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SQ 19/20, A345 with Children (5 and 2)?

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Old Jan 21, 2006, 6:02 pm
  #1  
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SQ 19/20, A345 with Children (5 and 2)?

A friend's considering taking the SQ A345 non-stop LAX-SIN and back. The children will be 2 and 5.

Based on what i know of these flights, here are my reasons for concern
1. The length of the flights. 17.5 hrs outbound. 16.25 hrs return.
2. The armrests in Economy are fixed and don't go up.

On the other hand, these factors seem to make the flight more palatable.
1. The larger seat pitch of 37", 20" width.
2. The "lounge" area i've read about, at the back of the Y section.

I'm looking for inputs from others who've traveled these flights with kids. Should I recommend that she take this flight or not?
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Old Jan 21, 2006, 9:20 pm
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Is this the same friend you posted is flying sfo-bkk-blr with the same 2 children?
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Old Jan 22, 2006, 1:53 am
  #3  
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Originally Posted by legionnaire
A friend's considering taking the SQ A345 non-stop LAX-SIN and back. The children will be 2 and 5.

Based on what i know of these flights, here are my reasons for concern
1. The length of the flights. 17.5 hrs outbound. 16.25 hrs return.
2. The armrests in Economy are fixed and don't go up.

On the other hand, these factors seem to make the flight more palatable.
1. The larger seat pitch of 37", 20" width.
2. The "lounge" area i've read about, at the back of the Y section.

I'm looking for inputs from others who've traveled these flights with kids. Should I recommend that she take this flight or not?
The "lounge" isn't more than 5 feet of area to stand against the wall with some cuplets of water, muffins, fruit, and chips placed there for refreshment. Not an area for kids to spend lots of time, especially not alone. It's right near the galley too so the FAs are going to/fro.

In addition the plane seating is 2/3/2 - so a family of 4 (2 kids/2 adults) has to figure how they will split up. Compared to a 747 where you can snag the middle 4 seats and set up camp...and also the armrests would go up to your other point.

That said, if you can go SFO-HKG in 13 hrs, adding 3-4 hours is no big deal even with kids.
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Old Jan 22, 2006, 9:29 am
  #4  
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Originally Posted by estnet
Is this the same friend you posted is flying sfo-bkk-blr with the same 2 children?
That's right. She has spent time in SIN in the past and is more comfortable with that city. But, is debating transiting through either SIN or BKK. I didn't see a point in lumping both questions into one thread. The questions in the other thread are specific to BKK.

I've been suggesting that she fly UA to BKK since she's Premier on UA MP and would get Economy Plus seating through to BKK. OTOH, the only SQ plane doing the West Coast-SIN run is the SQ20 with similar pitch to UA E+.

Besides, by taking SQ20 she gets around the hassle of transiting through HKG or ICN or NRT before getting to SIN. With one kid, a transit at one of these places would be welcome. BUt with two kids, an additional transit airport would be a hassle.

Last edited by legionnaire; Jan 22, 2006 at 9:34 am
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Old Jan 22, 2006, 5:05 pm
  #5  
 
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She knows her children best - but if it was me I would dread keeping 2 children occuppied for 18 hours straight. It would be so much easier to make the bkk stop (even allowing for the additional transit stop inbetween) and have a real hotel room so the kids could be in a secure space, watch tv, etc while she could get some sleep.
Also might check if either airline will supply ground staff to help with children during transit. Is money an issue? If so that might be the deciding factor as I think the sq flight is more expensive - but not sure.
Not clear if she is originating in lax or sfo, but sq certainly has flights to sin through hong kong ( although I have been allowed to stay onvboard for the 1 hour stop in hong kong outward but not on the return - this was in first class but I believe the rules are the same for all classes) as well as the nonstop.
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Old Jan 22, 2006, 6:18 pm
  #6  
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estnet,
She'll be starting off in SAN, ergo LAX is convenient. But, she is considering spending some time with us in the Bay Area before she heads out. In which case SFO would be better.

So, either LAX or SFO would work in this case.

Your points about the 18 hr flight are well taken. The SQ nonstop is more expensive compared to the SQ2/SQ16 choices out of SFO via HKG/ICN to SIN.
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