December 08, 2022
Singapore Airlines * Denpasar to Singapore * 1205p – 255p * 787-10 * Business Class

You know, most days the prospect of flying anywhere in International Business or First Class is enough to have me giddy with anticipation. After all, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I actually like flying. That said, rarely have I regretted leaving a place more than I did the Bali Tropic Resort. I could easily spend a month or more here and indeed met a couple of people while I was here that are doing just that. Two of them, a retired couple from Holland, are on their 22nd visit to the Bali Tropic Resort. All of the staff know and love them and the hotel has essentially become their winter home over the past few years. For this stay they are booked for three months. Were that I so fortunate!

The hotel will provide rides to the airport for 250000 IDR, or about $17.50 USD. The bell boys delivered my bag to the hotel front while I went up to the lobby and settled up on my bill while bidding the staff a heartfelt goodbye. Little did I know at the time that I’d be back just one month later. But that’s another story – one that won’t be included in this trip report – which is long enough as it is.

I should add that my trip back to the United States – and Alaska in particular – will hardly be as straightforward as my trip out. Starting my search even a month or more out, and despite my being pretty flexible on dates, I was unable to find any Business Class seats with Singapore via either Europe and New York or across the Pacific to the US. I looked at flying locally down to Darwin but good luck ever finding Business Class award space on Qantas these days. I found Business Class space on Qatar Airways to Doha for just 70000 miles, but then couldn’t go beyond there to the U.S. for less than 170000 miles.

I got lucky early on and bagged a First Class seat on Japan Airlines from Tokyo Haneda to Chicago on December 9th. Although I had hoped that something a bit later might open up, it never did and so all of my efforts toward getting home were built around that December 9th flight. Unfortunately no connecting space on JAL ever opened out of Jakarta, Singapore or Bangkok and so I ended up booking a Business Class award on Singapore from Denpasar to Ho Chi Ming City (Saigon for you old timers) connecting to a late night redeye in Economy no less up to Tokyo Haneda which connected nicely with my nonstop to Chicago. From O’Hare, I’d have a three hour layover before connecting to Alaska through Seattle back to Fairbanks. Roight! Book it, Danno!

It’s a twenty-minute drive from the Bali Tropic Resort to the airport. The streets were crowded with motorcycles, small cars and vans, all of them following much too close and darting in and out between cars in what seemed a most unsafe manner and yet somehow everyone seems to make it work - most of the time. Honestly, I probably saw more cars in thirty seconds here than I’d see all day back home!

Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport is absolutely stunning, inside and out – truly one of the most architecturally striking airport terminals I have ever seen. The new International Terminal building opened in November 2013, and by 2015 it had been named by the Airports Council International as the third best airport terminal in the world among 30 airports with a passenger capacity of 15-25 million per year. That group includes such well-regarded airports as Kansai International Airport, Auckland International Airport, San Diego International Airport, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Brisbane International Airport.



Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport


Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport


Unfortunately, it is also – today at least – one of the most humid airports in the world. By the time I’d cleared initial baggage x-ray, waited in line and retrieved boarding passes at Singapore’s not so speedy Business Class counter, then waded through immigration and security departure protocol, my shirt was drenched with sweat. For a guy who’s always lived in high and/or dry regions, this is a miserable feeling. And, because of all the time it had taken to check-in and deal with departure formalities, I’d only have about twenty minutes to languish in the Premium Class lounge, located upstairs on the mezzanine above the main floor.

I’ve been to this lounge before, back when I flew out of here via KLM Business Class back in 2017. I was just as impressed today as I was back then with its design, furnishings and over all ambience. And air-conditioning. The attractive furnishings were arranged in small, intimate groups - often around a low table. The lighting was pleasant – not overly bright - and the foods on offer were varied and tasty.



Denpasar’s Premium Class Lounge


Denpasar’s Premium Class Lounge


The buffet island was well stocked with Javanese rice, spicy noodles, two types of soup, a variety of sandwiches, coleslaw, quiche – all properly heated and/or chilled. The only downer was the beer which, like my previous visit, was refrigerated in name only. It was cool, not cold. Right. Ice water for me.

