver Kris Lounge in Singapore.
Push back was delayed by 21 minutes due to some people not turning up for the flight and having to wait for their luggage to be off-loaded. It was a relatively short taxi to the departure runway, 19L, but we had to wait for about 10 minutes behind two Thai Airbus A300’s and a Thai Boeing 747-400.
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport terminal
The boarding passes
The Thai Royal Silk Lounge in Bangkok
Boeing 777-200 at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi before operating SQ971 to Singapore
Routing
After departure from runway 19L, it was a small left hand turn before making a direct course for Changi. After about 1 hour we made landfall over Malaysia. We approached the airport from the north before making a downwind leg, and then two right turns for an approach to runway 02L.
Singapore Airlines flight SQ971 on Friday 21st March 2008.
Seat and cabin
2-3-2
This was Singapore Airlines’ regional configured 777-200, and therefore it didn’t have the Spacebed. However, the pitch (about 60”) was more than sufficient for a flight of less than 2 hours.
Entertainment
A relatively small screen and not on-demand, but still good enough for a short flight. The flight wasn’t long enough to watch a film, and the cabin crew apologised for this, which shows commitment to service.
Food and drink
Breakfast was served just after take-off and consisted of a complete tray with some fruit and a choice of three main dishes. I went for the rice vermicelli with salmon, which was very tasty and plentiful, albeit a bit on the cold side. Patgarrett had the same. The other choices were Khao Mok Kai which is a Thai style chicken rice, and scrambled egg with panfried ham, sautéed mushroom and hash brown. One thing to note was that today being Good Friday, hot cross buns were served too. The steward seemed particularly proud of the offering and wasn’t happy until Pat and I had several rolls. The usual array of soft drinks and juices were offered along with alcoholic drinks such as beer and Charles Heidsieck Champagne. Cocktails such as the infamous Singapore Sling were also available.
Rice vermicelli with salmon
Cabin crew
The usual very friendly and able cabin crew made this flight a pleasure. From the very start it was “Mr Mofomat” and “Mr Garrett”. If I ever have a surly Singapore Girl I wil be very surprised.
Arrival
We arrived at terminal 2, slightly behind schedule, which Patgarrett was disappointed about as he wanted as much time as possible in the new Silver Kris business lounge before our Paris flight.
Overall
As a regional flight it cannot be faulted. A similar length trip in Europe or the U.S. would be nowhere near as comfortable. A proper business class seat and proper food made this flight very good indeed.
Downwind leg before landing at Changi’s runway 02L
Aircraft ahead of us on final approach
Mar 22, 2008, 5:53 am
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Singapore (SIN) to Paris (CDG)
Date Friday 21st March 2008
Airline Singapore Airlines
Class of service Business class
Flight number SQ332
Aircraft type Boeing 777-300ER
Scheduled (actual) departure time 1310 (1312)
Scheduled (actual) arrival time 2010 (2008)
Flight duration 13:37
Distance 6,667 miles
Average speed 490 mph
Departure
Fifteen minutes after arriving on the flight from Bangkok we were entering the Silver Kris lounge in Terminal 3. This is a lounge which has only been open for two months. It is very large and spacious with many amenities such as about 20 Apple computers, showers and a relatively large selection of food and drink. There is free wireless too. However, before long it was time to go to gate A15 for our flight to Paris. This was a 10 minute walk from the lounge. There were no queues when we arrived at the security check about 25 minutes before our scheduled departure time. We boarded the aircraft, 9V-SWN, which looked a very new example, and sure enough, on entering the cabin we could smell the unique aroma of a brand new aircraft. I later found out it was only delivered 4 days previously. We made ourselves comfortable and accepted the offer of an orange juice from a member of the crew. Magazines and newspapers were also offered. We pushed back from the gate 2 minutes behind schedule at 1312, and made the short taxi from the stand to runway 02L for departure.
Patgarrett in the Silver Kris Lounge in Terminal 3 at Singapore
9V-SVN at gate A15 in Singapore. The aircraft was only delivered 4 days previously.
Routing
As seems to be the case on the new Singapore Airlines 777-300ER, the flight mapper didn’t work. Therefore I couldn’t be certain of the route our flight took. However, it would normally fly from Singapore, up the west Malaysian coast past Kuala Lumpur, over the Bay of Bengal, across India, Delhi and into Pakistan, across Afghanistan, Iran and the Caspian Sea. From there across Georgia, the Black Sea, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany and into France.
