A Tale of Two Suites (SFO-HKG-PEK-NRT-SEA-SFO) (Very, Very Long) – Part I
Nov 12, 1999, 3:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA 1K MM, Accor Plat, Htz PC, Natl ExEm, other random status
Posts: 2,876
A Tale of Two Suites (SFO-HKG-PEK-NRT-SEA-SFO) (Very, Very Long) – Part I
As some of you may recall, I was planning on traveling SFO-SEA-NRT-PEK and reverse. As things had it, certain test equipment I was to be carrying took on a distinct electrical smell, and I was not able to make the planned SFO-SEA connection, nor the non-stop UA SFO-NRT a bit later. So, my only option was to take SQ from SFO to HKG and then connect. Darn. 
This was my first time on SQ, so I was looking forward to the trip. Pardon the length, but I’m sitting here guarding test equipment and I’m solitaired out so I’m free writing.
Tuesday, Nov. 9 SQ1 SFO-HKG
I arrived at SFO at about 2230 for the 2355 departure (Uncommonly early, but the engineers had completed their work a bit early, so I left for the airport so as not to fall asleep on the road. SQ check-in was incredibly efficient, even economy looked to be an exceptionally short line, but it was still early. The gentleman directed me to the Silver Kris lounge. I had visited its sister lounge in SIN while waiting for a LH flight, so I was expecting something at least vaguely comfortable. I was disappointed. What I found was an ugly, cramped set of tiny rooms, TV blasting in the main room, with only a couple of sad looking dim sum and the same wrapped cheese and crackers they give you in the Red Carpet Clubs. I know that SQ will soon be a full member of Star, and so passengers will be able to use UA’s First Class Lounge, and the new International Terminal should be quite impressive, but this was not an auspicious start to the trip.
Unlike some places, I didn’t regret leaving the lounge early to go to my flight, and went to Gate 50, where they began boarding First & Raffles about 35 minutes before scheduled departure. One thing I learned was not to stand too close to the F/C boarding line prior to boarding, as the duty free guy passes out packages there, and you will get pushed out of the way by little old ladies trying to get their VSOP and Marlboro Reds.
I boarded (through Door 2L) and went to the cabin, followed closely by a flight attendant who kept yelling “Be Careful!!!” as my overly full cabin bag kept bumping into empty seats. Apparently the new C seats must be fragile.
I arrived in the new cabin and was underwhelmed. The design is quite nice, but I will echo someone’s earlier statement and say that the cabin looked schmuddly. You might even go so far as to say dirty. There were scuff and smudge marks all over the leather and walls of the cabin, and the “wood” veneer was chipped in a number of places. I guess the flight attendant from before was preemptively warning me, as during my struggles to squeeze my (too large) bag into the small, old style overhead compartments (tilt down), it slid and hit me in the head. I didn’t need sleeping pills for this flight – it seemed as though I would knock myself unconscious, first.
I thankfully took the ’92 Dom Perignon on offer and nestled into the Sky Suite. I was in 3A on the left side, solo. Unfortunately, my colleague had taken my laptop with him on the earlier flight, but I found that I could have plugged it in to the xtender slot in the seat. The crew promptly took my jacket, and made sure my glass was full. High marks to the crew. The in-flight supervisor came around with the nice leather menu covers and I peeked at the offerings. I was, again, underwhelmed. Granted, this was a departure at 2355, so most people would look to go to sleep quickly, but you would think that on a 15 hour flight, they would have a full dinner service. They offered a plate of caviar or a shrimp/noodle salad as a starter (one or the other - no trolley service); beef consomme, but no salad; a choice of three entrees (again, no trolley), fruit and cheese (Tray, no trolley), but no sweet; and coffee, including cappuccino/espresso drinks. I passed on the braised chicken and the steak, and chose a lobster piccata with vermicelli, which sounded great, but wound up somehow simultaneously dry and chewy. By contrast, as I recall from earlier this year, LH on their late-night SIN-FRA service, does their full dinner service, even though the flight departs at 2359. NZ does a very nice service on their late-night departure LAX-AKL. Also, in contrast to my recollections of UA on their SFO-HKG run, SQ offered no mid-flight 3rd meal / tray snack, just the noodles and sandwiches on demand. I was really disappointed with the meal, as I had passed on dinner expecting a great meal on-board. Oh well. The china and table linens were very attractive, and the chilled and warmed plates were a classy touch, however. Pushback was a couple minutes early, and a relatively uncommon clear night departure on Rwy 10R out of SFO allowed us a gorgeous climb-out and turn over the bay with the lights of the City and the Golden Gate Bridge on the left side of the aircraft as we ascended past Sausalito.
