SIN-HND-NRT-LAX on SQ 777 Economy and SQ A380 Business Class

[yflyer]

After dinner, I explored IFE options…

This was Back to the Future month (It being the month and year in the future that Marty McFly and Doc Brown were supposed to have travelled to in the movie: October 2015, with the exact date being 21st October) and all the BTTF movies were featured on Krisworld.



Other movies on that month, included Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen, a continuation of Jack Neo’s Ah Boys to Men franchise...





This movie is not going to win any academy awards, but I enjoyed watching it all the same.



Wifi internet access was also available, but using the old (and expensive) system, which charged by megabyte, not time, so I did not use it.

[yflyer]

One of the Japanese passengers seated close to me opted for the Western style meal option, which was presented in typical SQ style…



After dinner, the cheese and fruit trolley came round, but by then I was too full to eat any more…

[yflyer]

I accompanied all of this with cold sake (Only available on SQ J on flights to/from Japan)…



…and ended off with a fruit and wine jelly dessert…



Overall, a wonderful meal, very different from the conventional SQ J meal service.

[yflyer]

On the recommendation of a friend and fellow frequent flyer, I chose the Japanese “Hanakoireki” meal for dinner.

This was presented quite differently from the typical J class Asian or Western meal service on SQ.

The “Hanakoireki” meal is served in two parts, each in a bento box.

After setting the table with a crisp white tablecloth, the first bento box was presented.



This contained a beautifully presented selection of different items, as well as soba noodles, to be eaten with a bowl of dipping sauce.



This was a feast for the eyes as well as for the tastebuds…







I enjoyed the different flavours and textures of the different items. Conceptually, this was not all that different from a Western degustation menu, with the difference being that all dishes were presented at once, rather than in a sequence.

That first bento box was a meal in itself, however once that was cleared, a second bento box was presented, this time with hot selections and miso soup…



Again, this was a dazzling selection of different dishes, with each bite different yet tantalizingly tasty…



The presentation of each dish was faultless…each compartment on the tray an artistic microcosm of seasonal ingredients and preparations…





The range of different tastes in one meal was mindboggling…

[yflyer]

Beverages on offer…

[yflyer]

This was the menu for today…

[yflyer]

Satay as a pre-dinner canape…

[yflyer]

We took off into the night sky…



Post take-off drink…a dry martini…



I took a moment to examine my seat more closely…

Here is the seat in fully upright position…



…and fully reclined. To turn it into a flat bed, you need to stand up and flip over the seat back.





Side compartments by the window for additional storage…





Needless to say, my seat had both windows and direct aisle access (One of the benefits of the 1-2-1 layout)…

Seat controls…



Clear, widescreen IFE …



IFE controller under the armrest…



A/C and USB power…



Large fold out tray table…

[yflyer]

Today’s flight time was fairly short, just under 9 hours from NRT to LAX.





We would land in LAX just after noon.

In typical SQ fashion, cabin service began as soon as we boarded, with a pre-take off beverage…



I chose champagne…



Newspapers and magazines were handed out…



Phitek noise-cancelling headphones were already placed at your seat…



The have dropped the sockettes, and now provide socks and bedroom slippers instead, along with eye shades.



Hot towels were handed out prior to take-off…

[yflyer]

I looked to the left, to the front of the J cabin…



…before turning right towards the rear of the J cabin, which spanned the entire upper deck of this huge aircraft.

This is the 2nd J cabin, in the middle section of the upper deck.



The upper deck is laid out 1-2-1, which gives it a very spacious, uncrowded ambience.

My seat was in the rear section of the upper deck.

On the first SQ A380's there was a small Economy section on this rear section of the upper deck, but many (All?) of the later A380's have the full upper deck as business class, including this 3rd section.

The next picture shows the rear J cabin on the A380 upper deck.



In this section of the cabin, there are 2 emergency doors, which means two rows of J seats, namely rows 91 and 96, don’t have that protrusion in the front of the seat. In those rows, you have the whole width of the J seat to use as a bed or footrest, although the protrusion near the head end, from the seat behind you, is still present.

Seat 91A…



Seat 96K…





Middle seats in row 96, the last row of the cabin.



Note that there is a narrow aisle and walkway between rows 95 and 96, where the emergency exit is.



There have been mixed reviews online about the merits of row 96, but looking at these seats in real life, I felt that they would be quite desirable seats.

Here are examples of the regular J seats in the other rows of the cabin, with the characteristic protrusion for the IFE and slot for your feet in the front of your seat.

Row 95 window seat…



…and aisle seat…

[yflyer]

I walked to my departure gate about 45 minutes before scheduled departure time.

