fly747first

Right, and you know this for a fact...

[/QUOTE]Total rubbish, SQ's SpaceBed is just an atavistic version of LH uncomfortable C stool. To make matters worse, it nonetheless is the second best chair SQ offers in their C configurations. You can end up on dramatically worse seats.[/QUOTE]

There are only a few 747s left and all long-haul A380 and B777ER are equipped with 180-degree flat beds in J, whereas LH doesn't have any type of 180-degree flat product in C, even on its new A380 aircraft.

[/QUOTE]Why do you need to read some reporter's paid babble if you can form your own opinion? I fail to even see a remote argument in second hand propaganda.

Now SQ's new seats are indeed a world of their own and they beat anything I have seen so far, including fishbone designs.[/QUOTE]

I don't actually, since I know that reporters have a profound inability to conduct proper research. However, I do fly SQ a lot to know that it is an outstanding carrier many steps above the rest.

weero

That's easy: pick a legacy carrier, go to their website, count the awards they harvested. Sample this say 5 times and then average the number of awards out there compared to the number of carriers out there.
This is what I say and admit - in the 380 and the 77W are unbeaten in Biz.

But there are a lot of other 777s of SQ flying around and the 330s. The latter is bearable in Biz but the former only when they were reconfigured.
To each their own and I also assume that you pick the routing and the bird so that you get the pleasant experience of their good product.

Just overall, when taking into account the other premium products they fly, their quirky FFP, and their mediocre ground services, let alone their handling when things go South, SQ still is a decent carrier but it is not the singularity the media here loves to depict it as.

fly747first

I definitely see your point. As much as I love SQ, I do agree that in terms of customer service on the ground, it needs to work much, much harder. Again, I can see why you emphasize this area since many of us have experienced some extreme cases where SQ did not behave like a true 5-star carrier (e.g. Two years ago, SQ tried to kick me out of Suites Class a few days before departure since I was the only passenger booked on this class and the flight was originally a B744 which got upgraded to A388... I complained quite a bit until the corporate customer service department agreed to switch me back to R).

Nevertheless, I give SQ tons of credit for creating one of the best inflight experiences out there. It is one of the few carriers that have managed to eliminate the so-called "economy class phobia," because you know that SQ's cabin crews will not let you die of thirst or hunger on their flights regardless of the class-of-service you are booked on.

psyflyer

Way to go SQ

FlyerTalker46423

SQ have such an inflated opinion of themselves it's almost funny

fly747first

But at least SQ's inflight experience remains outstanding, compared to the egos of senior management teams of US airlines who think their airlines are quite good when in reality they put the "u" in underachiever, leading to inflight experiences that are almost Greyhound-like. lol

weero

I actually don't have any very serious complaints. As I live mainly in SIN, I am just oversensitive to the media wash here .

They left a friend of mine stranded after the volcano hysteria in Europe bit then resolved it quickly once we complained enough, they flew my other friends back to Sydney when they could not get them to LHR, so they definitely can do it if they are willing to.

And they certainly have the potential to be at the very pinnacle. Their coach product is unbeaten, a large part of the premium cabins is top of the world.

A small attitude fix could help a lot and even that one only has to happen on the ground - in all my SQ flying, I only once had a clash with an FA and that one was triggered by a vicious elite who wanted my seat and made her try to kick me out.
Yes they definitely excel in coach and this is why within a year, I canceled 2 UA tickets when I could not get Economy Plus seats and then traveled on SQ.

But even here tiny privileges would make a big difference: aggregate the elites together, keep the kids in one zone of the airplane .. it would make for a better overall exposure.

Awesom Andy

I wouldn't be so certain about this, after being given a glass of softdrink that was half empty (the other half was bubbles). The FA simply gave up filling it up and went to serve someone else.

kitsura

Agree about the crappy ground service. I once had to complain 3x to get mileage wrongly credited to my SQ account reversed out. Not my fault at all just that another of their ground crew forgot to change my mileage program from SQ to OZ even on request.

weero

Very often they are not trained well in these things or - even worse - are not empowered to make these changes. They feel that they take away something from SQ and hence fear to be reprimanded.

I have a KF number but I use it for nothing but collecting CC miles. Upon checking in, the clerk refused to put my UA*G in. All arguing was in vain. In the end, I outright refused to give him my passport so he had to abort the check in process. Then I went to another desk.

kitsura

Yes, otherwise they would use FUD to try to get you to credit miles to SQ. There was once during collection of boarding pass when I requested a switch to OZ. The counter staff said I won't be invited into SQ lounge if I were to do so (not true at all). I just ignored her and proceeded with the switch. Then I just went ahead to the lounge anyway, flashed my SQ gold card and was allowed in.

weero

That happened to me on so many occasions. And the argument is so flimsy - assuming this was true, they you simply switch upon leaving the lounge. Can't they see that?

Upon checking-in in SIN for coach travel, I regularly get this piece of information: "sir if you switch to your UA card, you cannot get lounge access" (nb my UA card is *G, my SQ is nothing). Me: "I don't want to see your terrible coach lounge here, so that's fine". Clerk makes an unhappy and incredulous face, changes the FFP ... and writes me a lounge invitation which I repeat that I don't want one.

ajnz

I've never had any fuss made when switching FFPs at checkin or gate; but I don't have an SQ account. There has been an occasional screw up where the agent has said they've changed it; but haven't. I usually make sure I get a new BP with the correct FFP & status printed on it.

I usually just say, "oh, does it have FFP NZ/UA on it? ah, can you switch it to <whichever>, the travel agent always puts the wrong one in". Never been a problem at that point. More annoying is being asked for the FFP card randomly when entering the lounge.

Geogoreya

they're kidding right?

aster

I've always had a very pleasant experience when checking in at Changi - the staff do a fine job there. T1 is a bit less fun though as the lines can get a bit long with some of the carriers there...

The *G lounge in T3 is average, but at least there is a lounge.

When transiting in FRA recently I went through the usual passport and security check mumbo jumbo which took ages... only to find out that I need to go through passport control yet again if I want to go to the lounge... and after that a complete new security check before heading back to my gate. Forget it...