I won’t bother going into the video entertainment system but to say it was incredibly comprehensive, the noise canceling headsets were more comfortable than UA’s and the big 14 inch screens will spoil me forever.
After “dinner,” I was set to change into the ever so chic purple Givenchy sleep set that they set out. I looked at the sealed package and found “Small” written on the package, laughing at me. At 6’3” and somewhere north of 210 pounds, the only time I see “Small” on clothing is if I happen to be buying something for my fiancée. I asked the in-flight supervisor for an X-Large, whereupon he replied: “Oh, I’m very sorry, Sir, but we don’t have any.” Ok, what can you do. Again, disappointing performance on the part of the World’s Best Airline (pick your periodical). If you can’t get the logistical systems down to guarantee availability of sizes – at least S, M and L – then you should reconsider whether you offer the service. It would be better not to provide them at all, than to disappoint people. Oh well – I pulled out the LH F/C shirt I had “liberated” from my last LH flight and asked the F/A to prepare my seat for bed. She brought out the bottom sheet and the duvet, and I snuggled in.
About 7 hours of mostly solid sleep later (a little turbulence in a couple of places) I woke up and asked for some of the noodles. After the snack, I started to try and do some work. Although there is a fiber-optic light over your shoulder, it casts a horrible shadow on your paper if you’re trying to write so I tried to turn on my overhead light, which – of course – didn’t work. Nor did the flight attendant call button when I tried that (seat-belt sign on at the time for minor turbulence). So, when the F/A made her next cruise, I flagged her, and after some consultation with the supervisor, determined that my light could not stay on without turning on the overhead lights, admittedly rude to the rest of the full cabin of 11 slumbering cabin-mates. So, I made do.
2.5 hours prior to landing or so, the lights came on, and the F/A’s came around to serve breakfast. Not bad, eggs to order with sausage, tomatoes, bread basket, and muesli/yogurt prior, or a choice of fish and cuttlefish congee or pan fried ham. Prior to landing, the captain apologized for the early breakfast service, but explained that the headwinds en route were such that they had expected a technical stop in Beijing, and wanted to get the service in prior to landing in PEK. As it turned out, the heavy headwinds (185 km/h at points) died down, and the landing was unnecessary, but they had already committed to the service at that point.
The flight crew greased the landing, and as the F/A’s returned jackets, I asked about parting gifts, as colleagues who had flown SQ in the past had received very nice Du4ront pens and diaries. Apparently the practice stopped a couple of years ago – I guess the Asian downturn makes itself felt in different ways. We disembarked precisely on schedule at HKG, and I made my way to the transfer counter.
In all, I was not particularly impressed with my first SQ experience. My expectations had probably been raised too high by the board. It was certainly better than some of the UA (my normal carrier) transpac/transatl flights I’ve had, but I would not say it was better than a good UA flight, and certainly inferior to the best UA flights I’ve had. The food – see my above rants. The seat was comfortable – much more comfortable than the standard UA seat, but I’ll see how it compares to the new UA First Suite this weekend on my return through SEA. Also, it may have had something to do with the late-night departure and overnight flight, but you’d think that on a nearly 15 hour flight, they would pull out all the service stops, as there’s certainly enough time for anyone to experience full service and get all the sleep they can. The vaunted “Singapore Girls” were very nice, and far better than some of the UA crews I’ve had, but I would argue that the service was less impressive than any of the 14-15 LH flights I’ve done in F, and not as good as received on many of the UA flights I’ve taken. Just nothing special.
What happened to Wednesday?
