Qantasclub

The time had come for my annual pilgrimage to the beautiful city of Chicago. As usual, it was a perfect excuse to fraternize with my favorite carrier. I was especially keen to score SQ 22 and 21 given the route’s demise at the end of the year and it’s historical significance of being the world longest non stop route. It’s a fascinating route which can vary a lot depending on weather conditions, etc and true to tradition, SQ pioneered this route back in 2004. I decided to combine this with an extra mileage run to Hong Kong just for fun. The itinerary eventually worked out to be: MEL-SIN-HKG-SIN (Suites/First) then SIN-EWR-ORD (SQ/SWA) and the return leg: ORD-EWR (SWA) followed by EWR-SIN on SQ and SIN-MEL (suites). YAY! Now let’s get started:

May 27-28th MEL-SIN SQ 218:

This was an A380 red eye flight departing at 0005 hrs from Melbourne. I dropped my car off at A1 parking and was quite glad to leave the rather chilly Melbourne weather for a warmer climate, at least for 10 days. Melbourne airport was it’s usual semi-busy self with a string of departures in the evening to Asia (CX,MH,TG,China southern) and the Gulf (Emirates, Qatar etc).





Each time I depart from MEL, it’s sad to note the rapidly diminishing presence of Qantas as it’s market share is steadily chipped away by competitors. No Qantas flights to any international destination at all leaving from MEL this evening. With SQ soon offering 4 flights a day ex MEL, it’s not hard to see which airlines are going to survive in the long term. Anyway, enough of that for now.
Check in was a breeze and there was no queue. I asked for boarding passes all the way through to Hong Kong but for my bags to be tagged to Singapore only as I arranged to have breakfast with my sister. The check in agent apologized that the Melbourne Silver Kris lounge was still not ready and under construction so she invited me to the United lounge and gave me a voucher for $40 for café Vue, Shannon Bennett’s operation airside. I declined the voucher, but did check out the United lounge. It really wasn’t anything to write home about and got pretty crowded after awhile so I left and walked around the international terminal which, on the whole, is quite pleasant. I only wish the airport administrators would pour more resources into improving things for passengers landside as the common departure areas have been congested and looking dated for quite awhile now. Security and Immigration were very efficient and I cleared within 10 mins.





Boarding was orderly and efficient. I wanted to board early as there really wasn’t much to keep me amused in the terminal. As soon as the gate dragons saw my gold ‘Suites’ boarding card, they showed me through to the priority lane and a dedicated suites boarding lane on the lower level of gate 9. In fact, I think I was the first to board the aircraft.



This is where SQ shines…..before I even reached aircraft door, a steward came out to welcome me and immediately addressed me by name, offering to carry my bags and show me to seat 2A. After 4-5 “welcome aboards”, I settled into the now quite familiar suite. The leading stewardess came over to introduce herself and to ask if I was familiar with all the suite controls etc. Menus, hot towels pre departure drink (I asked for Iced Tea….boring..I know), newspapers, magazines followed in quick succession with warm smiles and just such a feeling of genuine friendliness that makes one feel so well taken care of. At all times and throughout the flight, every single crew member addressed me by name. Such a contrast from my QF first flight a few months ago whereby it took 10 mins for anyone to even notice I was there. I asked the leading stewardess what was our ETA into Melbourne and she said5.50am but she would check with the flight crew and come back with a more accurate ETA when all the passengers were aboard and the doors were closed. True to her word, we were taxiing, she returned later with a revised ETA of 7.15am.

The captained welcomed us onboard and announced a flight time of 7 hrs 20 mins. As I looked around the cabin, there were 3 other passengers in Suites; business was around half full and I’m not sure about economy.

I won’t describe the Suites as this has already been well covered by my previous reports and by others. The cabin seems to be holding up well without any wear and tear. Not that the aircraft was particularly old.
Today’s menu offered just a choice of supper or breakfast as it was a red eye flight….. this suited me just fine as most passengers were happy to sleep. I hadn’t had anything for dinner, so I was keen to eat early then sleep as long as possible until arrival.




I can’t go past Lobster. I just can’t. So I ordered that with a glass of Dom.

After a short taxi, we took off to the northwest and headed straight for Singapore.


The meal was served almost 20 mins after take off.


