Will be flying Aug-30 in J. :(

it’s one drink, you’ll be fine :)

Also you can always request and be served, if a pre departure drink is that important to you.

Do use the call button and ask for a pre-departure drink explicitly.

Will try and report back. Flight is in 7 hrs. :tu:

Yea- you can always request one, quite like asking for slippers or a basic amenity kit. It does make for a VERY classy experience though- like, you know, Jetstar or Scoot.

Now- can I also finally request a hot towel? I remember that in the old days, Singapore Airlines had the reputation of being one of the better airlines out there. Cough cough.

No you can't. I believe this CAAS requirement (cf. pg. 16) is still in force.

Thought so. Too bad a customer who pays top $$$ doesn't care about some long overdue requirement by some local agency but rather compares what he gets with competitor airlines and I dare to say that hot towels have been back in the air for quite some time now. Even Fiji Airlines had hot towels available in April already so maybe someone asleep at the wheel over in Singapore needs to wake up :rolleyes:

I think SQ is trying at least with their regular customers. For me, I know the crew has access to my preferences. Quite often the slippers (and the correct size) are on my seat upon boarding as was the case last week on LHR-SIN...or one of the crew will come up after I board and without me saying anything will tell me they will bring the slippers shortly as was the case earlier in the month. That's pretty good service. Amenity kits have never really been an SQ 'thing' but I understand why less frequent customers might expect one based on the SOPs of other airlines.

SQ also seems to be trying with event invitations too :D.

I hear you but at least the gahmen does not force people to wear FFP2 over the winter like some other gahmens (judging by the second part of your handle I am sure you are familiar with this ;) — please forgive me this instance of “whataboutism”). Not excusing anything just presenting the evidence. Don’t shoot the messenger, lah.

At some point I just pick whatever bugs me least :)

Yes, something like that, can‘t fault them on this front :) They / management have been pretty candid in that they have not been happy and are trying to get back to previous service levels.

Oh I know and I understand that much of it is not even necessarily the airlines fault. For me its rather that SQ has always had a special place in my heart, I used to live in Singapore as a kid and again later as a uni student and hadn't used them since some time before Covid. And my first experiences back in June were unfortunately way less stellar than I remember them in J and that's a real pity in my eyes. I'd love them to be the "best airline in the world" again but that requires a bit more than having to ask for every single thing. I hear that pre departure drinks are back this week (and yes, you can ask but really?)- I'll be heading to Thailand on SQ next week so I'll be excitedly observing if things have changed since two months ago. I'm also on the A380 out of Sydney this time which I believe is vastly superior to the A350 I was downgraded to last time so let's see.

Reading this thread is an eye opener. Having just flown a number of EF K sectors and QR sectors, including their medium haul J and Q Suite sectors, they all had pre departure beverages, hot towels and QR had pre ordering for all flights including Lobster Thermidor.

I hope SQ goes back to full service before my Suites flight early next year!

This is the issue here and most pax won't really give a ... whether this is due to some government regulation or union stuff and rather expect the usual "post Covid" money pinching that is all too common in this industry and many others. I'll have SQ J followed by both QR and later on EK coming up over the next few weeks so I will report back but something tells me that you are spot on!

EK even soft launched unlimited Caviar (who is really going to order more than one other than an annoying blogger to make a YouTube video about it) and the Movie Snack menu including popcorn, Sliders and Lobster rolls which go live on all flights shortly.

One more point and apologies if I've I've posted this somewhere else already but it really drives it home: No government agency/ union/ leftover Covid regulation would have forced Singapore Airlines to offer this dismal state of affairs as a cheese platter on my recent flight:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e9ae9f95e4.jpg
Yes- this is indeed Singapore Airlines. And someone there seems to find this adequate on a 8 hour flight- I am not kidding. It tasted as bad as it looks- as if someone ran over to Coles or Woolies before the flight to 'source some cheese and crackers'.

Even Qantas does way better than this and that says a lot. I think even the most SQ loving fanboy will admit that this is not good enough. And what for? Enduring brand damage for saving maybe $2 or $3 on every second or third business class passenger? Really? It boggles my mind.