Not as Great as the Hype
 

For several weeks now, folks on the AC thread have been touting SQ as the benchmark. I fly over 100K annually on AC and flew recently on SQ from LHR to SIN. SQ has great customer service but that is about it.

Seriously, no amenity kits provided in business class. Uncomfortable bed, etc, etc

I had so looked forward to this trip....perhaps my expectations were too high.

I think you are right ... it does depend on expectations. I think SQ are good, but are they the unreachable best of the best - no. It all depends on several factors and an SQ flight can be awesome or just okay. Same as for other carriers

I do agree on the lack of a decent amenity kit, though note that SIA provides all most items you would usually get in the C toilets (e.g. toothbrush, shaver, lotions, etc.) and upon request (e.g. ear plugs). Call it eco friendly if you will ;)

As far as the seat goes, again preferences differ. I know lots of people who love the SQ J seat. I don't dislike it per se, but find it a bit hard in sleep mode (back folded down) and not that comfy if you want to lounge (the newest version of the J seat is better with the lounging part). I usually ask for an extra blanket and put it on the seat to provide a little more padding in sleep mode. A little mattress would be great though.

YMMV.

I think either you have been extremely lucky with AC or extremely unlucky with SQ.

My flights on AC tend to be like this:

1. Poor selection on the ife. Even worse set of headphones
2. Dirty business class seats (I have seen wrappers, food crumbs and old napkins)
3. Cappuccino / Hot Chocolate. I remember the first time I flew AC, the crew were great but they were shocked that an airline serves hot chocolate and cappuccino to their passengers.
4. Special meals. Air Canada has them, but since 2013, I have never had a single special meal delivered inflight despite the crew being told that a special meal has been loaded on the flight.
5. Crew. You can't even compare the quality of crew between AC and SQ.

Not as Great as the Hype
 

I still think SQ J is the best out there.

But for me, it will come down to price.

Will I pay SQ J for 3X the price of MH J or VN J or AI J? No...

And yes, they do charge 3X for the routes I frequent.

Aviationp ....agree with your assessment of AC but I was expecting a bit better on SQ

Demue - agree....the lack of an amenity kit was annoying and disappointing

I guess it's a matter of expectations.... To me, SQ has a better standard (to me) than other regular airlines but it's definitely not the best out there. However, when I fly LH or LX now, I do miss SQ :)

It's not the best but it does have tiny little details that make you enjoy them.

I flew SQ for the first time in November SIN-NRT and was completely blown away by the service< I do believe they are the best of the best and their J seat is the best in its class in my humble opinion, I'm a big guy and I thought it was extremely comfortable, you can view my latest video report on this flight here:

http://youtu.be/kisYfMyCFyg

Again I'm sure mileage varies per person and maybe I got lucky, but both me and my wife were blown away by what we experienced.

It comes down to preference, I guess.

I cannot see why on Earth someone would choose LH, LX, BA, AA, UA or even EK over SQ if prices are similar in J.

In their bad days, SQ is better than all of those. In their good day, with a right set of crew, SQ is simply unbeatable.

Agree with all airlines stated except EK. I used to fly SQ almost exclusive. But after my transfer, the most direct flights for me was EK.

Service level on EK is just as high (if not higher sometimes) compared to SQ. But within the A-P region I have to agree SQ is pretty good most of the time. The service level may have dropped over the last 10 years, but still pretty good. However they do tend to be quite a bit more expensive compared to others.

They were more than double for my recent flight. The FA told me that in order to get any real perks like an amenity kit I had to be in F or Suites.

I am sure the FA would NEVER say it like that.

If an amenity kit bothers you that much, you could have gone to the WC and packed a toothbrush, some eye lotion, some shaving kit, a comb, and put it together with the eyeshades and earplugs.

And the whole point of flying Business is comfort and service. I would take SQ anyday, but if you are very bothered by the lack of Amenity kit, you can fly Aeromexico or China Eastern airlines instead.

GRUflyer -
They had no ear plugs, etc only booties and a super cheap looking eye-mask.

If you read my OP, i also found the bed less comfortable.

That is my experience and impression and that is what I was sharing but since you seem to take offense, I will make it clear....

Let me simplify this - "promise more, cost double, deliver less"

Enjoy your future travel with SQ
I have a choice not to

Did you try asking for earplugs? They don't give one to everyone, but they do provide them on request, even in Y.

That being said, I will admit J on SQ, while being very good, is not unequivocally better than everyone else's J product. There are many things that make SQ better, but in some instances it comes down to a matter of preference. Hence, I don't think it's unreasonable to prefer other carriers to SQ in J.

I fly SQ all the time anyway, because their Y product, hard and soft, is just much better than everyone's else's. Then when I get to fly in J I do it with SQ to retain my status for the times I'm flying in Y.

Yes, I asked for earplugs and they did not have any. The bottles of open cream, etc in the lav looked disgusting and the lav (both of them) smelled like sewage. Not that AC is better...it clearly is not. The crew and food on SQ superior to AC.

You seem to emphasize on the amenity kit quite a lot. Dont get why americans are so keen on this. If i look at how many amenity kits i would have wasted in the past years, iam glad that they dont have them.

The bed thing is honestly subjective. I agree its on the hard side, fine for me, and i understand that might be not everyones preference. In terms of width i prefer it over any other Biz seat in the sky, the coffin like arrangements or that horrible heringbone arrangement which most airlines have nowadays are not really any better in comparision.


What did they promise to you that they didnt deliver?

Quite strange. I cant sleep without them and Iam getting them onbard everytime. Even in Y they brought me eyeshades and ear plugs on request.