It was delicious. Large chucks of lobster just melting in my mouth intertwined with silky smooth ee-fu noodles. The Dom went perfectly with it. Ahhhh….heaven.
I started watching the movie Zero Dark thirty but decided to sleep halfway through it. The crew made up my bed within a few minutes as I changed into my Givenchy pyjamas.
I returned to 2A then went back to brush my teeth and when I had got back to the suite, the crew had already hung up my clothes discreetly away. Such attentive service with intuition and initiative.





What better way to enjoy a red eye flight than in an SQ suite. I love this bed and slept soundly for around 5 and a half to 6 hrs feeling refreshed at the end of it. As requested the night before, I was served 2 beverages, an orange juice and strong black coffee in the morning shortly prior to landing at changi.
The glory of arriving at changi’s T3:





Within 15 mins of touchdown, I picked up my bag and met my sister for an early breakfast of my favourite Singapore hawker dish of all time: MEE POK TAH.

and carrot cake:


A couple of hours later, I was dropped back at Changi for the next leg of my epic journey SIN-HKG on SQ 856 SIN-HKG A380 flight. Had a quick shower in the first class lounge but no time for the Private room….I’ve been there plenty of times anyway.



28th may 2013
SIN-KKG
A380


This time, my seat was 3A as I wanted the extra window for the day flight. The same spectacular service ensued from the moment I entered the aircraft; smiles, champagne, papers, menu, address by name at all times.

I’ll let the pics do the talking:
Menu



Despite my early breakfast…..I had gastric room to fill still so I ordered the teochew fish congee and the selection of Dim Sum. Both were excellent, especially the fish congee. SQ serves FANTASTIC local Singaporean fare and I’m sure this has been a response to feedback from their local passengers. Good on them.

Qantasclub

Radish cake


Dessert was another local favourite, burbur cha cha, a nonya dessert of sweet potato and yam pieces in a cold coconut sweet broth. NOICE and certainly tastes better than it looks.



I finished watching zero dark thirty and before long, the captain announced an early descent into Hong Kong with some traffic congestion expected to keep us circling for an extra 20 mins, but with an on-time arrival into HKG at 1.05pm.
Beautiful mountains on approach to Chep lap kok.


What area of hong kong is this?

My return flight back to Singapore wasn’t till 6.30pm so I had several hours to play around with.
At immigration, the officer who processed my passport was chatting to her adjacent colleague the whole time and I swear to you; I’m not exaggerating…she did not even look at me for 1 sec; I could have been a completely different person to my passport photo and she would not have picked it at all. Hilarious. I took the airport express into Hong Kong and walked around Wan chai district with it’s street markets and all the local smells associated with honkers. I must say, Hong Kong has such fantastic infrastructure and it was just so easy to get around. The airport express is just marvelous and super efficient.

28th May HKG-SIN
SQ 863
Boeing 777-300ER.

Shame I couldn’t score the suites on the return leg so I had to ‘slum it’ in ‘ordinary first’ . I arrived back at the airport at 4.30pm with plenty of time to spare for my 6.30pm flight. No queues at check in and my check in agent completed the process in literally 3 mins. Whilst he was friendly, nothing was mentioned of the lounge nor any arrival cards given.


Checking out hong kong airport: it’s quite a happening place! Lots of shops and restaurants and a tad bit…messy. But easy enough o find my way around. The Silver Kris lounge was a disappointment. No views, no toilets or showers and the same old boring neutral décor. I must say, this is a consistent weak point of SQ…their lounges worldwide. There’s just no wow factor at all. Anyway, I decided to board early and made my way to gate 22 for boarding. Long queues were beginning to form and I was the only passenger in First; I think I was the first passenger to board the aircraft again.


I actually haven’t sampled the first cabin on the 777-300ER, one of SQ’s major workhorse aircraft. It’s a bit small and claustrophobic, yet the seat felt very spacious. Much like an enhanced version of the business class seat. Perfectly adequate for a short flight to SIN.





The usual sequence of service elements were once again delivered; here is the menu for the flight. Because of the recent bird flu outbreak, all the chicken dishes were taken off the menu and replaced by pork including the soup and main course. I went for the seabass.








