SQ from DEL/BOM to SIN:777 vs A380 vs A350, Mumbai Local Trains, Great Kabab Factory

[yflyer]

This trip report covers several back-to-back trips I made to Delhi and Mumbai in May and June this year.

These trips gave me the opportunity to sample a range of different equipment types and flight timings for SIA’s India to Singapore services from Delhi and Mumbai, and form opinions on which were preferable and why.

In this TR, the writing skips forward and backwards in time over this 7 week period…if you find this a little disorientating, let me tell you that it was just as disorientating for me, the traveller, where the series of 4 round trips to Delhi and Mumbai over a period of 1.5 months, including multiple red-eyes, all in Economy and all on SQ, just seemed to blur into one extended journey…

On these flights, I flew SQ’s Airbus A380 out of Delhi, and from Mumbai, I flew on a refitted 773 on SQ425, as well as SQ421 operated by an A350. There are significant differences in cabin product across these three aircraft. Which was best?

On previous trips, I expressed both reservations and outright disappointment at the SQ lounge offerings in DEL and BOM. On these trips, I was able to explore alternative lounges, which Krisflyer Gold are also eligible to use. Did these improve the lounge situation for SQ at these two airports?

And of course, during these trips, I had some really great meals, including a memorable dinner at the Great Kabab Factory at their restaurant in the Radisson Blue Hotel near Delhi Airport.

I also headed out for another rare outdoor run in India, this time in Navi Mumbai, where, at the end of the run, rather than catch a taxi or Uber back to the hotel, I was inspired by SQueeze, and caught a Mumbai Local Train back to the hotel, cooling off from my run while standing in the breeze in the open doorway of the packed train as it headed across Navi Mumbai towards my stop.

I end this TR with a flight on SQ421, from Mumbai to Singapore on the 10,000th Airbus...



Interested? Read on!

TR INDEX

1. SQ425 BOM-SIN in Economy (Refitted Boeing 777-300)
2. Pranaam Lounge (Mumbai Airport)
3. Navi Mumbai Run and Local Train
4. Lufthansa Lounge (Delhi Airport)
5. Dinner - Great Kabab Factory (New Delhi)
6. SQ403 DEL-SIN in Economy (Airbus A380)
7. SQ421 BOM-SIN in Economy (Airbus A350)

[yflyer]

SQ operates 2 daily flights to and from Mumbai each day. One daytime flight, (SQ422/421), operated by an A350, and an evening / red-eye flight (SQ424/423), which is an A380 service.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, there is an additional evening flight (SQ426/425), which was operated by a 777 when I flew it, but looks to have been changed to an A330 service moving forward.

In mid May, after a hectic work trip, I flew home to Singapore on SQ425, a 10.45pm departure.



The economy check-in area was chock full...



...unlike the separate Business Class / Frequent Flyer check-in counters where there was almost no wait at all...



I received my boarding pass with minimal delay.

"Which Lounge would you like to visit, sir?", I was asked at the check-in counter. There were two choices available, the Loyalty Lounge, or the Pranaam Lounge.

"Not the Loyalty Lounge", I replied. My last experience there was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Never again.

I opted to check out the Pranaam Lounge, which was a dry lounge (No alcoholic beverages served), which was fine by me on this occasion.

[yflyer]

The Pranaam Lounge is a spanking new, and beautifully designed lounge.



It felt elegant and spacious, with high ceilings, marble flooring, and warm wood tones.



It is not a huge lounge, but it was not busy at all when I was there, which made a big difference. A very pleasant, tranquil place to spend time before a flight.

What a contrast to the other lounge option for SQ pax in BOM, the Loyalty Lounge, a lacklustre, windowless, congested space in the basement, which I had previously compared to a hospital waiting room (Many of which had an ambience preferable to the Loyalty Lounge).

There was simply no comparison: the Pranaam Lounge was superior to the Loyalty Lounge by a huge margin.



Of course the Pranaam Lounge is a dry lounge, which could be an issue for some guests. Given the quality of Pranam Lounge facilities, I would still opt for this, and get my drink elsewhere in the terminal or on the plane itself.

The lack of alcoholic beverages aside, the catering in the Pranaam Lounge was quite decent.



Sandwiches and snacks...





Very appetizing looking hot selections...





A work area...



There are even private beds for resting, although these are on a paid basis, and have to be reserved in advance...



Overall, a very good lounge, especially when compared to the only other alternative available to SQ pax.

On some SQ flights out of BOM, you may not be given a choice of lounge, but if you are, I would strongly recommend the Pranaam Lounge rather than the Loyalty Lounge, which frankly speaking, is not a lounge I would want to spend any time in.

[yflyer]

I headed to the gate...



Today's flight was operated by 9V-SYF, a refitted 2-class 773.



A large Business Class cabin with the old regional J product in 2-2-2 layout. (The new regional J is only available on SQ's 787-10 at the moment).



This is a slanted lie-flat seat, which is not ideal for this 5 hour red-eye sector. Sure, it is a "regional" route, but for an overnight flight, a lie-flat would have been preferable.