Thursday, Nov. 11 KA900 HKG-PEK
Check-in was a nightmare at the transfer desk. First, I had to wait almost 10 minutes for the Dragonair rep to arrive at the desk for the morning, and when it became apparent that an add-collect was necessary for my ticket (long story, don’t ask), she said that a Cathay Pacific rep would have to come – “Please wait 5 or 10 minutes.” 30 minutes and 4 phone calls later, the rep finally showed – said she would have to go groundside with my credit card and would come back. 25 minutes later, she returned, and what should have been a leisurely 1 hour stay in the lounge became a sweaty sprint to the train and from the train to the aircraft. So, I can’t tell you what the KA lounge is like.
KA seems to buck the trend and have F and Y on their intra-Asian flights, not C. On this A330, the seats seemed to be like old-style intercontinental C seats, with footrest, audio entertainment and good pitch – seemed like 45 or 46 inches. In the 2.5 hour flight, the crew came around to the 36 passengers (full flight), addressed us by name, introduced themselves, passed newspapers, took drink orders, served drinks, served trays with a fruit plate, collected same, came through with a trolley with hot entrée choices, including omelets or congee and vermicelli with vegetables, offered more coffee/tea, collected the trays and sold duty-free. I’ll have to remember not to remember that on my next 2 hour UA Shuttle flight to SEA.
We arrived in PEK to heavy fog – it’s getting that time of year again. We sat on the taxiway for 30 minutes due to congestion, and then taxied for what seemed to be a trip to Shanghai. Finally, we pulled up to a jetway at THE NEW TERMINAL!!! It’s finally done!!! Visitors to Beijing will understand what an improvement that is. Apparently, the new international terminal had opened on November 1st. Quite impressive – white and glass. Still interminable queues at Passport Control, but they didn’t want us to forget about the old terminal, so they brought that part with them.
The Shangri-La rep was waiting outside, and my car arrived within 5 minutes. Smooth trip, Horizon Club rep waiting at the door for me to check me in at the club. 2 minutes later, paperwork was signed and I was shown to my room – 2 double beds, despite the reservation for a King, but they were apparently trying to get me close to my 2 colleagues who had arrived earlier – and I didn’t figure it out until late that night, after I was too tired to change rooms. They did, however, remember my preference for foam pillows. I would recommend the Shangri-La to anyone who needs to be on that side of the city – quite a ways away from the World Trade Center, but quite close to the university and technology areas, if that’s your mission. Very good room service, rooms of the comfortable Shangri-La standard. Absolutely befuddling rate structure – always ask if there’s something cheaper (there always is-even for the Horizon Club level), but a nice place to stay.
Part II will (hopefully) compare the UA First Suites as I return PEK-NRT-SEA-SFO later this week.
This was my first time on SQ, so I was looking forward to the trip. Pardon the length, but I’m sitting here guarding test equipment and I’m solitaired out so I’m free writing. Tuesday, Nov. 9 SQ1 SFO-HKG
I arrived at SFO at about 2230 for the 2355 departure (Uncommonly early, but the engineers had completed their work a bit early, so I left for the airport so as not to fall asleep on the road. SQ check-in was incredibly efficient, even economy looked to be an exceptionally short line, but it was still early. The gentleman directed me to the Silver Kris lounge. I had visited its sister lounge in SIN while waiting for a LH flight, so I was expecting something at least vaguely comfortable. I was disappointed. What I found was an ugly, cramped set of tiny rooms, TV blasting in the main room, with only a couple of sad looking dim sum and the same wrapped cheese and crackers they give you in the Red Carpet Clubs. I know that SQ will soon be a full member of Star, and so passengers will be able to use UA’s First Class Lounge, and the new International Terminal should be quite impressive, but this was not an auspicious start to the trip.
Unlike some places, I didn’t regret leaving the lounge early to go to my flight, and went to Gate 50, where they began boarding First & Raffles about 35 minutes before scheduled departure. One thing I learned was not to stand too close to the F/C boarding line prior to boarding, as the duty free guy passes out packages there, and you will get pushed out of the way by little old ladies trying to get their VSOP and Marlboro Reds.
I boarded (through Door 2L) and went to the cabin, followed closely by a flight attendant who kept yelling “Be Careful!!!” as my overly full cabin bag kept bumping into empty seats. Apparently the new C seats must be fragile.