Entrée: Crab and mango salad with witlof. Excellent dish



Matt Moran’s Fish soup: excellent



Braised Sea bass with noodles….tasted good but let down by sloppy presentation


Dessert was a mango and sago pudding with a coconut and pomelo sauce.



I watched the Hobbit….excellent movie and so long, I couldn’t even finish it before arrival. Oh well, I’d catch it on the next flight.
Arrival into Singapore was early at 10.05 and as I disembarked, there were no queues at immigration so I just walked straight out and met my aunt for a lift to their place to stay overnight.
A tiring day of flying, but just so thoroughly enjoyable. No hassles, no delays, no hiccoughs, just 3 consecutive sectors of perfect, consistent service on the world’s best airline. Bravo, SQ.

29th may SQ 22 SIN-EWR
10.55am.







Don’t you just love terminal 3 at changi? To me, it is by far the most serene and aesthetically beautiful airport terminal in the world. My aunt and uncle happened to be on the same flight and because of their PPS solitaire status, we checked in at the separate First Class check in area. Amazing service….as soon as the taxi pulled up, around 5-6 porters came rushing in, fussing over our bags etc etc. We had secured 3 window seats in a row 12,14,15A.

Breakfast in the first class lounge:

Fish congee (excellent)


Mee Siam (also excellent).

Qantasclub

I had to stop myself as I didn’t want to fill up before all that wonderful food in the air. I reckon good food is even more special when it is served at 35,000ft.
We left the lounge at 10.25am for a 10.55 departure and realized that the gate B8 was quite a walk across this vast terminal! Anyway, we made it and were one of the last few passengers to board.



There she is….isnt’ she a beauty? 9V SGE. I notice she only seems to do the EWR route and not LAX. Wonder why.



I was particularly excited about this flight; Been wanting to try it for many years now and never got the chance. I will try and give as detailed a report as I can, given the end of this route in November.
Warm welcome from the crew and shown to my seat. The cabin looked quite pleasant. A little worn around the edges, but still clean and very comfortable.







Pre departure ‘tropical fizz’ cocktail, newspapers and magazines offered along with menu and hot towels. I was, once again, address my name right from the start and without fail throughout the flight. How do they do it?! I have never seen this service aspect delivered so consistently on any other airline. Pushback just after 11am and the captain announced a flight time of 18 hrs 25 mins with some expected turbulence for the first 3—45 mins of the flight.
The take off roll was long and smooth and rather quiet, as airbuses tend to be.
The fasten seat belt sign remained on for longer than usual, hence the crew got to service a little later. I finished off watching the Hobbit. What an epic movie.

Lunch service:
Menu:
Starter: Seared Tuna Loin Tataki with Soba noodles and mesclun with a ponzu dressing. Yum.


Main: Choice of
Seared Beef fillet with port wine sauce, mushrooms in spice cream
Singapore style Prawn noodle soup
Seared Chicken in tarragon jus with mushrooms, red capsicum, asparagus and sautéed baby spinach
Braised Wuxi style pork rib with seasonal vegetables and steamed rice.
Dessert: Rum and raisin ice cream or opera cake with berry compote.
Fruits and cheese (which I always skip)

I chose the prawn noodles….this is a Singapore classic and SQ does a wonderful version of it, complete with fresh cut chilli and soy sauce. Absolutely delicious.



Dessert: I chose the opera cake which was soso.


During lunch, I started a new movie….Django Unchanied…what a great film!! Hilarious and thrilling in true tarantino style with lots of violence.

The routing made it’s way in a northeast direction towards the east of Taiwan and continued north over japan.
The crew kept coming round and asking if they could get me any drinks or snacks, I had 3 or 4 glases of ice lemon tea.

Midway through the flight, a snack was served:
Choice of:

Rice noodle soup with sliced fish, fish balls and leafy greens
Poached eggs with hollandaise sauce with chicken sausage, grilled tomatoes and potatoes
Liguine alla Caruso: sautéed pasta with chicken and tomato sauce
Selection of Dim Sum: oriental glutinous rice with chicken, pork dumpling, prawn dumpling and vegetable dumpling.

I chose the fish noodles.
More substantial than just a ‘snack’ I think!


