At around 15 minutes past 11, a gate agent came on the speakerphone and began calling out names to approach the podium. At first, I was not paying particular attention to the announcements, and continued to focus on my episode of the The Office. I thought maybe the gate agents were just paging passengers who were on the wait list for this flight. Who cares about wait list passengers when Michael is trying to make "that's what she said" jokes in every possible conversation? However, minutes later a series of name continued to be called for an important message at increasingly frequent intervals. After maybe 10 names were called, my name was called as well. I paused my video and listened to the announcement once again. Nope I was not dreaming, the gate agent was calling my name. I rushed down the escalators and made a mad dash towards the gate area. As I approached the counters...

Gate Agent: "Mr. Tang, I am sorry but may I have your boarding pass please?"

Me: "Of course"(It was a worrying sign, was I to be bumped off because of the full flight?)

Gate Agent talking to her colleagues: "Are you sure that all economy class seats are occupied?"

Colleague replies: "Yes. Completely booked. He has the highest elite level as of now"

Me: "Is there a problem?"(pretending to be ignorant, but secretly overheard the conversation)

Gate Agent: "Mr. Tang, I am sorry for the inconvenience. We have a very full flight today and we would like to relocate you upfront. Could you double check that the name on this boarding pass is correct?"

My eyes were like a military grade camera capturing every second of her movement as she pulled out a blue boarding pass with the words "Business Class" printed on top. Is this really mine? Maybe its a prank? Maybe I'm being filmed on TV.......

Me: "Yes, I suppose everything is in order"(pretending to be calm, while singing Hallelujah inside my head)

After months of tireless efforts trying to search for a Star Alliance Award on Singapore Airlines Business Class, but to no avail, here I was on an award ticket, given an op-up, with little or barely any airline status. To top it off, I was given 14A, arguably one of the best seats in the house. This has to be my luckiest day ever, I should have gone to buy the lottery(or referred to as Mark 6 in Hong Kong). To all those frequent Flyertalkers, this might not seem much. However, for a young college student who flies only twice long haul and a couple short hauls per year, this was heaven. I could not restrain myself anymore, and I started to laugh, in a manner that people almost thought that I was mentally unstable. I could have sworn that I was laughing to myself all the way from the gate towards my seat!

I dared not waste time and headed straight for the boarding line on the right. The gate agent scanned my boarding pass and wished me a pleasant flight. Walking towards the jetbridge, First and Business to the left, Economy to the right. I was glad to be turning left this time instead of right. The chief flight purser greeted me at the door and warmly welcomed me onboard, and this was to be the predominant tone for the entire flight.



The Flight Begins

As I settled into my seat, people walking past me towards economy gave me this look as if they were trying to say “Who is this kid in business class? He doesn’t fit in!” Rightfully so, I did not fit in. While everyone in the cabin was either in business suits or smart business casual, I was wearing a polo shirt and pair of shorts with the initial hopes of making myself comfortable for the long flight. This awkward stare finally came to an end when one of the flight attendants came by and offered me a pre departure drink. I opted for a glass of orange juice. Moments later, another flight attendant came by and offered me a tray of reading materials. Hot towels were offered as well. The preflight service was conducted with poise and efficiency, which is amazing considering how many passengers pass through the same narrow aisle during boarding.



Before the departure, I took the time to explore my sanctuary a little bit. I feel like I have been mislead by some trip reports here on the size of the seat, and now experiencing firsthand it was HUGE. I’ve had my fair share of business class experiences, on Cathay, Emirates, Thai, but SQ is just in another league. The bulkhead seat creates an even greater enclave, and there was certainly no shortage of legroom and elbow space. Granted that the seat was beginning to show signs of wear and tear, it was still kept in a perfectly acceptable condition. Headset and menu were preemptively placed in the small closet adjacent to the table, and I was familiar with most of the gadgets in the seat within minutes.