Again, with only a few minutes to enjoy/cool off in the lounge, I did my best with the ice water and a cardboard flyer I used to fan myself. Then I dug out a fresh shirt from my carry on and paid a quick visit to the men’s room to change.

Thankfully, an attempt at air-conditioning is made on the air-side of the terminal. The concourse was pleasantly illuminated (I’ve never cared for really bright artificial lighting) and was well populated with a variety of shops ranging from the usual Duty Free stores to an ice cream store. The warm colors and fabrics reminded me a bit of Singapore’s Changi, making it that much easier to appreciate how this airport could garner such high regard amongst travelers and industry analysts alike.

Waiting at gate 5 was 9V-SCH, a five and a half year old 787-10 looking quite stunning as the sunlight reflected off her beautiful white, gold and black fuselage. Boarding was already underway when I arrived at the gate, but a flash of my Business Class boarding pass expedited matters considerably.

Onboard the airplane, beautifully clad Singapore Girls moved efficiently about the cabin helping passengers with luggage, answering questions, hanging the rare jacket. I settled into 12A and gratefully accepted a glass of slightly chilled orange juice from a tray of many.

Out my window, I watched as a Jetstar A321 taxied past behind us. Then we pushed back – right on time – and followed a colorful Bangkok Airways A320 out to the runway. Five minutes later, we were climbing through broken clouds making our way ever higher into the beautiful world of the deep blue yonder, a.k.a. the troposphere.

Interestingly – there was no pre-meal drink service on this 2:20 minute flight. Menu’s were printed on a single sheet of white paper with today’s offerings being billed as a “Light Lunch” The meals were delivered straight off the cart with an offer for only wine. That said, when I requested a Chivas Regal, it was no problem to have one delivered in short order. Alright then, let’s have a quick look at that menu -


LIGHT LUNCH
Denpasar to Singapore

APPETISER

Prawns with Lemon Scented Oil
Legume salad with yuzu, soy and sesame dressing

MAIN COURSE

Seared Beef Fillet with Mustard Herb Crust
Served with rosemary sauce, sautéed vegetables and potato gratin

Black Bean Chicken
Egg fried rice, seasonal Oriental vegetables

Seafood Hor Fun
Singapore style wok-fried rice noodles with seafood

FROM THE BAKERY

Assorted Bread Rolls and Gourmet Breads
Served with a choice of butter of flavored olive oil

DESSERT

Floating Island “Ile Flottante”
Egg white dome served with almonds and vanilla sauce

HOT BEVERAGE

Coffee and Tea
A wide selection of flavors is available


Although it would seem to make better sense to go with the local dishes when ordering off this menu, honestly, based solely upon the printed descriptions the “Seared Beef Fillet with Mustard Herb Crust” sounded the best to me - particularly that mustard herb crust.

Cart service notwithstanding, my hat’s off to the crew for still electing to serve this in two courses – always a nice touch. Not only was I presented a tray bearing with three plump prawns nestled atop a bed of salad greens, but as an added bonus this was quickly followed by a bountiful bread basket including most everyone’s favorite – warmed garlic bread. I wish US airlines would do this, but alas, preparing the bread would appear to be just too much work for the crew.



Prawns with Lemon Scented Oil
Legume salad with yuzu, soy and sesame dressing


Appetizer dishes were cleared off in a timely manner, followed by the main course dishes - delivered piping hot off a tray with specialized tongs. Dessert was also presented at this time. I allowed my good looking beef fillet to cool a bit while my drink was refreshed. That turned out to be a good move because I needed every bit of that next glass of Chivas to wash down the hockey puck masquerading as a “seared” beef fillet. “Seared” my a$$! More like cooked by the neck until it was Dead! Dead! Dead!



Seared Beef Fillet with Mustard Herb Crust
Served with rosemary sauce, sautéed vegetables and potato gratin


This is a classic case of how looks can be deceptive. As plated, this is a good looking plate of food – including the beef. Unfortunately, sawing off even a small bite proved to be quite a challenge, so I settled for the potatoes and veggies which were otherwise quite good.

Dessert was pretty much as described – an egg white dome made up of meringue served with almonds and vanilla sauce. Though I’m not a big fan of meringue as the main component of a dessert, the crunchy almonds and tasty vanilla sauce contributed nicely to reasonably palatable dessert.