Dinner Menu:

Prelude: Satay


Starter: Marinated lobster with spicy kong choi salad and mesclun with a passionfruit dressing


Main course:
Chicken roulade in hot and sour sauce, spinach tofu with mushroom and steamed rice.
Panfried cod with cilatro and tomato sauce, ratatouille and boiled parsley potatoes
Japanese style fried ramen with beef, shrimps and vegetables
Lamb loin in pesto veloute with roasted bell pepper, carrot, zucchini and green pea mash
I chose the chicken roulade which did not dissapoint. I chose the chicken roulade which was delicious and moist.


Dessert:
Walnut dacquoise with praline mousse and vanilla sauce
Alphonso mango panna cotta





Dessert was soso; walnut dacquise with praline mousse and vanilla sauce.





Soon, the captain announced our descent into Newark for an on time arrival. We enjoyed a great view of the Manhattan skyline.




In summary; this was a fantastic flight and having done SQ 25/26 multiple times via Frankfurt, this was so much better, both in terms of scheduling, jet lag and sheer convenience. The all business class A340-500 is a very comfortable aircraft and perfectly suited to ultra long haul travel.
SQ’s soft product remains solid and impenetrable.

Qantasclub

Caught a domestic SWA connection from EWR to midway. Nothing really to say about that flight. Except this great shot o final approach into MDW:



The return Leg:

EWR-SIN SQ 21 June 6th 2013.

In some ways, I was even more excited about this return leg as it billed as THE longest non stop commercial flight in the world. I think this is based on distance, but not necessarily time? It was also obvious from looking at flightradar24 that the routing from EWR-SIN varies considerably but the most common route goes across the Atlantic over northern Europe then down towards asia depending on prevailing winds etc.

I arrived at Newark at 9pm for an 11pm departure. So much easier to get to EWR from manhattan compared to JFK. Let’s face it….EWR is a dump. Terminal B looks straight out of the 70s. Being an all business class flight, there were no queues at check in which was smooth and uneventful. The flight today was 98% full…..incredible considering it will be cancelled in nov this year. The check in agent said the loadings were very cyclical. She said Thursday flights were generally quite full because people wanted to be in Spore for Saturday to allow a day’s rest before going back to work on mon. Made sense to me.





Anyway, my 3 bags were tagged all the way through to MEL. They were heavy…
After check in, I was escorted through security to the lounge….this seemed strange to me as I was unaware SQ did this. Maybe it was because my SIN-MEL sector was booked in Suites? Who knows. I didn’t argue anyway. The gate agent accompanied me even through the tedious security check (even organized my ‘stuff’ on the belt so I hardly had to lift a finger. I must say, this did feel quite awkward as I’m sure the other passengers were thinking “who the ### are you?!”
Anyway, there is absolutely NOTHING to see or do around the gate area in Newark’s terminal B. So even the overcrowded SAS lounge was probably a better place to wait until boarding. There were some light refreshments and a limited buffet on offer. No showers or in-lounge toilets.











The beautiful bird taking me to SIN. 9V SGE again! She’s a regular on this route.





The lounge attendant came up to all the SQ passengers personally in SAS lounge to notify us the flight was ready for boarding. As I made my way to the gate, not a queue in sight, so boarding was a breeze. I guess even for a full flight, 100 passengers really isn’t a lot so the whole process too just a few minutes.

I settled into the same seat, 12A. just an interesting observation: around 95% of the passengers were middle aged businessmen. NO kids and hardly any women either (maybe 4 or 5 as I walked through the cabin). Just interesting the specificity of the market for this ultra long haul. I guess after November this year, the business cabins on SQ 25/26 will be much fuller.

The usual SQ show commenced almost immediately as I sat down; welcomed aboard by name, hot towel, pre departure drink (I asked for OJ), menu, newspapers and magazines.

Soon came the announcement “ground staff please disembark, doors closing”. The guy beside me then totally freaks out and exclaims “I’ve left my shopping bag in the lounge!!”. The crew were completely unfazed and within minutes, the shopping bag appeared out of thin air.

The captain welcomed us aboard with some details of the flight. Nice to hear an Australian accent; I know Aussie pilots form a large contingent on Cathay but don’t often see them on SQ. Flight time would be a short 17hrs 45 mins (compared to the scheduled 18 hrs 30 mins). Tonight’s flight would take the polar route heading directly north upon take off going over the north pole to emerge over Siberia then towards Singapore via China and SE asia. Great! I guess this accounts for the shorter than usual flight time? He also gave details of the crew stating that on ultra-long hauls, there were 2 sets of crew, both flight and cabin.

