Newark Liberty

Once in terminal B, I went to the dedicated gate where the flight of Singapore Airlines was scheduled to depart. The plane had already arrived and was waiting at the gate. It was 9V-SGE.

There was a SAS Business Class and a Lufthansa Senator Lounge at the gate, since the flights of SAS and those of Lufthansa and Swiss also leave from this part of terminal 3. Singapore Airlines used the SAS Lounge, but the Lufthansa Senator Lounge was also open till 21:30. Holding Senator Status with Lufthansa, I decided to visit the Senator Lounge instead of the SAS Business Class Lounge. At the entrance I was informed that my boarding passed had to be changed to one on SQ paper. The agent of SQ would arrive later in the evening and I was told to check back at 20:30. Until then; I should wait in the Senator Lounge and so I entered the Senator Lounge which was quite busy and is not really big. The SAS Business Lounge was not really less crowded. But with the Lufthansa flight to Munich about to begin boarding the lounge became less crowded a couple of minutes later. I only got glass of sparkling water from the buffet. Around 20:40 I checked with the front desk and as the SQ agent had arrived and I received a new boarding pass on SQ paper.

There was not much left on the buffet in the Senator Lounge and it was not restocked anymore as the lounge was only open for less than an hour. At 21:15 the LX flight was called and the most passengers left the lounge, only a few remained in the lounge. Ten minutes later I moved over to the SAS lounge which was now packed. I took a seat at one of the tables and picked up a coffee and read in the paper. 15 minutes ahead of boarding time I left the lounge as I wanted to walk a little bit, since I would spend the next 18 hours in a metal tube with not so much possibilities to stretch my legs.

The first boarding announcement was already made as I walked towards the gate and boarding started ahead of time with PPS members, but does not seem to be enforced. Two agents were checking boarding passes and IDs.

09 September 2013
EWR – SIN
[Newark Liberty Airport – Singapore Changi]
SQ 21 (Singapore Airlines); Airbus A 340-500 (9V-SGE)
Gate B 65
23:00 – 05:40 (+2) [effective 23:09 – 05:39 (+2)]
Business Class
Seat 30 A

I entered the Airbus A340-500 and was greeted at the entrance and shown direction to my seat in the rear part of this all Business Class A340-500. With not so many passengers in this plane space in the overhead compartments was not an issue. I noticed that the overhead bins were different in the cabin. The one above the middle seats in the rear part of the cabin were lower than those in the remaining two parts. This was the part were in the early days of this flight Premium Economy was located. A flight attendant asked me if I would like her to hang my jacked in the closet. I was also offered a pre-departure drink. I could choose among orange juice, apple juice, water or champagne. A hot towel was also already offered on the ground.

Pre Departure Dink

Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut Champagne

Blankets and mattress as well as pillows and headphones were placed at or on the seat. The printed menus were also distributed by one of the flight attendants on the ground.

The captain also welcomed us board and informed us that we were flying the North Pole route. The flight time had been calculated with 18:35 and he expected an on time arrival.

Still on the ground and while I was enjoying my glass of Bollinger Champagne, I was asked about my choice of drink once we were airborne – I chose a Singapore Sling. It was also confirmed that my book the cook menu was loaded. This flight attendant addressed me by name, not only now, but also later. But she was the only one to do so; the other flight attendants did not do this.

The safety video was shown during push back at 23:09 and we taxied to runway 4L. No other plane was ahead of use and without any stop the captain powered the four engines of this ultra longhaul Airbus A 340-500. The plane was quite heavy and we needed the whole runway before we slowly climbed into the sky above New Jersey at 23:26.

While we slowly climbed to reach our cruising altitude, let me give a few details about this Airbus A 340-541, which was delivered to Singapore Airlines as new plane on May 04, 2004. It is powered by four 240 kN (54,000 lbf) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 553 turbofans engines. The plane was fitted as it was delivered with 64 seats in Raffles Class offering a seat pitch of 64 inch and a seat width of 22 inch in a 2 -2 -2 configuration and 117 seats in Premium Economy offerings seat pitch of 37 inch and a seat width of 20 inch in a 2 - 3 - 2 configuration. The plane was in summer 2008 converted to an all Business Class plane with 100 seats of the new Business Class in a 1 - 2 - 1 configuration. The seat offer a seat width of 76 inch and a seat pitch of 30 inch, which is among the largest among all airlines in Business Class. All seat offer direct aisle access. But this Business Class seat is slightly different than many other seats, and this applies also for other aircraft types using these seats, like the Airbus A 380. To convert the seat to a bed, the seatback is flipped forward to form a bed. Therefore many passengers will notice an intrusion next to their head. This intrusion is due to the foot-well of the seat behind, and takes up about 40% of the width of the bed at the head and shoulder area. One has to sleep at a slight diagonal position, but this provides you with the longest sleeping surface, with your feet in the footwell intrusion ahead of you. The seats in the first row of each cabin part do not have this intrusion and therefore are the ones preferred by many passengers.