Floating Island “Ile Flottante”
Egg white dome served with almonds and vanilla sauce


Out my window, it was a classic blue and sunny day in the soft blue yonder over the Java Sea – just perfect for flying. What I’d give, though, to trade in this hard plastic molded contraption with its stiff leather seat and uncomfortable shoulder harness for a more classic premium class seat much as we enjoyed in days of old. Here’s a nice example off of a flight I took aboard a Royal Air Maroc 747SP back in 1985.



Ah… Sink back into the foam rubber ecstasy of your comfy chair…
Nooooo!! Not the Comfy Chair!!!


Descent into Singapore was a bit bumpy, what with all the afternoon thunderstorms in the area. If I hadn’t placed my camera inside my daypack up in the overhead storage, I might have gotten some nice pictures of the impressive cumulonimbus clouds we maneuvered through.

In Singapore we parked at Terminal 2, and I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to catch an electric cart to Singapore’s “nearest” Business Class lounge, which didn’t seem very near at all. That said, the folks at Singapore Airlines couldn’t have been more helpful, offering to provide me a ride from the lounge to my connecting flight to Ho Chi Minh City when ready. I happily accepted.

You know, maybe it’s because in the past I’ve logged so many miles in International First Class that I’ve gotten used to a different standard from airport lounges – especially overseas. That said, the SilverKris Lounge at Changi’s Terminal 2 was okay as Business Class lounges go, but definitely not on par with Qatar’s Al Mourjan Lounge at Doha or even United’s Polaris Lounge at San Francisco.

Don’t get me wrong – the T2 SilverKris Lounge is a perfectly acceptable lounge with all the usual trappings including fairly nice shower suites and a decent food buffet. The first thing I took advantage of when I arrived was those shower suites because for a guy from a dry climate like me, travel through humid south Asia demands no less! I do wish they had better air-conditioning in those shower suites though because I found it difficult to dry off as well as I’d like.

The buffet area offered a decent variety of food stuffs, but the seating therein was fairly limited. I guess my main complaint with this lounge was the overall ambiance. Aside from the buffet area, it seemed like a big room full of aisle after aisle of chairs – comfy chairs, mind you – but just a whole bunch of them, like a more comfortable version of the gate lounges downstairs. While my preference would be somewhat smaller, individualized areas - I get that there are a lot more people traveling in Business Class than First, so I suspect it’s really a case of Singapore having no other, more spacious options if they want to accommodate everyone in this particular facility. Of course, they could always build a larger facility someday…

I didn’t bother to take any pictures during my visit. Nothing seemed all that interesting, but then as much as I enjoy a bit of pre-flight lounging, my real attraction is to what happens onboard the airplane. For those of you who would like a bit more information on this lounge, you’ll find a link to Google reviews right HERE.

By the way, it should be mentioned here that the Silver Kris Lounge serving Terminal 3 is a much larger and nicer facility. Whereas T2 serves mainly regional destinations, T3 serves Singapore’s long, intercontinental flights. That may have something to do with the difference in lounge size and overall quality.


December 08, 2022
Singapore Airlines * Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City * 635p – 745p * 787-10 * Business Class

I gotta tell ya, a guy could get used to this electric cart to the gate service. It is very nice and very appreciated in a large, spread out airport like Changi. That said, in the long run I’d rather not get used to it, and to that end I am engaged in a variety of stretches and exercises to better improve or at least maintain my ability to walk. It’s the long distances that are problematic at present.

It’s amazing how much difference there is between the original 787-8 (186 ft / 56.72m) and the 787-10 (224 ft / 68.28m) – almost 40 feet! Equally amazing for us old timers is the DC-8-61 – until the 747 came along far and away the longest jetliner at 187 ft (57m). In its day the “Stretch 8” seemed like a really long plane and to think that it’s only a foot longer than the seemingly “small” 787-8 is a bit of a shock.

Singapore Airlines operates a fleet of fifteen 787-10 aircraft. As of this flight I have logged flights aboard three of them. Like I say – Collect them all!

