EWR-AMS

Landed in EWR with over 5 hour until my SQ flight. Check in line for SQ was not opened yet so I went into the VA Clubhouse and explained my situation. After verifying my SQ itinerary the receptionist let me in with a smile. The Virgin lounge is much better than the SAS/LH lounge. The Virgin Clubhouse has better foods (sushi, sandwiches, custom potato chips, and a sit down buffet to boot), better drinks (champagne and high end liquor), nicer atmosphere (classier décor), and the crews showed an honest attitude and also treated you with a lot of respect. The lounge does get busy at time though. I got some sushi and washed them down with champagne. After a couple of hour I went out to check in with SQ.

Check in at the SQ First Class line was a breeze. Igor, the check in supervisor, said I could either go back to the VA Clubhouse or go through security and to the SAS/LH lounge. I wanted to do both so he set me up with two invites. I spent another hour inside the VA Clubhouse then through security to the SAS/LH lounge. The SAS/LH lounge reminded me of the standard AA Admiral Club, except you don’t have to pay for liquor (but, the SAS/LH lounge does not have champagne). There was hardly any food in the lounge but they do have some very fancy bottled water. Their internet access also seems faster than VA Clubhouse.

I boarded the plane about 30 minutes before take off and was greeted by a male FA that has what I thought at first was a robotic smile. I caught him later on talking to another FA and he seems to have a permanent smile on his face. You know the type I am talking about. I saw only one older female FA that was not constantly smiling. Overall, the attitude of the FA’s been very genuine. Blanket, amenities kit, and sleep suit were given out. Forget the little pillow that they set on your chair, ask for a larger one to put behind your back.

The SkySuites has many good features and a few bad one. The pluses are the big screen monitor, the large sliding table, good seat width, and very luxurious material. I like the large sliding table as a workspace and also as a dining platform. The best part about the table is that you can have it full of food and still get out to use the restroom. The minuses are: the seat controls in the arm rest are too easily activated accidentally, I can not adjust the seat back angle without moving the whole seat, the control for the Wisemen is inconveniently located. The Wisemen system had to be reset in flight on most segments due to glitches in at least one or two seats. The stationary kit contains a pen only if you are departing out of SIN. The pen was missing on all other segments.

Hot towels are back with a vengeance prior to meal service. Caviar was served only on this segment, but I did get a second helping since first class was only half full. The BTC Chilean sea bass was good but the portion was a little small. There are two types of people in this world: those that like 12oz of vegetable and 4oz of fish and those that like 12oz of fish with 4oz of vegetable. I am of the latter. Good thing that Krug was flowing nonstop in my direction.

I watched two movies and then it was time for breakfast. I do like SQ movie selection. I seldom watch more than 2 movies on any trip but I ended up watching a total of nine movies total. All I wanted for breakfast was some fruit since I will be eating lunch in a couple of hour on my way to SIN.

Disembarked at AMS and went to the SQ lounge requesting a shower pass. Shower was given inside the Mercure Hotel between the lounge and the departure gate. As of 1 August 03 there will be no more free shower from SQ. The same shower now cost 12.5 Euro.

AMS-SIN

Reboarded and took my old seat 2b. Plane was delayed due to a mechanical problem. Krug started flowing again and I settled down for some hot nuts while waiting. One hour later and we’re off.

Another rounds of hot towels and lunch were served. I had the BTC lobster thermidor. It was good but again the portion was a little small. Overall the service was very good and attentive. After lunch I slept for about 5 hours and woke up hungry again. It is true what they said about Chinese food, it does not last very long in your tummy.

The only hot food they have was instant noodle soup. I chose the shrimp noodle and it came out better than I expected. Still, JAL udon will beat it by a mile.

A couple of hours prior to landing in SIN another breakfast was served. I was informed that they had run out of Krug and would I consider switching to DomP. Is the Pope Catholic? DomP for breakfast, YES! and the seafood congees was not bad either. Again, service was very good and efficient.

Landing in SIN, I headed to the lounge to take yet another shower. For some reason there were no lights in the lounge until 07:00, almost 45 minutes after I got there. I was expecting to use the first class lounge but was informed since my connecting flight to SGN was in Raffle class I have to use the Raffle lounge. I explained to the receptionist that I bought a first class ticket but SQ only has business class service to SGN, if SQ offers first class service to SGN then I would like to purchase it. She still insisted that I use the Raffle lounge. This is where JAL is better than SQ. JAL always let me use the First Class lounge if I have a first class ticket and no first class service available.