Seat and cabin
1-2-1
The new Singapore Airlines business class is, in my opinion, the finest business class seat on any aircraft today. I believe it to be better than a lot of airlines’ first class seats. For those that don’t know, it’s very wide, has lots of storage space. Some people have commented that it’s difficult to get comfortable, but I had no problem at all, and find the reclined position even more comfortable than my sofa at home. It’s perfect for watching the TV screen in a slightly reclined position. Everybody has access to the aisle too due to the 1-2-1 arrangement.
Patgarrett in the huge business class seat
Patgarrett and Mofomat on board SQ332 Singapore to Paris (CDG)
Entertainment
1,000 channels of on-demand entertainment. There was more than enough choice of programmes to watch, including films, comedy shows, documentaries etc. The system also allows you to plug in a USB stick and use a program to work on such things as spreadsheets and word processing documents The system was very quick and reliable, with one fault. The flight mapper froze after about 20 minutes of flight.
Food and drink
As expected the food was probably the finest I have ever eaten on an aircraft. Service started with drinks just after departure. A Singapore Sling was ordered by both Pat and I. Curiously, despite even saying it was a Singapore Sling as she placed it by Pat, the stewardess brought a non-alcoholic pineapple juice. When informed of the error the correct drink was brought very quickly.
Singapore Sling
About 20 minutes after take-off the food service began with the traditional satay (three sticks). This was followed by the appetiser (a savoury note). I don’t normally write the whole menu out but I will make an exception for this flight.
Singapore to Paris
Lunch Menu
To Nibble On…..
Satay
With onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce.
A Savoury Note
Parma ham with mozzarella cheese, tomato and arugula lettuce served with balsamic vinaigrette.
The Main Event
Pan fried chicken breast with tagliatelle in mushroom cream sauce.
Tournedos of beef in roasted shallot jus, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and mashed potatoes.
Braised duck with yam rice
A Singapore local dish of duck braised in soya sauce served with yam rice, braised egg and peanuts.
Chargrilled cod with lemon chive sauce, buttered vegetables and steamed potatoes.
A Sweet Note
Coconut and mango ice cream with raspberry coulis.
The Cheese Board
Gourmet cheese with garnishes.
Fruit
A selection of fresh fruit.
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
and pralines.
I had the beef for main course and Pat had the cod. Both dishes were fantastic and certainly of restaurant quality. The portions were very large too. The salad of mozzarella and ham was also very good. The ice cream for dessert was also of very high quality. Not only were the dishes tasty, but the presentation was also spot on.
The famous Singapore Airlines satay
Parma ham with mozzarella cheese, tomato and arugula lettuce served with balsamic vinaigrette
Tournedos of beef in roasted shallot jus, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and mashed potatoes
Chargrilled cod with lemon chive sauce, buttered vegetables and steamed potatoes
Coconut and mango ice cream with raspberry coulis
Gourmet cheese with garnishes
About halfway through the flight I decided to try one of the snacks on offer. I chose the fish ball broth with noodles, which was again, very tasty and plentiful.
Fish ball broth with noodles
About 2 and a half hours before landing in Charles de Gaulle, a further meal service began. The menu was as follows:
Light Meal Menu
A Savoury Note
Marinated seafood salad with charred asparagus and mesclun with olive oil dressing.
The Main Event
Seared chicken breast with apple cider sauce, white cabbage, chestnut and mixed mushrooms.
Chinese style barbecued pork rib with stirfried seasonal vegetables and fried rice.
Pan fried salmon with bouillabaisse sauce, buttered mangetout, roasted tomato and olive potatoes.
A Sweet Note
Chocolate truffle cake.
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
For this course Pat and I had the barbecued pork rib.
As expected the food was probably the finest I have ever eaten on an aircraft.
Marinated seafood salad with charred asparagus and mesclun with olive oil dressing
Chinese style barbecued pork rib with stirfried seasonal vegetables and fried rice
Chocolate truffle cake
Cabin crew
It’s a bit of a cliché now, and a bit predictable, but the cabin crew were impeccable. However, just to make things interesting, there were a few mistakes. The aforementioned pineapple juice instead of the Singapore Sling, and for me, a drink offering for me during the meal service was missed. I caught the stewards attention but only received my red wine towards the end of my main course. This goes to show that the Singapore Airlines cabin crew are human after all.
Arrival
It was a short taxi from the landing runway at CDG, and we were one of the first off the aircraft at the very tatty but futuristic looking Terminal 1. There were virtually no queues at immigration.
