Long time away from SQ, anything changed?
 

So I was flying heavily with SQ till around 2012, both C and Y, long, medium, short haul. After that, they changed flying times from/to ZRH, switched to 1x daily A380 (was 2x daily 777) and I basically hardly ever booked SQ anymore due to LX being constantly cheaper (and with MUCH better flying times)

Also, for regional flights, somehow SQ never attracted my business anymore. MH and the various LCC's were just WAY too cheap to justify what SQ was asking for.

So, while I must have about 50 stamps from SIN immigration from the last 5-6 years, I've never actually flew SQ anymore..

Now, finally SQ lured me back, and due to different schedule on my side their flying times are actually not that bad, looking forward to my "first SQ flight in more than 5 years.." - in Y..

ZRH-SIN-KUL and back.. A380, A330, A350, A380 again. Obviously not being a Singapore-newbie I booked SQ metal on the hop to/from KL to avoid getting the "no-elite" treatment on Silkair.

Well, I've got a few questions.. as I noticed, ASR on SQ isn't free anymore, and I'll just hit OLCI 24hrs before departure, is that still the best strategy? Will exit row seats be available at OLCI, or only at counter checkin? Do they ask $$$ for them even at checkin, like many other airlines do nowadays, or can I snag them for free then (or even at OLCI?)

How's the food situation in Y, as compared to 5+ years ago? Still reasonable food you can enjoy to some degree? (I know it's Y airplane food, but in the past SQ long haul Y meals were actually pretty good, at least in comparison to the junk you get at LH and other "premium carriers", lol..)

I suppose the seats, IFE etc. on the A380 is still the same? It was great half a decade ago, did it "age well" ever since?

Hows the - not so good - Gold lounge in SIN, as compared to 2 years ago? I had access to the SilverKris lounge in the past 2 years on various visits, so here just asking if anything major has changed there since about 2016? Finally showers available? Tiger still on tab?

Anything else I should be aware of? Still cocktails served in Y such as Singapore sling before meal services? How is the crew generally? Still on the same professional level as before, or did some changes happening?

Personally I do expect things to be slightly worse than before, so not holding up my expections too high. Just trying to avoid any "shock", when things would have changed (negatively) on SQ Y..

Thanks for any feedback :)

Very little has changed.... you'll still enjoy good service, a solid IFE, cocktails, decent food and a crappy *G lounge - no showers or bathrooms for that matter. I fly with them in Y occasionally so some other folks might nitpick a little more. But I don't think the overall experience has changed much.

Seat selection now depends on your fare type and status with SQ. Complimentary seat selection (all seats) opens at T-48.

Food in the past three years in business class to me has decreased in quality. Seats comfortable, however, would appreciate the flt attendants to be lost robotic & smile more.

I fly BA most of the time these days because of the value proposition, so when i do return to SQ economy, it's like being back in the premium cabin LOL

Thanks for all your replies, helps me to mentally prepare (and overeat less in the lounge beforehand, at least in ZRH where usually the food for breakfast isn't that bad ;) )

Coming back from the trip, just giving myself (and others who might be in a similar situation) a note that flying SQ Y indeed is quite a few notches better than flying LX Y (or similar products)

Crew was less robotic as I remembered, in a positive way. Food was - for Y - excellent and snacks in the galley where of good quality. For similar products on LX, you've to pay. Drinkable red wine, and much more choices of beers including Swiss Quöllfrisch (that Swiss usually runs out after 2hrs into a 12hrs flight ;) ) and Tiger. And a third brand, which I didn't tried. In short, both food and drinks in both quality as well as quantity clearly better than what you get at LH Group.

The A380 flying experience is still very decent - 10 abreast on a A380 simply is much more space than 10 abreast on a 777.. seat pitch also being reasonable.

I had no luck with exit row seats (neither at OLCI, where none were available despite checking 48hrs before the flight on the spot) but regular aisle seats did the job.

IFE was good, but not as good as I remembered. Still better than the "new" one at LX.. and decent headphones (in ear, without pain even after hours)

All in all, I think with even flight times, I'd probably pay an extra 150-200€/CHF per way for flying SQ over LX in Y. And 25% miles on LX don't help much to swing it back in their favour.

When I've a connection in SIN (and thus won't arrive at 5am'ish into Singapore which requires an extra hotel night and/or basically a very tired day ahead) I'll pick SQ any day over LX again.

Even on the 30min short haul hop to KUL (which was delayed in both ways due to Malaysian ATC) the crew managed to hand out water/juice/coffee/tea for everyone (load 90%+) - quite impressed.

Oh, and I actually DID like the new Chinese dishes at the "Gold" lounge in SIN. While the lack of shower is still annoying, the food choices are quite a bit better. And using their "refresher" machine in the T2 lounge did got me a fresh-feeling shirt (guess that's their shower alternative, LOL)

The Silverkris in KUL is still very much a disgrace, used the Thai one which at least has more comfortable seats..