Pushback occurred on time at 2300hrs, maybe 3-4 mins later. A storm was brewing and the rain was getting heavier. After a short taxi to the runway, the 4 Rolls Royce trent engines spooled up. Rolls Royce engines tend to have a very specific noise on take off; much less of a roar. Acceleration was less firm than on a 777 or 747 but firm and assured. I wonder how close a full A340-500 flight with an all business class confugiration gets to it’s maximum payload on EWR-SIN. It’s fuel capacity would be at maximum but the actually passenger and cargo load would be less because of the limit of 100 pax?





It was a long, slooooow climb that took forever. We took off to towards the south and made an immediate 180 degreee turn to head straight north, towards the north pole. The captain didn’t turn off the fasten seat belt sign until a good 35 mins after take off and even then, we were only 2/3rds the way from reaching cruising attitude of 30,000ft.



I got stuck into my first movie, ‘I give it a year’. Hilarious comedy and classic chick flick stuff. Supper was served shortly after take off. I had ordered the book the cook option of braised beef ribs with egg noodles on tonight’s flight. Here’s the menu for supper:

Starter:
Couscous-sundried tomato salad with maricated lobster and mesclun.

Main course:

Red snapper fillet with pickled cherry tomatoes vinaigretty, fingerling potatoes, zucchini, red pepper and eggplant.
Seared beef fillet with café de paris butter, baby carrot, Kenyan beans, ell pepper and fondant potatoes
Gaeng Kiew Wan Kai (thai green curry chicken with vegetables and steamed rice)
Egg noodles in broth with braised pork and Chinese greens

Dessert:
Chocolate brownie ice cream or cheesecake with fruit coulis.

Cheese, fruits, coffee and tea.

Qantasclub

The braised beef ribs were tender but a bit oily. I probably should have gone for the snapper or egg noodles.

Even though we had departed at 11pm NY time, within a 2-3 hours, because of our northerly heading, we were already flying into daylight as we headed towards the arctic circle. Spectacular. You don’t see this sort of flight path often on the flight show.







Hi Santa!



After a movie and a couple of hours sleep (2-3 hrs), I watched another movie: Mental which is an incredibly funny film in the tradition of Muriel’s wedding. VERY Australian and completely over the top hilarious. The light bites menu was available throughout the flight for nibbles; there was a choice of:

Brasied ee-fu noodles with beef and vegetables
Dunkin donuts
Dim sum of lor mai kai, siew mai, har kow and beancurd skin roll with pork
Warm walnut bread with turkey pastrami, roasted vegetables, cheddar cheese and potato chips.

I chose the dim sum which was excellent.



After my second movie and light meal, I fell asleep for a good 6-7 hours and awoke somewhere over Siberia. Throughout the cabin, there was a good mix of passengers either sleeping or working away. I guess everyone had their own “strategy” on how to get through this ultra-long haul flight. Walking through the aircraft, this all business class configuration had a calm and serene atmosphere which was pleasant and very enjoyable. I guess it was the absence of children and the low passenger density.

Service levels were at their usual high level. Cabin crew presence was noticeable throughout the flight and despite being a full flight, I was always addressed by name and someone always appeared within seconds of pressing the call button. Snacks were offered seat by seat several times throughout the flight as well; chips, biscuits, fruit, etc.





After several more hours of sleep, we continued in a southerly direction towards Singapore over China, then Vietnam and down towards the malay peninsular. Breakfast was served prior to landing:

Juice and fruit
Choice of cereals or yoghurt (I skipped this)
Main:
Brasied beef rib (again?!) with butternut squash puree, boiled brussel srout, baby carrot and turnip (I couldn’t think of a less breakfassy thing to have)
Kway Teow Noodle soup with sliced chicken and leafy greens
Singapore Roti Prata with spicy fish curry
Baked crepe with scrambled eggs, gammon ham, tomato and potatoes

Pastries and bread with jam, tea and coffee.




I chose the chicken noodle soup which was simply delicious. SQ rarely disappoints with their Asian/local fare. I love how the always serve their wonderful noodle soups with fresh cut chilies and soy sauce.