Overall
Probably one of the best flights I have ever had. Everything from the seat to the food were amazing. The flight was very long, but I could have flown straight back to Singapore again. If anybody gets a chance to fly in the latest Singapore Airlines business class then they are in for a treat. The latest seats can be found on the Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER and in a few months, the all business class A340-500 from Singapore to Newark and Los Angeles.
On boarding the aircraft in Singapore we walked through the first class section on the aircraft. I was particularly interested in this because I will be trying this out next month on a flight from Singapore to San Francisco. But, that is a whole different trip report altogether……
Airline Singapore Airlines
Class of service Business class
Flight number SQ332
Aircraft type Boeing 777-300ER
Scheduled (actual) departure time 1310 (1312)
Scheduled (actual) arrival time 2010 (2008)
Flight duration 13:37
Distance 6,667 miles
Average speed 490 mph
Departure
Fifteen minutes after arriving on the flight from Bangkok we were entering the Silver Kris lounge in Terminal 3. This is a lounge which has only been open for two months. It is very large and spacious with many amenities such as about 20 Apple computers, showers and a relatively large selection of food and drink. There is free wireless too. However, before long it was time to go to gate A15 for our flight to Paris. This was a 10 minute walk from the lounge. There were no queues when we arrived at the security check about 25 minutes before our scheduled departure time. We boarded the aircraft, 9V-SWN, which looked a very new example, and sure enough, on entering the cabin we could smell the unique aroma of a brand new aircraft. I later found out it was only delivered 4 days previously. We made ourselves comfortable and accepted the offer of an orange juice from a member of the crew. Magazines and newspapers were also offered. We pushed back from the gate 2 minutes behind schedule at 1312, and made the short taxi from the stand to runway 02L for departure.
Patgarrett in the Silver Kris Lounge in Terminal 3 at Singapore
9V-SVN at gate A15 in Singapore. The aircraft was only delivered 4 days previously.
Routing
As seems to be the case on the new Singapore Airlines 777-300ER, the flight mapper didn’t work. Therefore I couldn’t be certain of the route our flight took. However, it would normally fly from Singapore, up the west Malaysian coast past Kuala Lumpur, over the Bay of Bengal, across India, Delhi and into Pakistan, across Afghanistan, Iran and the Caspian Sea. From there across Georgia, the Black Sea, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany and into France.
Seat and cabin
1-2-1
The new Singapore Airlines business class is, in my opinion, the finest business class seat on any aircraft today. I believe it to be better than a lot of airlines’ first class seats. For those that don’t know, it’s very wide, has lots of storage space. Some people have commented that it’s difficult to get comfortable, but I had no problem at all, and find the reclined position even more comfortable than my sofa at home. It’s perfect for watching the TV screen in a slightly reclined position. Everybody has access to the aisle too due to the 1-2-1 arrangement.
Patgarrett in the huge business class seat
Patgarrett and Mofomat on board SQ332 Singapore to Paris (CDG)
Entertainment
1,000 channels of on-demand entertainment. There was more than enough choice of programmes to watch, including films, comedy shows, documentaries etc. The system also allows you to plug in a USB stick and use a program to work on such things as spreadsheets and word processing documents The system was very quick and reliable, with one fault. The flight mapper froze after about 20 minutes of flight.
Food and drink
As expected the food was probably the finest I have ever eaten on an aircraft. Service started with drinks just after departure. A Singapore Sling was ordered by both Pat and I. Curiously, despite even saying it was a Singapore Sling as she placed it by Pat, the stewardess brought a non-alcoholic pineapple juice. When informed of the error the correct drink was brought very quickly.
Singapore Sling
About 20 minutes after take-off the food service began with the traditional satay (three sticks). This was followed by the appetiser (a savoury note). I don’t normally write the whole menu out but I will make an exception for this flight.
Singapore to Paris
Lunch Menu
To Nibble On…..
Satay
With onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce.
A Savoury Note
Parma ham with mozzarella cheese, tomato and arugula lettuce served with balsamic vinaigrette.
The Main Event
Pan fried chicken breast with tagliatelle in mushroom cream sauce.
Tournedos of beef in roasted shallot jus, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and mashed potatoes.
Braised duck with yam rice
A Singapore local dish of duck braised in soya sauce served with yam rice, braised egg and peanuts.
Chargrilled cod with lemon chive sauce, buttered vegetables and steamed potatoes.
A Sweet Note
Coconut and mango ice cream with raspberry coulis.