My ride to LAX that evening was 9V-SKQ, a 4 year old Airbus A380. This was configured with an all-J upper deck.



There were convenient tables and chairs (and complimentary wifi) right next to the boarding gate.



Boarding began on time, with long, but orderly, queues arranged by boarding priority.



I was travelling J today, and I boarded through the upper deck door.

[yflyer]

The Duty free stores in the airside area stocked many varieties of Japanese whisky…not easily available at DFS in Singapore or in many other locations…

[yflyer]

True enough, the signage leading to the Gold Track queue was huge (Not to say that I would not have missed it if SQflyergirl hadn’t pointed it out. Never underestimate the blurness of a traveller in a rush.)



Through the Gold track, I got to the security screening area.

I did my best George Clooney “Up in the Air” choreographed security checkpoint routine through security, and profiled the pax lined up in each passport queue to identify the shortest one to join…

…and somehow zipped through it all very quickly and made it airside with just minutes to spare, before heading to the bus gate where SQflyergirl was queuing in the waiting lounge, about to board the bus.

We introduced ourselves and shook hands…

“Hello!...Always good to put a face to a name!”

This was the first time we were meeting face to face, and SQflyergirl is every bit as engaging in person as she is online!

We talked a little about how SQTalk started, and compared notes on our respective journeys. She travels a lot!

And literally five minutes later, they announced boarding for her flight. We wished each other a pleasant journey. She would be heading back to KUL and I would be heading to LAX on SQ12.

Always good when a plan to meet up during an airport transit stop comes together…just barely! I can’t imagine cutting the timing any closer than that!

I headed to the ANA Star Gold lounge, and on the way there, I noticed that the inbound SQ12 from Singapore had just landed…

[yflyer]

Now that I had eaten, I headed to the SQ check-in counter, which was due to open in 15 minutes time, at 4.15pm.

There was already a long queue of passengers in the Economy line, waiting for check-in to open.



Thankfully the queue for Gold and F/J was much shorter.



Five minutes before 4.15pm, they began directing passengers into the queuing area, and not long after, check-in began.

At the counter, the check-in agent seemed to have trouble with my reservation. I had used Krisflyer miles to upgrade my Y booking to Business Class, and even had my seat assigned. I did all this online on the SQ Krisflyer website, using the same process and web page that I had used for upgrades before, but for some reason there was no corresponding ticket issued that linked to my J reservation. I should have guessed that there was an issue, as I was not able to do an online check-in the day before.

A lot of tapping on the terminal, and consultation with her supervisor…and the minutes were ticking away.

Soon SQflyergirl would have to board her flight…and I might still be here at the counter!

It looked as if time was running out...

I messaged SQflyergirl, “…starting to look iffy…”

“They board at t-40 with the bus gate…it is now t-57”, she replied…

So I still had 17 minutes, but it was becoming increasingly doubtful that I would make it airside quickly enough to meet up…

“You are Star Gold, right? Use GOLD track!” she messaged…

“Thanks for letting me know!” I messaged back, “…would have felt very silly if I used the normal queue”…

I didn’t even know the Gold queue existed!

“Do you have a copy of your ticket or reservation?” the agent asked.

I had to login to the SIA website on my iPhone to retrieve my reservation, and show it to the agent. At that point, she asked me for my iPhone to show her supervisor and off she went, taking my phone with her.

Now I was at the counter, with no phone, while she and her supervisor huddled deep in discussion behind the check-in island counter 10 meters away…and the minutes continued to tick by…

Finally, the check-in agent came back with a big smile on her face…”We found your ticket…everything is ok! Here is your boarding pass!”

‘Thank you!” I beamed…and began trotting towards the security and immigration…

“Heading in now!” I messaged SQflyergirl, who replied with a thumbs up…

[yflyer]

There are quite a few restaurants landside at NRT. This one looked interesting…dashi-chazuke…a dish whose main feature was green tea, dashi, or hot soup / water poured over a bowl of rice and ingredients. This was a dish that I had not tried before…



A range of toppings, ranging from sashimi, to tempura and meat, were available.



I sat at the counter and ordered a combo: two smaller bowls, each with a different topping.



“Do I pour the pot of soup into the rice?” I asked the chef behind the counter. He nodded…





This tasted really good!

I did the same for my other mini bowl, topped with slices of tuna sashimi.



This was delicious as well. I polished off both bowls. I suspect the tea in the soup stock contains at least a little caffeine, though, as I did not feel as sleepy as I normally would be onboard my flight later that day.