For J travellers, a better choice would have been SQ423, which departs an hour later (At 11.40pm), which has fully flat seats. SQ423 was an A380 service until end June 2018, where it switches to a 77W service from July. The 77W would also offer lie-flat J.

[yflyer]

The Y cabin, laid out 3-3-3.

These are the old blue 777 seats, which have been reupholstered.



Emex row...



Some rows have large underseat IFE boxes.



The IFE box is under C, D and H seats (Except for certain amex rows, where the box is under J.)



2-seaters in the rear...



Recline is ok, though not as impressive as the A380, 77W or A350 Y seat recline.



IFE controller in the armrest.



Seat width is good. Kudos to SQ for sticking to 9-abreast on their 777's. Along with the A380 Y, these are still among the widest Y seats in the air today.



Note that the emex/bulkhead window seat is actually marginally narrower, due to the foldout tray in the armest.

[yflyer]

My seat was 31H, first row bulkhead aisle...



Lots of legroom, with a Y restroom just ahead.



Earbud headphones (Horrible sound quality. Use your own headphones with an airline adapter)...



Steaming hot towels prior to departure (Love these!)...



A short 4:33 flight today...not too long to be caged in Y...hopefully listening to nothing but the sound of a silent cabin...



Y amenity kits (Wonder if these will ever fall victim to cost cutting...I always use the socks, but almost never brush my teeth on planes these days)...

[yflyer]

IFE is on large but fuzzy 4:3 format screens.



Decent selection of movies, TV and music/radio, but these days I cannot bring myself to watch movies or TV on this type of screen. At least the audio quality is good (Through my Shure earbud headphones).



If you want to watch movies or TV on planes, choose a flight operated by newer equipment (i.e. A380, 77W, A350 or even A380) for a more satisfying viewing experience on sharper and clearer widescreens.

All that said, this was a red-eye...my plan was to spend as much of the flight asleep as possible, so my IFE screen remained stowed for most of the flight.

[yflyer]

The menu on this flight...



Detailed beverage menus are a thing of the past now...just a short summary of available beverages.



"Singapore Sling and Other Cocktails"? What other cocktails? At least tell us...

"Soft Drinks"? Even United tells you what drinks they serve onboard. Even United.

Veg and non-veg Indian selections...



Note the the Indian veg meals are served first, usually to those who ordered the AVML special meal. There are usually many special meals served first on this flight, which means that those who opt for the regular meals may need to wait a little longer than usual before the cart comes round.

I have had good success asking for an Indian veg meal when the cart comes round for regular meal service though. More often than not, they have some veg meals remaining in the cart. And these are usually delicious.

On this occasion, I went for the international selection, coriander-rubbed lamb, and paired it with a cup (No real glasses anymore) of red wine...



The tray...



So-so starter...



A generous main course, which I enjoyed, although the strong flavour of the lamb may not be to all tastes...



A rich chocolate apricot cake for dessert...



Overall a decent meal, although I think I still prefer the Indian selections on this flight, which I have found to be consistently delicious, whether I go for the veg or non-veg options. I also like the bottled water, which is preferable to the cups with peel-off lids that you get if the meal is catered from Singapore. Based on the water, you can quickly deduce where the meal was catered from (In this case India).

Determining where the meal was catered based on the water is a trick I learnt from the experts here on SQTalk.

[yflyer]

As is standard on SQ, the restrooms were periodically refreshed on this flight, which meant that the restrooms were pretty much as clean, towards the end of the flight, as they were at the start...thumbs up...

[yflyer]

I spent most of the flight asleep, waking up only just prior to descent.

A round of beverages served just before prepping for landing...



Cabin ambience in the 9-abreast 777 was good on this full flight...far better than on any of the 10-abreast 777's that other airlines operate.



A dawn approach and landing in Singapore...



A final picture of 9V-SYF after deplaning, with a Scoot A320 and an SQ A350 in the background...



Overall, a comfortable flight, although the older generation 777 cabin product cannot match SQ's new Y cabin offerings. I flew SQ425 that day because SQ423 was full.

If I were flying BOM-SIN in the evening, my preference would still be SQ423: newer planes (A380 till end of June, 77W from July) and the slighter later departure is actually better if you plan to have dinner in Mumbai before heading to the airport.

Did I manage to sleep? Yes, but the short flight time meant that it was impossible to get a long-enough stretch of sleep time, especially if you need to eat...on later red-eye flights I would have to take additional steps to ensure sufficient time to rest, such as skipping meals.

How about daytime departures? In a later TR segment, I will give my impressions of SQ421, an 11.45am departure out of Mumbai, operated by an A350.

Flight aside, I was glad to have checked out the Pranaam Lounge, which, as mentioned, is a good alternative to the Loyalty Lounge in BOM.

[yflyer]

On the morning before my flight home on SQ425 BOM-SIN, I headed for a run through Navi Mumbai, a 5 km run from the Four Points Sheraton Navi Mumbai to Nerul train station.