I do not like the layout of the facilities in either the Silver Kris Raffle class or First class lounge. The lavatories are separated from the individual toilets and individual showers. I ended up lugging my carryon from the lavatories into the individual toilet then into the individual shower. Why can’t they put all three into one individual room like every body else? Keep in mind that if it wasn’t for my EDC flashlight I would have to do this in total darkness due to the black out. I think the black out might have something to do with the praying service in the morning. I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong.

Duty free is less expensive in SIN compare to AMS, especially tobacco products. Also, if you purchase at the DFS store you get a free entry to win a red Ducati 999. I got some Cohiba Corona Especiale and Lancero. Great smoke and also a great gift.

SIN-SGN-SIN

I lumped both of these segments together since they were less than 2 hours each way. I had the BTC curry fish ball and it was delicious. Although, next time I would just get the steak off the menu since it looked very juicy and thick. I had the fried fish on the way back to SIN and I would recommend against this choice. Again, I would get the steak because it seems to be very consistent in appearance.

A tip for going through immigration: do not line up where they have 2 agents in the same booth. One of them is being trained so the line will move very slowly. Avoid all female agents. Select a line that has a 30ish looking male. I guarantee you that he can process you in his sleep and you will be through in no time.

I clear immigration approximately 20 minutes after deplaning and headed toward baggage claim. My bags were already out waiting for me in a separate section from gen-pop. It took me 2 minutes and US$5 to clear custom. What a country!!!!!

On the return I checked in at the business line of the SQ counter. I was given an invite to a generic lounge but I did not go there because there was a serious backlog at the immigration line. By the time I got through the plane was boarded by almost every one.

I don’t like the Ultimo seat for the same reason that I don’t like the SkySuites seat. Namely the lack of individual adjustment and the fold out table that forces you to seat straight up when you are eating. Also, please bring back the individual airflow adjustment. SGN is hot and humid and I don’t want to sit in my own sweat waiting for the central air to kick in after take off.

All FAs were extremely courteous and services were done with utmost efficiency. I got a full meal and all my drinks in a 1.5 hour flight, on a 777 no less.

SIN-AMS

This time I was able to get into the Silver Kris First class lounge and I was disappointed. Unlike the Wing, there were not too many things that differentiate First class from Raffle class lounge. You get a little more elbowroom and better liquor, but that is about it. The plane had a mechanical delay so I ended up drinking a couple of Singapore Sling and a few glasses of Krug.

I boarded the plane and went to sleep immediate after takeoff in seat 1B. Six hours later I woke up and was greeted with, yes you have guessed it, more hot towels. The BTC Kyo-Kaiseki was served and to my surprise still tasted freshly made.

I watched a couple of movies and got hungry again. Yup, Asian food does not last long. Mid flight snack is really skimpy now on SQ, what a shame. I decided to eat my breakfast instead of waiting until the normal serving time. The breakfast sausage was very tasty and I finished every thing off with more Krug.

We landed in AMS about 45 minutes late so there were not too many things to do before we have to reboard. I went back through security and waited about 10 minutes before reboarding the aircraft. Back to seat 1B for me, but wait, the Wisemen no longer worked so I was moved to 2D. Rebooting the Wisemen brought every thing back to normal but I was content with 2D so I did not move back to 1B.

Plane departed late due to one passenger unfit to travel. The ground staffs had trouble locating his/her baggage, and then we miss our takeoff slot when the bags were located. Eventually we were about 1:15 late departing AMS.

AMS-EWR

There were three of us in First on this leg, and there were 2 male FA and one female FA serving the cabin. The SQ honey was very friendly and talkative, but not flirtatious.

Hot towels, followed by champagne, followed by hot nuts and then hot towels again prior to lunch service. I knew something was wrong when they served me lobster thermidor again. I checked my record and I BTC the roast duck for this segment. Come to found out that you can only get roast duck out of SIN and roast goose out of HKG. SQ needs to correct their web page info. Realizing the mistake, the SQ honey offered me something else from the menu. I chose the lamp chop and it was delicious. Again, the portion was on the small size.

I doze off until I was awaken by the SQ honey for breakfast. I had the muesli and some fruit. I drank three more glasses of Krug prior to landing.

AFTER THOUGHT

SQ service is still very good. They are in the top 5 if not the top 3.
SQ food was very good, albeit a little small portion wise.
SQ equipments and products are still top notch.
SQ Silver Kris has a long way to go compare to CX, JL, KE.

Seat 2b is better over all.

Seat 1b has that total isolation feeling to it, if and only if no one is trying to access the two small closets one on each side of the seat. Also, by design, seat 1b is the first to depart and arrive due to its front most position on the aircraft.

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[This message has been edited by AH-64D (edited 08-11-2003).]

[This message has been edited by AH-64D (edited 08-11-2003).]

[This message has been edited by AH-64D (edited 08-11-2003).]