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Old Jun 9, 2013, 11:46 pm
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Qantasclub
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Programs: Qantasclub memeber
Posts: 48
SQ 22/21 SIN-EWR-SIN plus Suites MEL-SIN-HKG

The time had come for my annual pilgrimage to the beautiful city of Chicago. As usual, it was a perfect excuse to fraternize with my favorite carrier. I was especially keen to score SQ 22 and 21 given the route’s demise at the end of the year and it’s historical significance of being the world longest non stop route. It’s a fascinating route which can vary a lot depending on weather conditions, etc and true to tradition, SQ pioneered this route back in 2004. I decided to combine this with an extra mileage run to Hong Kong just for fun. The itinerary eventually worked out to be: MEL-SIN-HKG-SIN (Suites/First) then SIN-EWR-ORD (SQ/SWA) and the return leg: ORD-EWR (SWA) followed by EWR-SIN on SQ and SIN-MEL (suites). YAY! Now let’s get started:

May 27-28th MEL-SIN SQ 218:

This was an A380 red eye flight departing at 0005 hrs from Melbourne. I dropped my car off at A1 parking and was quite glad to leave the rather chilly Melbourne weather for a warmer climate, at least for 10 days. Melbourne airport was it’s usual semi-busy self with a string of departures in the evening to Asia (CX,MH,TG,China southern) and the Gulf (Emirates, Qatar etc).





Each time I depart from MEL, it’s sad to note the rapidly diminishing presence of Qantas as it’s market share is steadily chipped away by competitors. No Qantas flights to any international destination at all leaving from MEL this evening. With SQ soon offering 4 flights a day ex MEL, it’s not hard to see which airlines are going to survive in the long term. Anyway, enough of that for now.
Check in was a breeze and there was no queue. I asked for boarding passes all the way through to Hong Kong but for my bags to be tagged to Singapore only as I arranged to have breakfast with my sister. The check in agent apologized that the Melbourne Silver Kris lounge was still not ready and under construction so she invited me to the United lounge and gave me a voucher for $40 for café Vue, Shannon Bennett’s operation airside. I declined the voucher, but did check out the United lounge. It really wasn’t anything to write home about and got pretty crowded after awhile so I left and walked around the international terminal which, on the whole, is quite pleasant. I only wish the airport administrators would pour more resources into improving things for passengers landside as the common departure areas have been congested and looking dated for quite awhile now. Security and Immigration were very efficient and I cleared within 10 mins.





Boarding was orderly and efficient. I wanted to board early as there really wasn’t much to keep me amused in the terminal. As soon as the gate dragons saw my gold ‘Suites’ boarding card, they showed me through to the priority lane and a dedicated suites boarding lane on the lower level of gate 9. In fact, I think I was the first to board the aircraft.



This is where SQ shines…..before I even reached aircraft door, a steward came out to welcome me and immediately addressed me by name, offering to carry my bags and show me to seat 2A. After 4-5 “welcome aboards”, I settled into the now quite familiar suite. The leading stewardess came over to introduce herself and to ask if I was familiar with all the suite controls etc. Menus, hot towels pre departure drink (I asked for Iced Tea….boring..I know), newspapers, magazines followed in quick succession with warm smiles and just such a feeling of genuine friendliness that makes one feel so well taken care of. At all times and throughout the flight, every single crew member addressed me by name. Such a contrast from my QF first flight a few months ago whereby it took 10 mins for anyone to even notice I was there. I asked the leading stewardess what was our ETA into Melbourne and she said5.50am but she would check with the flight crew and come back with a more accurate ETA when all the passengers were aboard and the doors were closed. True to her word, we were taxiing, she returned later with a revised ETA of 7.15am.

The captained welcomed us onboard and announced a flight time of 7 hrs 20 mins. As I looked around the cabin, there were 3 other passengers in Suites; business was around half full and I’m not sure about economy.

I won’t describe the Suites as this has already been well covered by my previous reports and by others. The cabin seems to be holding up well without any wear and tear. Not that the aircraft was particularly old.
Today’s menu offered just a choice of supper or breakfast as it was a red eye flight….. this suited me just fine as most passengers were happy to sleep. I hadn’t had anything for dinner, so I was keen to eat early then sleep as long as possible until arrival.




I can’t go past Lobster. I just can’t. So I ordered that with a glass of Dom.

After a short taxi, we took off to the northwest and headed straight for Singapore.


The meal was served almost 20 mins after take off.


It was delicious. Large chucks of lobster just melting in my mouth intertwined with silky smooth ee-fu noodles. The Dom went perfectly with it. Ahhhh….heaven.
I started watching the movie Zero Dark thirty but decided to sleep halfway through it. The crew made up my bed within a few minutes as I changed into my Givenchy pyjamas.
I returned to 2A then went back to brush my teeth and when I had got back to the suite, the crew had already hung up my clothes discreetly away. Such attentive service with intuition and initiative.





What better way to enjoy a red eye flight than in an SQ suite. I love this bed and slept soundly for around 5 and a half to 6 hrs feeling refreshed at the end of it. As requested the night before, I was served 2 beverages, an orange juice and strong black coffee in the morning shortly prior to landing at changi.
The glory of arriving at changi’s T3:





Within 15 mins of touchdown, I picked up my bag and met my sister for an early breakfast of my favourite Singapore hawker dish of all time: MEE POK TAH.

and carrot cake:


A couple of hours later, I was dropped back at Changi for the next leg of my epic journey SIN-HKG on SQ 856 SIN-HKG A380 flight. Had a quick shower in the first class lounge but no time for the Private room….I’ve been there plenty of times anyway.



28th may 2013
SIN-KKG
A380


This time, my seat was 3A as I wanted the extra window for the day flight. The same spectacular service ensued from the moment I entered the aircraft; smiles, champagne, papers, menu, address by name at all times.

I’ll let the pics do the talking:
Menu



Despite my early breakfast…..I had gastric room to fill still so I ordered the teochew fish congee and the selection of Dim Sum. Both were excellent, especially the fish congee. SQ serves FANTASTIC local Singaporean fare and I’m sure this has been a response to feedback from their local passengers. Good on them.


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