I arrived in the new cabin and was underwhelmed. The design is quite nice, but I will echo someone’s earlier statement and say that the cabin looked schmuddly. You might even go so far as to say dirty. There were scuff and smudge marks all over the leather and walls of the cabin, and the “wood” veneer was chipped in a number of places. I guess the flight attendant from before was preemptively warning me, as during my struggles to squeeze my (too large) bag into the small, old style overhead compartments (tilt down), it slid and hit me in the head. I didn’t need sleeping pills for this flight – it seemed as though I would knock myself unconscious, first.
I thankfully took the ’92 Dom Perignon on offer and nestled into the Sky Suite. I was in 3A on the left side, solo. Unfortunately, my colleague had taken my laptop with him on the earlier flight, but I found that I could have plugged it in to the xtender slot in the seat. The crew promptly took my jacket, and made sure my glass was full. High marks to the crew. The in-flight supervisor came around with the nice leather menu covers and I peeked at the offerings. I was, again, underwhelmed. Granted, this was a departure at 2355, so most people would look to go to sleep quickly, but you would think that on a 15 hour flight, they would have a full dinner service. They offered a plate of caviar or a shrimp/noodle salad as a starter (one or the other - no trolley service); beef consomme, but no salad; a choice of three entrees (again, no trolley), fruit and cheese (Tray, no trolley), but no sweet; and coffee, including cappuccino/espresso drinks. I passed on the braised chicken and the steak, and chose a lobster piccata with vermicelli, which sounded great, but wound up somehow simultaneously dry and chewy. By contrast, as I recall from earlier this year, LH on their late-night SIN-FRA service, does their full dinner service, even though the flight departs at 2359. NZ does a very nice service on their late-night departure LAX-AKL. Also, in contrast to my recollections of UA on their SFO-HKG run, SQ offered no mid-flight 3rd meal / tray snack, just the noodles and sandwiches on demand. I was really disappointed with the meal, as I had passed on dinner expecting a great meal on-board. Oh well. The china and table linens were very attractive, and the chilled and warmed plates were a classy touch, however. Pushback was a couple minutes early, and a relatively uncommon clear night departure on Rwy 10R out of SFO allowed us a gorgeous climb-out and turn over the bay with the lights of the City and the Golden Gate Bridge on the left side of the aircraft as we ascended past Sausalito.
I won’t bother going into the video entertainment system but to say it was incredibly comprehensive, the noise canceling headsets were more comfortable than UA’s and the big 14 inch screens will spoil me forever.
After “dinner,” I was set to change into the ever so chic purple Givenchy sleep set that they set out. I looked at the sealed package and found “Small” written on the package, laughing at me. At 6’3” and somewhere north of 210 pounds, the only time I see “Small” on clothing is if I happen to be buying something for my fiancée. I asked the in-flight supervisor for an X-Large, whereupon he replied: “Oh, I’m very sorry, Sir, but we don’t have any.” Ok, what can you do. Again, disappointing performance on the part of the World’s Best Airline (pick your periodical). If you can’t get the logistical systems down to guarantee availability of sizes – at least S, M and L – then you should reconsider whether you offer the service. It would be better not to provide them at all, than to disappoint people. Oh well – I pulled out the LH F/C shirt I had “liberated” from my last LH flight and asked the F/A to prepare my seat for bed. She brought out the bottom sheet and the duvet, and I snuggled in.
About 7 hours of mostly solid sleep later (a little turbulence in a couple of places) I woke up and asked for some of the noodles. After the snack, I started to try and do some work. Although there is a fiber-optic light over your shoulder, it casts a horrible shadow on your paper if you’re trying to write so I tried to turn on my overhead light, which – of course – didn’t work. Nor did the flight attendant call button when I tried that (seat-belt sign on at the time for minor turbulence). So, when the F/A made her next cruise, I flagged her, and after some consultation with the supervisor, determined that my light could not stay on without turning on the overhead lights, admittedly rude to the rest of the full cabin of 11 slumbering cabin-mates. So, I made do.
