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Thank you SQ - Semi Picture YVR-ICN-SIN-MNL

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  • Thank you SQ - Semi Picture YVR-ICN-SIN-MNL

    First of all appologies for the thread headline - it was supposed to be "Thank you SQ" - I am a little jet-lagged as I am sending this,
    pasting from what I wrote on board.


    It seems that trip reports without pictures are becoming more and more popular here on SQTalk.
    Here is one of my usual quarterly trips to the Philippines on SQ.
    I am writing this on my way from YVR to ICN on SQ 17 and just really have nothing but praise for Singapore Airlines – as most of the times.
    This flight again reminds me why I keep flying SQ.
    A trip report with pictures wouldn’t be very exciting anyway as this is “just” the 777-200ER they are using on their YVR-SIN service.
    I am sending this from the ASIANA Lounge in ICN before continuing to Singapore.

    Checked in around noon for my 2pm departure at the Premium Check-In counter SQ is using at YVR.
    As always there is the wonderful lady with her beautiful British accent. (SQLPP could you help me out with her name, I always forget)
    As most of the time my 6 year old son, my wife and very best friend are with me.
    My son’s favourite airline is Singapore Airlines – I wonder why
    About once a week we drive up to Vancouver Intl. Airport, usually on a Monday, Thursday or Saturday (The days SQ is serving YVR) just to see Singapore Airlines flight SQ 17 taking into the skies for Incheon and Singapore.
    We both enjoy it - what a sight.

    At check in as always the nice lady recognizes me and as usual she talks to my son, gives him Solitaire tags, Priority Tags etc. to take home and pretend he is going on a flight on SQ.
    She talks with each one of us and just really makes us feel welcomed.
    My son is wearing a Tofino Air T-shirt and she starts talking to him about sea lions and how beautiful Tofino is (For those of you who are not familiar with Tofino, it’s a small town on the west coast of Vancouver Island – I am sure for those who have been there will agree with me that it’s quite a magical place and we go there as often as we can)
    I am just sharing this so you can picture how personable the atmosphere is, it’s like coming back to a wonderful old friend.

    By the way she (The wonderful lady with the beautiful British accent who’s name I have forgotten) has been here at YVR every since I have started flying SQ about 10 years ago, not sure how long before that she has been here.

    On my last trip earlier this year she was there to check me in and when coming back about 10 days later she was standing at the bridge as we de-planed greeting me with a warm and friendly, “Welcome back Mr. YVRCNX”

    Security was a breeze using the priority security lane.
    Used the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge for a about 10 minutes and started walking to the gate where they started boarding already.

    When boarding for this trip she (The wonderful lady with beautiful British accent who’s name I have forgotten ) was there wishing me a nice flight and a “see you soon again”.

    It’s always a warm and cozy feeling whenever stepping into a SQ plane.
    Even though we only get the “old” 777-200ER with Spacebeds in Business Class, I am looking forward to this flight.
    Having just done a few North American flights on United and Delta I am amazed by the service and reminded that flying still can be a wonderful experience.
    Right away someone comes and helps me to my seat, opens the bin for my carry-on’s and tells me that he’ll be back momentarily with a drink.

    Before take off I ask for the “Business Traveller” magazine, however the crew is getting busy preparing the cabin for our departure and I don’t get the magazine before take off.
    Right after take off the flight attendant comes to me apologizing and letting me know that she hasn’t forgotten me and will bring me the magazine right away, which she does a few minutes later with a big smile.

    I won’t comment much about the seats and meal service as most of you know the Spacebeds and the meals on this flights.

    I am again amazed by how clean the toilets are being kept throughout the flight, especially having recently done a Seattle – Atlanta roundtrip on Delta both ways on a newly refurbished 767 and actually quite good service for a North American carrier, the toilets after 1 hour into the flight were just simply filthy and dirty and not once were they cleaned or tidied up during our 4 hour flight.
    This seems to be a North American Airlines phenomenon as Air Canada is no better even on a 10 hour flight.

    Back to SQ and to our flight. The cabin crew today is very personable and smiling, creating a high energy.
    They are around all the time offering drinks, snacks and picking up any left over garbage.
    Again, what a difference to everything else I have experienced this last few weeks.