In November 2013 SQ discontinued the non-stop flight SIN – EWR and SIN – LAX and vice versa and the five Airbus 340-500 used for the flights to Newark as well as Los Angeles are now stored or registered with Airbus. Our plane 9V-SGE is stored in Bordeaux since January 29, 2014. 9V-SGD is stored in Lourdes since March 19, 2014 with the other former Airbus A 340-500 of SQ but not registered for Airbus Industries like 9V-SGE.

The fasten seat belt signs were switched off and the crew went to their stations. The leading flight attendant had already mentioned during her welcome speech that no hot beverages were served if the fasten seat belt signs were turned on. This was new to me and I had not experienced this on previous flights, but on the other hand, my last flight with SQ was quite some time ago – more than five years. And in such a long time much can change. Nevertheless, I think this is silly.

In the meantime and while we waited for the first round of beverage, a second hot towel service was done, followed by the distribution of socks and eyeshades. SQ does not offer an amenity kit, instead toothbrush, razor and lotion are available in the lavatories.

I had ordered one of the book the cook menus as main course, but of course the started was the same as for the main meal service. So time to have a look at the menu
(Click on the icon, opens new window)

Aperitif

Singapore Sling

First Course

Tian of crabmeat with avocado and cold spicy gazpacho
2010 La Crema Monterey Chardonnay

Main Course

Book the cook Menu
Pan-fried fillet of beef in three peppercorn sauce with garden vegetables and roasted potatoes

Finale

Creme brulee

35 minutes after take off the aperitif was served with a small pack of assorted nuts. The later came in a plastic pack rather than a bowl. A minor down, but the Singapore Sing tasted as usual quite good. Round about an hour after we let Newark the meal service started. It was done from the back to the front at least in the rear part of the cabin where I was sitting. But before the first course was served, the tray table was laid with linen and cutlery, salt and pepper shakers and napkin were arranged on the tray table. Then the first course was served from the cart. I was also asked if I like to have a glass of wine and I went with a glass of the 2010 La Crema Monterey Chardonnay. Bread, rolls and garlic bread were also offered, however the selection was not very good and quite limited. If flying from other destination a wider selection of different kind of rolls are available and especially they are really tasty. In so far, I was slightly disappointed with the quality. The first course was okay, not outstanding, but the ingredients fresh and tasty.

The used dishes were cleared individually and soon the main course was served individually. I had pre ordered the Pan-fried fillet of beef in three peppercorn sauce with garden vegetables and roasted potatoes and this was a disappointment. Not only was the beef dry, there were a lot of bones in it. The potatoes were okay, however the meal not very hot. The flight attendant who brought me the main course noticed my empty wine glass and I asked for a refill but it was not going to happen. I also asked for a second roll, which also took some time before it was delivered, but not so the wine. Overall, the service was so far well below the standards of what I expect from SQ and what I also have so far experienced on-board SQ. Okay, my last flight was some five years ago, but nevertheless it could not be that worse.

I therefore skipped cheese but at least I got a second roll and also refill of my glass with white wine was done after the flight attendant noticed that she had forgotten the wine. She mentioned it, but there was no apologize. It was simply, “Oh, I forgot your wine”.

Later the plate which I used for my rolls was cleared and I was asked if I like to have a crème brûlee.

As already mentioned I was only addressed by name by one flight attendant, all other flight attendants did not address me by name and some did not even made eye contact when they talked to me or served me. This was also a disappointing experience and added to my already bad impression of this flight. Also the whole meal service took 90 minutes which meant 2 and a half hour had already passed before the lights were dimmed and then turned off. Not so much of a problem of an 18 hour flight, but I heard from a colleague flying the same route a couple of days later, where the crew rushed through the service in half the time, which is also not the way. I think, the crews were not overly motivated as the discontinuation of the flight meant they will lose some benefits like a longer stay in New York and a longer free time after their flight.

