After passengers had settled down, hot towels were distributed.






Due to a couple of missing passengers who could not be contacted, their bags had to be offloaded, resulting in a slight delay. During the wait, crew distributed headsets to be used with the IFE, which was already switched on. No more of the ridiculous "headsets must not be used during takeoff/landing" rules now.




Menus were also given out.




A look at the extensive beverage list, which rivals some carriers' business class offerings. Now, this was where the oomph ends... I will show the rest of the menu during the meal services of the flight.




Finally, after a delay of nearly 20min, doors were closed and we taxied to the runway for departure.




Took off from Rwy02C, bound for Johannesburg and Cape Town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Ht...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Flying along the coast of Singapore after taking off towards the north and making a turn back south-westerly.








After seatbelt signs were turned off, amenity kits consisting of socks and toothbrush were distributed.




IFE was not as extensive as on the newer aircraft, but still sufficient choices offered for the long-haul flight. I started with the Ape movie. However, the IFE system for the 3 seats in my row was cranky, with the films and sounds skipping every few seconds while watching, making it rather irritating. A reset of the system by the only friendly and warm crew in economy, an Indian stewardess, proved useless as the problem acted up again. So, grind my teeth and bear with it as I was not going to give up my 3-seater bed for a new seat, plus most passengers had already grabbed their "beds" as well.




There were 6 crew members serving in economy on this flight. With the economy section being barely half-filled, it should be a very easy flight for them but generally the service was nothing exceptional and most of the crew (with the exception of the Indian FSS) seemed to lack morale and gave the "just-get-the-job-done" feeling to me. There were even instances of unprofessionalism in service by a particular senior crew, which I would not highlight here, but it definitely left a very bitter taste.

A round of water and juices were offered on trays but unlike my CPT flight 3 years ago, no peanuts were offered. No worries as I heard that this is a new procedure for Supper flights to allow faster service.

Immediately after, refreshments were served. Take a look at what is offered.