    We are about 3 hours from Incheon and I will continue with more about this trip after our layover in Incheon and our continuation to Singapore tonight.

    I will be staying at the “good looking” Crowne Plaze Changi tonight and will try and take pictures of rooms etc. and share them with all of you here.

    To be continued……
    Last edited by yvrcnx; 30 June 2008, 02:35 AM.

  • #2
    The name of the lady with British accent is Lynn. Yes, she does check-in as well as meets the plane at the gate occasionally.
    I just met her on Wednesday night at the 20th Anniversary SQ in Canada. I assume you left Vancouver yesterday, i.e. Saturday. If you were on Thursday flight, I know couple of the cabin crew on board. Perhaps they are working on your ICN - SIN leg.

    I am glad that you have wonderful experience with SQ on the ground as well as in the air!

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by SQ LPP View Post
      The name of the lady with British accent is Lynn. Yes, she does check-in as well as meets the plane at the gate occasionally.
      I just met her on Wednesday night at the 20th Anniversary SQ in Canada. I assume you left Vancouver yesterday, i.e. Saturday. If you were on Thursday flight, I know couple of the cabin crew on board. Perhaps they are working on your ICN - SIN leg.

      I am glad that you have wonderful experience with SQ on the ground as well as in the air!
      Thank you SQ LPP. Yes, it's all coming back - it's Lynn.
      I never received the invitation for the Anniversary on the 20th, maybe I haven't been PPS long enough.

      Just arrived at the Crowne Plaza and it's quite nice.
      I took some pictures and will try to post them tomorrow.

      2nd leg from ICN to SIN was a continuation of the same great service as the first leg.
      Will write more later.

      Comment


      • #4
        Wow, that's quite a send-off you get at YVR, yvrcnx. Don't you just love it when the ground and flight experiences complement each other so well?

        Can't wait for the next chapters; thanks for sharing. It's fun flying vicariously when the experience is top-notch.
        ‘Lean into the sharp points’

        Comment


        • #5
          After all I decided to add some pictures.
          Here is the Asiana Lounge in the new terminal - Business Class side.







          The lounge has a nice feel to it. With showers, 3 or 4 massage chairs in a quiet area, lots lof TV's.
          There is a seperate room with Computers, about 10 of them.
          The food choices were much less then there used to be in the SKL. I especially missed the fruits.
          There were choice of veggies, salads, soups, potato chips and some cookies.

          I am sorry for those of you who like champagne, wines and beers as I don't drink alcohol at all, especially when travelling and therefore really can't give any information on that. I know that is always an important part of any trip report. :-)

          I hope someone else can add that in the near future with regards to Incheon Asiana Lounge.
          Last edited by yvrcnx; 30 June 2008, 01:35 AM.

          Comment


          • #6
            Here are some pictures of the area outside the Asiana Lounge.





            The new terminal has a very light and airy feel to it with lots of food choices and it seems more stores too.

            Comment


            • #7
              And here are the long awaited pictures of my room at the Crowne Plaza Changi.











              I will take some more pictures tomorrow during daytime and post them here.

              I booked a King Deluxe room. It's not to big but adequate.
              The bathroom does not have walls but glass all around. It's almost like a glass room.
              However you can close it by pulling down a blind.

              Inside it's like a big courtyard and each room seems to have an own little bridge to it. Because of this design the bathroom has 2 frosted windows and the short hallway into the room has one too.
              I'll see more in the morning when it's daylight and how it affects the room atmosphere.

              I will try and get some sleep. More tomorrow....

              Comment


              • #8
                I can't sleep so here are a few more pictures of the Crowne Plaza Room.

                View with the blind opened from the bathroom to room.





                View from room into the bathroom:

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by jjpb3 View Post
                  Wow, that's quite a send-off you get at YVR, yvrcnx. Don't you just love it when the ground and flight experiences complement each other so well?