2.5 hours prior to landing or so, the lights came on, and the F/A’s came around to serve breakfast. Not bad, eggs to order with sausage, tomatoes, bread basket, and muesli/yogurt prior, or a choice of fish and cuttlefish congee or pan fried ham. Prior to landing, the captain apologized for the early breakfast service, but explained that the headwinds en route were such that they had expected a technical stop in Beijing, and wanted to get the service in prior to landing in PEK. As it turned out, the heavy headwinds (185 km/h at points) died down, and the landing was unnecessary, but they had already committed to the service at that point.
The flight crew greased the landing, and as the F/A’s returned jackets, I asked about parting gifts, as colleagues who had flown SQ in the past had received very nice Du4ront pens and diaries. Apparently the practice stopped a couple of years ago – I guess the Asian downturn makes itself felt in different ways. We disembarked precisely on schedule at HKG, and I made my way to the transfer counter.
In all, I was not particularly impressed with my first SQ experience. My expectations had probably been raised too high by the board. It was certainly better than some of the UA (my normal carrier) transpac/transatl flights I’ve had, but I would not say it was better than a good UA flight, and certainly inferior to the best UA flights I’ve had. The food – see my above rants. The seat was comfortable – much more comfortable than the standard UA seat, but I’ll see how it compares to the new UA First Suite this weekend on my return through SEA. Also, it may have had something to do with the late-night departure and overnight flight, but you’d think that on a nearly 15 hour flight, they would pull out all the service stops, as there’s certainly enough time for anyone to experience full service and get all the sleep they can. The vaunted “Singapore Girls” were very nice, and far better than some of the UA crews I’ve had, but I would argue that the service was less impressive than any of the 14-15 LH flights I’ve done in F, and not as good as received on many of the UA flights I’ve taken. Just nothing special.
What happened to Wednesday?
Thursday, Nov. 11 KA900 HKG-PEK
Check-in was a nightmare at the transfer desk. First, I had to wait almost 10 minutes for the Dragonair rep to arrive at the desk for the morning, and when it became apparent that an add-collect was necessary for my ticket (long story, don’t ask), she said that a Cathay Pacific rep would have to come – “Please wait 5 or 10 minutes.” 30 minutes and 4 phone calls later, the rep finally showed – said she would have to go groundside with my credit card and would come back. 25 minutes later, she returned, and what should have been a leisurely 1 hour stay in the lounge became a sweaty sprint to the train and from the train to the aircraft. So, I can’t tell you what the KA lounge is like.
KA seems to buck the trend and have F and Y on their intra-Asian flights, not C. On this A330, the seats seemed to be like old-style intercontinental C seats, with footrest, audio entertainment and good pitch – seemed like 45 or 46 inches. In the 2.5 hour flight, the crew came around to the 36 passengers (full flight), addressed us by name, introduced themselves, passed newspapers, took drink orders, served drinks, served trays with a fruit plate, collected same, came through with a trolley with hot entrée choices, including omelets or congee and vermicelli with vegetables, offered more coffee/tea, collected the trays and sold duty-free. I’ll have to remember not to remember that on my next 2 hour UA Shuttle flight to SEA.
We arrived in PEK to heavy fog – it’s getting that time of year again. We sat on the taxiway for 30 minutes due to congestion, and then taxied for what seemed to be a trip to Shanghai. Finally, we pulled up to a jetway at THE NEW TERMINAL!!! It’s finally done!!! Visitors to Beijing will understand what an improvement that is. Apparently, the new international terminal had opened on November 1st. Quite impressive – white and glass. Still interminable queues at Passport Control, but they didn’t want us to forget about the old terminal, so they brought that part with them.
The Shangri-La rep was waiting outside, and my car arrived within 5 minutes. Smooth trip, Horizon Club rep waiting at the door for me to check me in at the club. 2 minutes later, paperwork was signed and I was shown to my room – 2 double beds, despite the reservation for a King, but they were apparently trying to get me close to my 2 colleagues who had arrived earlier – and I didn’t figure it out until late that night, after I was too tired to change rooms. They did, however, remember my preference for foam pillows. I would recommend the Shangri-La to anyone who needs to be on that side of the city – quite a ways away from the World Trade Center, but quite close to the university and technology areas, if that’s your mission. Very good room service, rooms of the comfortable Shangri-La standard. Absolutely befuddling rate structure – always ask if there’s something cheaper (there always is-even for the Horizon Club level), but a nice place to stay.