Anyway, onboard my beautiful long 787-10, I was shown to my suite 14A and presented with a welcome glass of fruit juice. Already at my seat was a menu – once again a plain white sheet of paper with the menu presented in stylized script. It’s a 680 mile, one hour and forty minute flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City – about the same as Seattle to San Francisco. The differences in service standards on this 680 mile flight are significant however.



Flight Map SIN-SGN


I was also surprised to compare prices based upon shopping for fares a week out. While the budget carriers will fly you SIN-SGN for as low as $57 USD, the best you’ll find on SEA-SFO with similar search parameters is $147 USD. Frontier offers a one stop connection for $83, but it takes 9.5 hours! Singapore Airlines offers one way economy for $136 USD, though I don’t know how easy it is to get upgraded with them. As an MVP Gold 100K, I could buy that $147 fare and have an excellent chance of an upgrade. The meal service however would be substantially less – perhaps just a sandwich and/or a pass with the snack basket. In Singapore’s Business Class – assuming you could get upgraded off your $136 economy fare – a “Light Dinner” is served that – by all appearances – would pass as a full dinner in First Class on even a U.S. transcon. I am unaware of any U.S. airline that would also offer warmed garlic bread.


LIGHT DINNER
Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City

APPETISER

Marinated Smoked Salmon with Capers
Celeriac and red apple salad with Japanese cucumbers

MAIN COURSE

Seafood Arrabbiata with Orecchiette
Parmesan cheese, kale, black olives

Rendang Daging, Sambal Udang, Telur Bawang, Otah-Otah, Nasi Lemak
Malay style braised beef, sambal prawns, omelette with onions, spiced fish cake, coconut rice

Thai Boat Noodles with Chicken
Served with chili in vinegar

FROM THE BAKERY

Assorted Bread Rolls and Gourmet Breads
Served with a choice of butter of flavored olive oil

DESSERT

Banana Cheesecake
With butter crumble




Beef Rendang


This dinner was excellent – the beef tender and flavorful, all of the accompaniments equally delicious. It’s hard to imagine a meal on a 680 mile flight being much better. It’d be interesting to see what the Big Three from the Middle East might offer on flights of similar distance in Business Class.

Descent into Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport was through scattered clouds and as the lights of the city grew brighter and more numerous, I was thankful for a window seat ahead of the wing. We landed smoothly (Almost all landings are pretty smooth these days – especially when you’re sat up in the nose of the aircraft, way ahead of the landing gear) and taxied without delay to our stand on the main international concourse.

SGN is the largest airport in Vietnam. Although the “new” international terminal opened in 2007 and an expansion to that terminal was finished in December 2016, the facility still looks and feels quite dated – especially by Asian capitol city airport standards. From what I’ve read, it is operating at or above capacity now. Plans were made in 2011 for a totally new airport to be built out in Long Thanh, about 25 miles east of the city. Hopefully, it will be open for business in 2025, this being a revised date after initial plans to open in 2020 proved to be unfeasible. Indeed, construction didn’t even begin until 2021.

I had a four hour layover at SGN and unfortunately, I was unable to ever procure Business Class award space between Ho Chi Minh City and Tokyo Haneda. So –Economy Class it is for old Seat 2A on this five hour, 2680 mile flight. In terms of international flights, it’s been quite a while since I’ve sat in economy on such a long flight. The last I can remember was back in 2019 aboard the Israeli airline Arkia on a 2020 mile, four hour and some odd flight between Amsterdam and Tel Aviv.

With no Business Class Lounge access, I was ever so thankful for my membership in Priority Pass which granted me access to the Le Saigonnais Business Lounge, down by gate 12. The usual lounge at SGN – The Orchid Lounge – has been closed for some time now. It also served as the Business Class Lounge for JAL, so I suspect I’m in the same lounge I would have been in had I snagged any Business Class award space with JAL.

At this point I must apologize for failing to have taken any photos of the Le Saigonnais lounge. I thought it was an excellent small to medium sized facility with comfortable and diverse seating areas – many of them with tables. The food buffet was quite extensive and offered a wide variety of hot and cold dishes. There were even a couple of shower rooms, though I didn’t check those out. The only downside to this lounge was the alcohol selection, which was limited to wine, beer and a couple bottles of spirits I was unfamiliar with. Later in the evening, a bottle of Ballantine’s Blended Scotch Whisky did finally make an appearance.