                  Can't wait for the next chapters; thanks for sharing. It's fun flying vicariously when the experience is top-notch.
                  Yes, it is quite a send off and I think it has to do with that YVR only get's 3 flights a week and population wise I imagine that it's one of their smaller stations with less frequent fliers then other cities and countries around the world and therefore it makes the whole experience much more personal.
                  SQ LPP might have more inside on that too.

                  I'll be in Manila tomorrow - your original home isn't it?
                  I always enjoy being there, however it has to do with the wonderful people we work together with.
                  This trip will also take me to Cebu next weekend. I will be staying at the Hilton there.
                  I'll post pictures and a little report on that as continuation on this thread as I travel along to keep you all posted.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Thanks for sharing, yvrcnx.
                    The Crowne Plaza room seems very nice.
                    I am looking forward to my stay there in August.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by SQ LPP View Post
                      The name of the lady with British accent is Lynn. Yes, she does check-in as well as meets the plane at the gate occasionally.
                      Yep, that's Lynn. I agree with all the plaudits, a lovely lady. All the gang working for SQ in Vancouver are great.

                      When I flew out of YVR I didn't see her at checkin but clocked her when she came in the lounge to speak to someone. I went over to say Hi and told her I was a friend of SQ LPP and she said 'Ooh is Mr SQ LPP also flying today ?' and was disappointed when I said not.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Before I continue reporting about the trip, here are a few more pictures of the Crowne Plaza Changi in daylight.

                        Views from the room window, courtyard and the swimming pool, which is quite nice. I also toured the gym this morning and it's very nice for those of you who like to work out.
                        For those of you who don't like the brown on the outside - not to worry it will be almost completely covered by the white decor on the outside and it actually looks quite nice. You can see it already on the side that is facing Terminal 2.













                        Last edited by yvrcnx; 30 June 2008, 06:22 PM.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          This afternoon I continued my trip on SQ 912 from Singapore to Manila.
                          I checked out around 10:30, took the skytrain to Terminal 2 and checked in.
                          Terminal 2 is so quiet since Terminal 3 opened. Check-in & Passport Control was done in about 10 minutes or less.
                          I walked around for a while and decided to go and use the SKL to check e-mails etc.
                          I have never seen the lounge this empty, it almost felt like a ghost town.
                          Maybe it's because of the time of day but I think mostly due to passengers now being spread out to Terminal 2 & 3.

                          Flight was operated by a regional 777-200 which is adequate for this short flight.
                          Again crew was wonderful which hasn't always been my experience on this particular sector, they are never not good just sometimes not quite as attentive but today was great.

                          Today I also saw the SQ boys new outfit for the first time in person.
                          It looks really great, so much better then the previous one.
                          Personally I find the dark blue very elegant and professional.
                          The SQ boys don't look like boys anymore but rather like grown up men.
                          From my viewpoint it's a great choice and great change.
                          I think the SQ men most be happier too.

                          We arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule in MNL with no-one in line before us at immigration which was nice. Last time when I arrived we had a Korean Air 747 and Etihad 777 just in front of us and it took almost an hour to get through.
                          Today was a breeze and we just beat an Emirates flight arriving right behind us.
                          Luggage too only took about 15 - 20 minutes to come out.
                          The hotel car was already waiting for me when I came outside and todays trip to the Crowne Plaza Galleria in Ortigas was fast, almost no traffic.
                          Very unusual - even the driver commented about the little traffic we had.

                          I am not sure what is going on today but everything went really smooth and fast, which is wonderful as I am starting my schedule of meetings this evening.

                          Here are a couple pictures of the room/suite at the Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila.







                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by MAN Flyer View Post
                            Yep, that's Lynn. I agree with all the plaudits, a lovely lady. All the gang working for SQ in Vancouver are great.

                            When I flew out of YVR I didn't see her at checkin but clocked her when she came in the lounge to speak to someone. I went over to say Hi and told her I was a friend of SQ LPP and she said 'Ooh is Mr SQ LPP also flying today ?' and was disappointed when I said not.
                            I completely agree. The gang are really great... Hope the new VP treats them well.
                            And, you passed through YVR without saying hi?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Thank you for the report, yvrcnx. Any chance a picture of the new boys?

                              Comment

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