As I got up to visit the lavatories, a flight attendant asked if she should make my bed. As I returned my seat was converted to a comfortable bed while I freshened up in the lavatories.

Since I was really tired, I felt asleep quite quickly. With a few interruptions I was able to get close to 6:30 hours sleep. Once awake I dozed a little bit, but wanted to use the remaining flight time to get some work done. But before I was able to do so, a flight attendant converted my bed back into a seat while I passed another visit to the lavatories. I had also asked for a light snack which was on offer throughout the flight.

Light bites menu

Khao phad talay
(Thai style fried rice with seafood and pineapple)

My snack was heated which brought to my seat later with a coffee and a glass of water. It was actually a large portion and quitter good and probably better than the main course which I had during the dinner service.

I wanted to continue in my playlist, but my system was resetted or turned off by a crewmember using the dedicated functionality and therefore the playlist I had selected earlier was no longer available, which was not such a big issue, but also an incident which you do not expect to happen on SQ. I knew that they can turn off the screen using their central control panel if the screen is on during the night, but I had switched off my screen myself. And I am not aware of any issues with the entertainment system. Anyway, I could not change it, so I have to live with it and selecting a new playlist was not such an issue, especially as I knew what and where to look.

I continued in updating this trip report and also wrote some e-mails, which I wanted to send in Singapore. I also charged my smartphone using one of the USB ports. The power outlet did not work with my standard European plug but with either the UK plug attached to the power unit or the US adapter with the European plug.

Three hours before we were scheduled to touch down in Singapore the lights were dimmed on and the cabin was lightened up in a slowly way. This is also much nicer as if suddenly the cabin went from dark to bright. A hot towel was offered and 20 minutes later the orders for breakfast were taken. This was done by the same flight attendant who already took the orders for the dinner service. She approached each passenger but not row by row, most likely according to the status as some passenger were asked ahead of other and from my understanding that must be PPS members.

Time to look in the menu.
(Click on the icon for the menu (opens new window)

Breakfast service started with two hours to fly, which means the service was not so much done in a rush. First the tray table was laid with linen and cutlery, salt and pepper shakers and butter were placed on the tray table. The flight became a bit bumpier and the captain turned on the fasten seat belt signs. This meant no hot beverage during this time. And unfortunately the seat belt signs remained illuminated for the remaining flight, which means there was no tea and coffee served during breakfast. From my point of view, this is not really acceptable. I understand that spilling hot beverage might be a problem, but then one can use mugs or simply only fill the cups half.

Prelude

Slice fresh fruit

Main Course

Braised ee-fu noodles
with pork, pickled vegetables and black mushroom

First a juice was offered before a small selection of fresh fruit was served.
Rolls were also offered, but pastries were missing and the selection was again somehow limited. It might have something to do with the catering in the US, but then this is Singapore Airlines and you have certain expectations. I decided to go with the braised ee-fu noodles.

This meal was better than the book the cook option. Used plates were again cleared individually.

The meal service was not done in a hurry and this was certainly very much welcomed by me. Since the quality was better I enjoyed it more and especially the fact that I did not have to rush and was not forced to rush by the crew. A number of passengers used the remaining flight time to sleep until the very last minutes and were served a quicker continental breakfast or skipped breakfast.

Since the seat belt signs were still turned on, only refills of water were offered.

30 minutes ahead of Singapore we began our approach into the Singapore and the flight deck updated us about the weather situation in Singapore. It was also mentioned that the bumps during the last two hours were nothing serious and very common for this area. I have experienced this myself quite often on my many flights in this region. But this makes it even more inacceptable not to serve coffee or tea during the flight.

The cabin crew began to prepare the cabin for the arrival and collected the remaining items from the breakfast service as well as headphones. The entertainment system was also turned off but the flight map was visible. We were also asked to switch off any electronic devices.

Finally this longest commercial non-stop service was coming to its end and we touched down at Singapore’s Changi Airport at 05:28 and had to taxi quite a while before we reached our parking position at terminal 3 of Changi Airport at 05:39.

It took a while before we were finally able to disembark. And for the fourth time this year I was at this airport, but the first time at terminal 3, all other flight had arrived or left from terminal 2.

Top

next flight