The Cheese Board
Gourmet cheese with garnishes.
Fruit
A selection of fresh fruit.
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
and pralines.
I had the beef for main course and Pat had the cod. Both dishes were fantastic and certainly of restaurant quality. The portions were very large too. The salad of mozzarella and ham was also very good. The ice cream for dessert was also of very high quality. Not only were the dishes tasty, but the presentation was also spot on.
The famous Singapore Airlines satay
Parma ham with mozzarella cheese, tomato and arugula lettuce served with balsamic vinaigrette
Tournedos of beef in roasted shallot jus, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and mashed potatoes
Chargrilled cod with lemon chive sauce, buttered vegetables and steamed potatoes
Coconut and mango ice cream with raspberry coulis
Gourmet cheese with garnishes
About halfway through the flight I decided to try one of the snacks on offer. I chose the fish ball broth with noodles, which was again, very tasty and plentiful.
Fish ball broth with noodles
About 2 and a half hours before landing in Charles de Gaulle, a further meal service began. The menu was as follows:
Light Meal Menu
A Savoury Note
Marinated seafood salad with charred asparagus and mesclun with olive oil dressing.
The Main Event
Seared chicken breast with apple cider sauce, white cabbage, chestnut and mixed mushrooms.
Chinese style barbecued pork rib with stirfried seasonal vegetables and fried rice.
Pan fried salmon with bouillabaisse sauce, buttered mangetout, roasted tomato and olive potatoes.
A Sweet Note
Chocolate truffle cake.
A Connoisseur’s Choice
Gourmet coffee
Selection of tea
For this course Pat and I had the barbecued pork rib.
As expected the food was probably the finest I have ever eaten on an aircraft.
Marinated seafood salad with charred asparagus and mesclun with olive oil dressing
Chinese style barbecued pork rib with stirfried seasonal vegetables and fried rice
Chocolate truffle cake
Cabin crew
It’s a bit of a cliché now, and a bit predictable, but the cabin crew were impeccable. However, just to make things interesting, there were a few mistakes. The aforementioned pineapple juice instead of the Singapore Sling, and for me, a drink offering for me during the meal service was missed. I caught the stewards attention but only received my red wine towards the end of my main course. This goes to show that the Singapore Airlines cabin crew are human after all.
Arrival
It was a short taxi from the landing runway at CDG, and we were one of the first off the aircraft at the very tatty but futuristic looking Terminal 1. There were virtually no queues at immigration.
Overall
Probably one of the best flights I have ever had. Everything from the seat to the food were amazing. The flight was very long, but I could have flown straight back to Singapore again. If anybody gets a chance to fly in the latest Singapore Airlines business class then they are in for a treat. The latest seats can be found on the Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER and in a few months, the all business class A340-500 from Singapore to Newark and Los Angeles.
On boarding the aircraft in Singapore we walked through the first class section on the aircraft. I was particularly interested in this because I will be trying this out next month on a flight from Singapore to San Francisco. But, that is a whole different trip report altogether……
Last edited by Mofomat; Apr 1, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Mar 22, 2008, 9:10 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: BHD/DUB
Programs: BA Gold, TK*G, EI Elite
Posts: 7,622
Good stuff Mofomat.
One thing though, you guys really need to invest in some decent shades, those square edge, dark tints you're wearing don't suit either of you !
and wearing them indoors, who do you think you are, Hollywood superstars or something ?
One thing though, you guys really need to invest in some decent shades, those square edge, dark tints you're wearing don't suit either of you !
and wearing them indoors, who do you think you are, Hollywood superstars or something ?
Mar 22, 2008, 10:02 am
#6
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Ha ha! Wasn't too happy about posting our faces on the internet. Don't know why. Maybe because of the fear that someone might recognise us in a lounge somewhere. Patgarrett has a few "enemies". So I thought I'd cover our eyes like the SAS do in pictures featuring current serving officers.
Mar 22, 2008, 10:45 am
#7
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Join Date: Oct 2005
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Posts: 23,822
Great pics! Another eye feast for a Sat morning 
Why put black stripes on across your eyes? 
It's a bit funny.
Edited: just saw your reason as to why
Why put black stripes on across your eyes?
It's a bit funny.Edited: just saw your reason as to why
Mar 30, 2008, 2:07 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2004
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Posts: 2,805
Nice TR Mofomat. I've read them completely out of chronological order, being too lazy to do otherwise. Someday I'm sure I'll get to fly SQ (sigh).
