paperwastage

LAX TBIT *A lounge is open now

onlySIA

I recall there was a commenter on here who was obsessed with caviar spoons a while back. He would be very happy to see the mother of pearl one in this video

carrotjuice

SQ is reverting to individual platings in J and F, starting with the Vaccinated Travel Lane flights from FRA and MUC to SIN as they feel the crew may increase their interaction with passengers (as opposed to serving everything on a platter) as all passengers on such VTL flights are fully vaccinated. When they will be eventually rolled out to other flights in the network remains unknown.

Singapore_Air

To be clear, this was and persists to be a stupid CAAS rule which has told SIA to make their crew less proactive (e.g. no proactive offering of pre-departure beverages) and having everything on one tray as opposed to course-by-course.

It's good that the VTL flights have this exemption but it's time for CAAS to be less captivated by COVID on board what would be an aircraft full of vaccinated crew and passengers that have tested negative before boarding.

carrotjuice

Yes every government agency would set a "national posture" and subsequently organizations commonly end up creating SOPs that are more restrictive than that.

dickie98

Just flew in on SQ33 in Business from SFO and serving my SHN in a hotel around Orchard.

Surprisingly, C was about 80%+ occupied (there were less than 10 people in C on my outbound flight from SIN), mostly consisting of Americans staying short term for meetings. It seemed to me that both PE and Y were pretty empty, but I did not really pay attention to the boarding area. Offerings at SFO were sparse as the lounge at the international terminal is closed due to COVID although most of the shopping was still open, so no need to get to the airport too early. You're given a $25 voucher to use but the only location available was a pretty average Japanese restaurant with the typical sushi, ramen and donburi offerings you would expect. $25 does not get you much in this situation and my nigiri sushi combo (4 pieces of nigiri and a California roll), cold soba and drink was about $33.

I don't feel like PPS really granted any specific perks in-flight outside of the additional luggage allotment and the ability to select the bulkhead seats on booking, both of which are already pretty great to be honest. My order was taken a bit earlier than some others but there were likely a few Solitaires on board as the passengers at the bulkhead window seats (I was in the aisle) were familiar with the crew and ordered first. They didn't get to me until about 5-10 minutes later. Not that this really matters since there didn't seem to be a ton of competition for my selections. No pre-departure drinks were offered, unlike my outbound flight, where I was offered a drink.

No book the cook on outbound flights so the food was pretty average and served in one go on a tray (I chose the Sichuan chicken for supper and seafood congee for breakfast). I actually appreciate the expedited service on evening flights as it allows me to eat and get to bed ASAP. Although my outbound flight was in August and my inbound flight was in September, the entertainment options had not been updated.

The process to deplane, through the queue at immigration and into the testing area was pretty painless although the immigration queue did take longer than usual as they need to check so many more things. My only issue (self inflicted) was taking advantage of the PPS luggage allocation to bring back 4 fully loaded bags of stuff from the US (nearly 100kgs). Although I cannot be sure, it did seem like a lot of ppl on my flight were given "green" stickers at immigration, which seemed to allow them to avoid the 2 week SHN. I don't know if there is a business lane or some other option they were able to take advantage of, but they were routed to a different testing area and then got to get into private hire cars rather than the busses at the departure point. A client of mine mentioned they got a team into Singapore from the US without being subject to a 2 week quarantine, but needed to take daily tests before being allowed to leave the hotel. I honestly would not mind this option vs. being locked up in a facility without the ability to leave.

Overall, I am glad I was able to get out and see my family after 2 years of not being able to go home. The only change was the requirement for a PCR test within 48 hours vs. 72 hours of the flight, which is a bit nerve wracking since most testing facilities are still holding to the 3 day processing time in the US, although the results from my testing location came back pretty quickly (8am test returned next day at 10am). It doesn't help that with evening flights, you effectively lose 12 hours as many testing facilities offering the rapid PCR tests do not operate 24 hours a day that I could find. I was relieved that the government didn't react similarly to the last spike in cases and retroactively cancel the return authorizations so as along as all your paperwork is in order, the return process was pretty painless.

bpk6h

Interesting there were so many that were able to bypass quarantine. Before I left work earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to have been offered the business travel pass from MTI - this allowed a quarantine free return to SG from any trip. It was a trial program at the time...perhaps it's expanded? It could also be that these individuals are working on Gov't related projects? At any rate, there is some flexibility...I know of a pregnant woman who returned from the US that was allowed to stay at home.

Granite64

Looking to buy a J flight on SQ from AMS to BKK via SIN, how is the meal service? And, any lounges open at BKK/SIN?

Singapore_Air

I just flew SQ 317 LHR-SIN. As previously highlighted, the idiotic CAAS rules on 'crew interaction' have been rescinded and course-by-course dining in Business Class has been restored: https://mainlymiles.com/2021/10/02/s...ide-this-month.

Apart from the pre-departure drink being done upon request only (post-departure drinks taken), cheese course being pre-plated and utensils wrapped in plastic-like, it was like before Covid. Crew amazing and interactive / friendly with the pax as always despite having to wear goggles, masks and gloves throughout.

pWei

Great to hear! They are finally competitive again vs eg JAL/ANA who did much better in that aspect.

carrotjuice

I flew SQ308 recently SIN-LHR in J. The first meal was breakfast where the tray was left on the table cloth, starting with fruit and pastries, even though the used plates were removed when the main course was served subsequently - again on the tray.

But for second meal dinner, both appetiser and main course were served directly on the table cloth.

Is it normal for breakfast to served with tray, but other meals lunch or dinner was served without?

carrotjuice

And another observation of my flight - before landing the crew read out an obsolete announcement about red, amber, green countries and how amber passengers must be quarantined upon landing in the UK etc. - without realising that the requirement has been ditched since 4 Oct. The emailed pre travel advisory sent by SQ was spot on and up to date; just a shame it hasn’t extended to crew announcements on board.

KE81

I just flew SQ 34 (SIN-SFO), and I believe that's right. I forgot to take a picture of my "non-dinner" meal (which was the second meal on our flight, as we had an evening departure), but I do seem to recall that it was served on a tray in the same manner you describe.

puchong

Is the quality and quantity of food served on long-haul J flights to SIN the same as before or has it been 'enhanced due to customer demand'? I understand Book-the-Cook is not available on flights not originating in SIN, but other than that, how has the menu changed?

Oshkosh105

Took SIN-FRA-SIN in the last few weeks. Book The Cook is back and worked well. On the return flight on 30 October, both meals were served course by course. Felt the amount of food was similar to pre-pandemic. Had one mediocre crew outbound and a fantastic crew back to SG.

I did miss that all of the amenities needed to be requested - also didn't receive an amenity kit on either flight and they were not available when requested. I was under the impression they were giving them out over the past year, but I guess it'll just have to wait for my next flights.