All too soon, this epic and wonderful flight was coming to an end. I enjoyed it immensely and couldn’t help feel sad that the route was closing in November. Touchdown was just a few minutes past 5 in the morning, earlier than scheduled.
I somehow feel that SQ will attempt to restart NY-SIN non stops in the future, but perhaps with the right aircraft and market conditions. One of the most enjoyable flights I’ve experienced.


I had 4-5 hours to play in the private room in SQ’s vast Silver Kris lounge. It really is quite a beautiful space.
At this early hour, it was completely empty and I was the only passenger for at least 1-2 hours until the early morning arrivals from London and Australia filtered in. I had a refreshing shower and some breakfast.





Here’s the menu:


And here’s what I ordered.


After a few relaxing hours in the lounge, it was time to head over to gate B5 for my last remaining sector flight home to Melbourne.

Qantasclub

SQ 217 June 8th SIN-MEL.

Today’s flight was onboard 9V SKK. Don’t think I’ve flown on her before. It was a full flight, as evidenced by the completely full gate holding areas. Boarding was called around 15-20 mins later than usual because of an engineering issue and a late engine test. I was pretty tired by this stage and keen to board early and settle into my seat for the short hop home.





Despite the full flight, it was a light load in Suites with only 3 other passengers on the left side of the cabin, whilst I had the entire right side to myself.

I will let the pictures do the talking for this last flight as I’ve already covered a lot in this trip report about the suites; there was however one exceptional aspect of this flight: the lunch meal was one of the very best meals I have ever had in the air.
Here’s the menu:





Of course, my excitement in seeing Singapore Chilli Crab on the menu was palpable and the leading stewardess chuckled at my apparent glee as this is one of my favorite Singapore dishes.




Oriental clear chicken soup



The crab was delicious and just so enjoyable to eat; they even thought of supplying a bib to avoid stains on clothing, etc. The crab was served with rice and ‘man tou’ which is basically fried white bread to absorb all that heavenly sauce. Enjoyed +++.








Dessert was also an interesting dish of pineapple sago and pina colada sorbet; a complex dessert with layers of thinly sliced pineapple underneath all that coconut sauce. Wonderful and full marks to SQ.



I actually slept for the rest of the flight as jet lag had started to catch up with me. I skipped the second meal (VERY rare for me to do).

We touched down in MEL at 7.16pm just 1 min past the scheduled arrival time.



Once again, I continue to me amazed by this airline’s consistency of service delivery and attention to detail. All of the 6 sectors were wonderfully enjoyable flights with great crew and no problems whatsoever. The ultra long hauls were particularly special and I really do hope their cessation will be temporary. The return flight EWR-SIN is proof that there IS a market out there for them.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and happy flying everyone. Comments welcome.

Qantasclub.

amolkold

Great report! Excited for my SQ Suites flight now ... and thinking I should probably do an LAX/EWR-SIN flight before they cancel those. I wonder if they will add another 77W to the LA and NYC markets. LA used to have a flight via TPE but that was taken away after an accident. EWR used to have another flight I believe.

marcuslai

The food looks absolutely amazing !! On board and Off. Thank you for the TR. I must more earnestly try to steer myself away from CX

armagebedar

I also flew SIN-EWR recently and enjoyed it immensely. It really is the best way to get from SE Asia to the US East Coast -- 18 hours is enough to have a leisurely lunch, relax with a movie, get 8 hours of sleep, and then gradually wake up before landing. I do hope they bring the route back some day with a ULH-capable 787 or A350.

FlyerTalker7654

Fantastic TR!!!!! Business class and First class as it should be!!!!

^

flyhen

Wow! This is a crazy itinerary. Just the food alone is a feast to begin with. I envy you! Great TR.

wolf539

Excellent report...!

btw, that lady in the SIN gate photo in post 6 looks absolutely thrilled to have her picture taken!

SFO777

Outstanding report and pics. Wow, what an epic trip on my favorite airline.
Thanks for posting. ^

UALboy

That is Shatin. There is the Shing Mun River. You can also see the racecourse located towards the bottom right corner of your photo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sha_Tin

Madone59

Great TR - Thank you Qantasclub!