This time round, I was inspired by SQueeze's travels in India, where he is a regular commuter on Mumbai's local trains (The only feasible way he could get from his office to his yoga class in time, he wrote!). Rather than jog, or catch an Uber, back to the hotel at the 5km mark, I rode a local train back to Vashi station, close to the Four Points.

Mumbai's local trains are the arteries and veins of Mumbai's transport network. The trains transport more than 7M people a day from 4am to 2am, and much of the time, these trains are packed.

I would not dream of catching a train at peak hour in Mumbai. But an off-peak train in less busy Navi Mumbai looked to be feasible.

Navi Mumbai ("New Bombay) is practically a different city outside of Mumbai proper. It is a planned city, with more open space than Mumbai. The local trains on that part of the Mumbai train network were were less crowded than in Mumbai, especially in the early hours of the morning.

I thought I would give the local trains a try.



The first thing a visitor would notice about these trains: They have no doors...

Safe or not? I would find out soon enough...

[yflyer]

My run started at the Four Points Sheraton Navi Mumbai...



Before I left, I planned a route to a nearby train station using Google Maps. It was not obvious from the map whether that was a good jogging route...

I took the precaution of checking with the hotel manager in the lobby if my route made sense...which was a good thing because he was horrified at where I had originally planned to go.

"There is no way across here..." he pointed to the map on my phone..."that is a highway"...

He suggested an alternative route, pointing vaguely to the map, ending at Nerul train station 5km away, which I started out on...



In the event, I'm not sure I found the specific route he was referring to (He mentioned Palm Beach Road, which turned out to be a vehicular highway), but I played it by ear and found myself along pleasant roads and pedestrian thoroughfares, and navigated towards my endpoint, Nerul station.

I jogged past 3-wheeler drivers just starting their day...



The streets were just coming to life in the early morning...



This part of Navi Mumbai, along Dr B R Ambedkar Marg, felt very peaceful and uncongested...



There were playgrounds with kids playing, and elderly couples sitting on park benches, enjoying the morning...



...as well as a cricket ground, were a game was already in full swing at 7am...



I continued along quiet streets...



...which I was certain would become clogged with traffic later in the day...

[yflyer]

Scenes along the route...



Laundry and ironing services...



No electricity required for this iron!



At least one public restroom along the route...



Fruit and vegetable sellers setting up their wares...



Close to my endpoint, Nerul station, many stalls were shut, I can only imagine how busy this area would become in the afternoon and evening...



And outside the station, a Vadai stall served what looked to be a very delicious breakfast to commuters before their morning train ride...



I ended my run at Nerul Station...a quick glance at the signboards adorning the station entrance gave an indication of the jobs in demand at the moment...



I bought myself a ticket...



10 Indian Rupees (S$0.20) for a return ticket, from Nerul to Vashi...



My 5km running route that day...



Enough on foot...time to head back to the hotel by train!

[yflyer]

I headed to the platform...



There are train carriages reserved only for women...



Even at that hour, early in the morning, the trains were starting to get busy...I stepped gingerly aboard one of them...



...and took my place in the open doorway, as the train pulled out of the station...



The trains did not go particularly fast, and were very stable. I stood at the doorway, with one hand holding the metal grab pole tightly. My other hand? You can guess from the photos here what I was holding...

In retrospect, standing in the doorway is probably the best spot to be on the train. The carriages were not air-conditioned. The doorway offered the best ventilation -- with a nice breeze blowing...

Given that I had just run 5km, and was soaked in perspiration, the windy doorway was perfect. Thankfully the train was full, but not jam packed, and no one had to rub shoulders or come into contact with this sweaty passenger dressed in perspiration-soaked PT kit...

The train passed through several stations on the way, where it rapidly filled up...



...we passed close to other trains, but the tracks were fairly far apart, and the trains were not fast, so it all felt perfectly safe, as long as you kept your arms in and refrained from taking selfies when another train was passing...



Standing in the open doorway was a great way to take in the view as well...



At one of the stations, I was tapped gently on the shoulder as a fellow passenger behind me needed to get off. I stepped off to let him off the train, before getting back onto the train, onto the same spot in the doorway.

[yflyer]

We eventually pulled into Vashi station...



...where the morning peak was well under way...



I hopped off the train as it slowed down in the station...and hit the ground running (And almost falling)...hmm...with a bit more practice, I think I could get used to hopping on and off moving trains...





And outside the station, 3-wheelers were ready to take passengers on the final leg of their commute...



No need for a 3 wheeler for me. The Four Points was just a short walk away from Vashi station.



I found the whole journey quite an experience. The open doors were quite a novelty, and this was definitely something worth doing once, although repeating this commute on a daily basis is not something I would relish.

I was quite impressed by how my fellow passengers conducted themselves in the station and onboard -- no pushing or shoving, and everyone behaving very considerately to everyone else, as far as I could tell, on my carriage. And no-one expressed anything more than faint surprise to see a sweaty non-local in PT Kit hopping along for the ride...

To be continued!