Part II will (hopefully) compare the UA First Suites as I return PEK-NRT-SEA-SFO later this week.
Nov 12, 1999, 9:05 pm
#4
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Canada
Programs: AC SE 2MM, HH Dd, SPG; IC Pl/A; AA; DL
Posts: 14,321
Thanks for the report. Maybe these kind of comments will cause SQ to strive to improve. We can only hope. They seem to be on a new advertising blitz so maybe they have seen a falling off in their bookings.
Nov 16, 1999, 12:27 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Chicago,Ill, USA
Posts: 34
I have to agree with your thoughts.
On my last 2 flights on SG ( both SIN-HKG ) in Raffles Class, the service seemed to have declined. The FAs were great , there were no gifts, the Airbus interior shabby and food quality was down. I'm travelling on their 777 soon so I hope things improve.
SG can't rest on their well earned good reputation for ever!
On my last 2 flights on SG ( both SIN-HKG ) in Raffles Class, the service seemed to have declined. The FAs were great , there were no gifts, the Airbus interior shabby and food quality was down. I'm travelling on their 777 soon so I hope things improve.
SG can't rest on their well earned good reputation for ever!
Nov 16, 1999, 11:53 am
#9
Commander Catcop
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 10,259
Four Paws up report Greg99. I'm surprised that airlines won't have L and X-L for guys like us who have a little bit more to us. (NOT FAT, bone and Muscle.)
It's true: I stayed at the Shangri-La in Beijing. It just opened. great buffet breakfast, nice beds, friendly service. It is a good hotel.
It's true: I stayed at the Shangri-La in Beijing. It just opened. great buffet breakfast, nice beds, friendly service. It is a good hotel.
Nov 16, 1999, 2:34 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA 1K MM, Accor Plat, Htz PC, Natl ExEm, other random status
Posts: 2,876
Now I feel warm, fuzzy, happy and accepted!
I even got a Four Paws Up from Catman!!!
Thanks guys - fun doing the trip report - but it's good to be back home.
Greg
I even got a Four Paws Up from Catman!!!
Thanks guys - fun doing the trip report - but it's good to be back home.
Greg
Nov 23, 1999, 8:58 pm
#11
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 1999
Location: San Francisco UA1K; AA Gold
Posts: 937
Just curious: you comment that
Since this was on the SFO-HKG flight, wouldn't that be out of the way? Even flying a northerly routing, wouldn't someplace in Japan be more en route? (With apologies for not paying attention to the routing on my UA flight SFO-HKG earlier this month - I might have been able to answer my own question!)
Prior to landing, the captain apologized for the early breakfast service, but explained that the headwinds en route were such that they had expected a technical stop in Beijing, and wanted to get the service in prior to landing in PEK.
Nov 23, 1999, 9:39 pm
#12
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: CH-3823 Wengen Switzerland
Programs: miles&more, MileagePlus
Posts: 27,041
thank you for the SQ trip report - I am learning and preparing my new *A rtw stategies for 2000.
a LH (first class) features I really appreciate: when they depart late at night they offer a *****preflight-dinner at (some of) their Senator lounges. Until now I only experienced this at JFW.
a LH (first class) features I really appreciate: when they depart late at night they offer a *****preflight-dinner at (some of) their Senator lounges. Until now I only experienced this at JFW.
Nov 25, 1999, 1:12 am
#13
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
Regarding the northern route over Beijing... it is a new route that is not commonly used by airline. It takes you all way north into the Alaska and then come back through Shanghai into Hong Kong. I think UAL's ORD to HKG route use that particular routing during winter due to strong headwind...
About SIA's decline of service, the dessert service of its late night supper has been deleted from the menu on the October one. I still got a sweet from TPE to LAX in August... but October's LAX to TPE has no sweet going with the meal. The trend for CX and SQ is the same... no sweet for supper. There is no logic. I actually think that people like dessert on late night flights.
Carfield
About SIA's decline of service, the dessert service of its late night supper has been deleted from the menu on the October one. I still got a sweet from TPE to LAX in August... but October's LAX to TPE has no sweet going with the meal. The trend for CX and SQ is the same... no sweet for supper. There is no logic. I actually think that people like dessert on late night flights.
Carfield