Introduction: Whirlwind Trip to Asia
Review: American Airlines (A321) Economy Class Dallas to Charlotte
Review: American Airlines (A320) Economy Class Charlotte to Boston
Review: Holiday Inn Express and Suites – Boston Garden
Review: United Club – Logan International Airport
Review: United Airlines (777-200) Business Class Newark to Beijing
Review: Air China Business Class Lounge – Beijing International Airport
Review: BGS Premier Business Class Lounge – Beijing International Airport
Review: Singapore Airlines (777-300ER) Business Class Beijing to Singapore
Review: SilverKris Business Class Lounge – Singapore Changi Airport
Review: SilkAir (737-800) Business Class Singapore to Kuala Lumpur
Review: Renaissance Hotel – Kuala Lumpur
Out and About in Kuala Lumpur
Review: Plaza Premium Lounge – Kuala Lumpur
Review: SilkAir (A319) Economy Class Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
Review: JW Marriott Hotel – Singapore South Beach
Review: The Private Room – Singapore Changi Airport
Review: Singapore Airlines (A380-800) Suites Class Singapore to Beijing
Review: Air China First Class Lounge – Beijing International Airport
Review: United Airlines (777-300ER) Business Class Beijing to San Francisco
Review: American Express Centurion Lounge – San Francisco International Airport
Review: United Airlines (757-200) First Class San Francisco to Newark
Review: United Airlines Classified Restaurant – Newark Liberty International Airport
Review: Admirals Club – Logan International Airport
SQ 801
PEK-SIN
Takeoff: 00:10
Land: 06:20
Flight time: 6hrs 10mins
Seat: 14K (Business Class)
I left the BGS lounge 20 minutes prior to boarding. With stops to take pictures, I made it to the gate in 10 minutes. I was surprised to not see everyone crowded around the gate. EVERY flight that I take in America has gate crowding.
This gorgeous airplane was parked at the gate next to us.
Boarding began on time. I boarded through door 1L. This meant that I walked through the four seat first class cabin. I still have fond memories of my flight two years ago when I was the only in the cabin. The first class cabin filled after everyone else was onboard.
I made my way to the mini business class cabin. My seat was 14K, window seat in the last row. The seat was just a little different from the first class seat. Due to seat design and the staggered configuration, interaction with anyone is at your discretion. At the seat were slippers, socks, headphones, and a bottled water.
This is not an exaggeration. Before I could get settled, I had flight attendants addressing me name. There were at least five different attendants helping me. One hung my jacket, another brought me the drink of the month (pineapple juice, orange juice, and soda water), another brought a warm towel, one confirmed my ‘Book the Cook’ order, and another brought magazines. Wow. Talk about service.
While boarding continued, I visited the main business class, premium economy, and economy cabins. In my opinion, there did not appear to be a bad seat in the aircraft.
The doors were closed at midnight. At this point, the captain came on with his welcome aboard announcement. He informed us that our flight time would be a quick 5hr 45min. We began our pushback one minute early. The safety briefing was played a few minutes later. After a short nine minute taxi, we were airborne. The takeoff was smooth, but we had many vectors leaving Beijing’s airspace.
I turned on the entertainment system to check out the flight map, but the system was frozen from the previous flight. I asked a flight attendant to reset it. I had the option of waiting in my seat or moving to another one. I decided to check out the WiFi but it was not available. Maybe the entire entertainment suite needed a hard reset.
The WiFi work later in the flight. Business class customers get 30MB complimentary. I went through that 15 minutes. There were options to buy more internet but they were a little too expensive for me.
Without anything to keep me busy, I checked one of the business class lavatories. This one was located on the right side of the aircraft between the two business class cabins. It was on the small side. There were toiletries and towels in case passengers needed to freshen up. The flight attendants kept it clean throughout the flight (I actually believe that the lavatory was cleaner at the end of the flight).
Drink service began 15 minutes after takeoff. I ordered a glass of Charles Hiedsieck Brut Reserve. It was served with warm nuts. It was another 15 minutes until the tray was set. For whatever reason, I could not get the tray table straight, it stayed at an angle during the meal. Maybe it is the design or operator error?
My entree was served 40 minutes after takeoff. I used Book the Cook to request smoked duck fried rice.
The dish had great flavor and the perfect portion size. It was not served with a starter, bread, or dessert. I am assuming that is due to the short flight duration. I was offered a fruit tray, but I declined.
I edited some pictures and ultimately decided that I needed to rest. The flight attendant helped me make the bed. I fell asleep with about four hours left in the flight. A combination of turbulence and hot cabin temperature were the primary factors in me sleeping two hours.
I immediately offered a hotel towel and choice of juice. A few minutes later, I was offered continental breakfast. I declined because I was not hungry.
I instead filmed a video of my business class cabin:
The IFE eventually worked. I browsed the movies, but did not watch anything.
With an hour to spare before landing, i decided that I would order Singapore Airlines flagship drink, the Singapore Sling.
Service was complete 45 minutes prior to landing. The flight attendants came around the cabin with water, warm towels, and mints. The landing music was then played (think of it as elevator, but for an airplane).
We had a smooth landing at 0615. After a 10 minute taxi, we arrived at the gate. All of the flight attendants wished the passengers well as we exited the aircraft.
Final Word
The service on this flight was exceptional. The flight attendants hustled from boarding all the way to landing. You cannot ask for any more than that. The smoke duck fried rice was really good. My biggest issue with the flight was the temperature that woke me up from my nap. All in all, well done Singapore Airlines. I enjoyed it.
