StarG

Telephone check in is also available ex-CGK.
I think it may be available from other stations as well. The best way to find out is ask your local SQ reservation number about that.

CryptKeeper

Manchester looks the better option as it has the 777. Although on the day I wanted to return, it went VIA Zurich which I dont fancy too much.

Anyone fly MAN-SIN often? What is the quietest day of the week to do it. I wouldn't mind 3 seats to myself.

StarG

I think you should double check the equipment.
AFAIK, all the SQ flights that goes MAN-ZRH-SIN are served by 744s.

Kiwi Flyer

I think CryptKeeper was looking to change dates so could do MAN-SIN direct. I imagine it would be similar to many routes in that Tuesday to Thursday is quietest.

CryptKeeper

Yeah, I would have to change my planned dates anyway as I don't want to go via ZRH so I might aswell change them to a really quiet day. I guess wednesdays would be the quietest?

Keithl

I guess Wed would be best if you want the 772s and light loads. MAN Flyer would be the guru on this route so I would imagine he's the best to answer you

MAN Flyer

Apologies for not replying earlier on this, I've been without internet access for a few days .

The non-stop 772ER flight, SQ327 out, SQ328 back, is daily except Tue & Thu. The inbound obviously being daily except Mon & Wed. The 772ER is not used on SQ345/SQ346 which stops in ZRH. This is always a 744.

Unfortunately the old 'midweek is quietest for long haul' adage is not really relevant on SIN-MAN vv flights and doesn't make much difference. Most of the people in Y on these flights are going to visit relatives in Australia and New Zealand, usually for longer than 1 or 2 weeks, so they are not desperate to travel over a weekend.

I haven't seen what dates you are thinking of going but the chances of getting 3 seats to yourself in summer are slim. Even more so next year as they are already sold out on a number of flights outbound from 20 June and returning from 10 July due to the Lions tour of New Zealand. SQ have sold a lot of seats to corporate tour package companies for this. The end of June gets quite busy outbound when the students are returning home as well. Inbound early September is the same when they return.

Having said that the MAN-ZRH and ZRH-MAN legs on the SQ345/346 flights are always very quiet so you could probably get more than 3 seats to yourself for a couple of hours if you really wanted . However I would strongly recommend the non-stops for the additional legroom in Y and a couple of hours saved by not messing around in ZRH.

CryptKeeper

Thanks MAN Flyer for all the info. Thats interesting to know about the Lions tour. I would plan to leave from MAN-SIN somewhere around the 1st June and go from SIN-BKK with Air asia and spend a month or so in Thailand / Cambodia / Nam before going back BKK-SIN-CHC. Spending a month in NZ and coming back sometime towards the start of August. Im a bit weary of doing CHC-SIN-MAN one shot (especially in Y), however im not sure I want to splash out a couple of hundred pounds for a hotel + transfers in SIN if I take a couple of nights stopover on the way back.

So:
MAN-SIN (around about this 1st June)
SIN-CHC (around the 1st July)
CHC-SIN-MAN (around the 1st August)

Which times here would you reccomend I fly. Alternativley if you think I could get 4 seats to myself in an LHR 747, I would deffinatly do that (I take it the armrests go up on SQ Y?).

Thanks Man Flyer
-----------

If anyone is a regular on LHR-SIN, could you reccomend days and times of the quietest flights on the same routes as abover but obviously substituting MAN for LHR.


Cheers guys.

Kiwi Flyer

If you dont want to spend $$ in SIN on accomm, SQ usually (always??) has a stopover special which IIRC goes for anything from $1 to about $50 per night. Eg see www.singaporeair.com select promotions then NZ

DoctorWu

I've never done the SIN-MAN routes, but in my experience I've found that LHR-SIN loads are determined more by the time of year than the actual day or flight itself. That much having been said, the 9am flight out of Singapore is in general a bit quieter, and the 12noon and 6pm flights out of Heathrow aren't too bad compared to the late evening flight.

During off-peak periods you can get crazy amounts of space in Economy class. In late May, on the Thursday 6pm flight LHR-SIN out of Heathrow, I somehow found myself with an entire middle row of 4 seats to myself. Probably the closest thing one could get to a SkySuite without paying for premium class seating...

CryptKeeper

Late May sounds good. Would say the 12noon flight on a Thursday be a good bet? Are they allowed to block off 4 seats for u if they have really light loads?

It would be awesome having 4 seats in a row to yourself.

DoctorWu

No, they won't block off the 4 seats for you, but sometimes there are entire 4-seat blocks sitting empty when the plane takes off. The trick is to very rapidly move in as soon as possible. Typically this happens right after takeoff. Or, in some cases, as soon as the cabin doors close, although it's a question of balancing your inner sense of decorum against the urge to grab an elusive 4-seat block from under the noses of the 3 other people hungrily eyeing it...

CryptKeeper

Are we talking about 1 or 2 rows that are free and there is a mad dash to secure them?

Buster CT1K

If one is already in one of the seats in that block, one can lay claim to all four. But if one moves in from another block, I think one is required to share if anyone else moves in. Nevertheless, in practice, possession is 9/10ths of the law.

kyushuman

My longest SQ flight has been on the SIN-BKK-SIN route. Yet earlier this summer, I spent 6 hours (yes, 6!) on the plane returning from BKK to SIN, because of a 4-hour mechanical flight delay. I was in seat 58A, far in back. I must say that it was one of the most uncomfortable seats I have ever sat in, and my first thought was, "How can anyone taller than me (I'm 6'0, or about 182 cm) withstand an SQ 744 on medium-haul flights, much less long-haul????" Yuck. Singapore Guy/Girl notwithstanding, it was claustrophobic. Many of the older 744s have the older, non-AVOD Wisemen system, another drawback.

On another flight, a 772 that had just arrived ICN-BKK, the BKK-SIN leg was quite pleasant, and the newer, On-Demand Entertainment System (Wisemen 3000) was excellent. Enjoy!