SQ 787-10 Dreamliner New Business Class to Perth, Margaret River Glamping & Vineyards

[yflyer]

The cabin crew came round to take orders for post-take off drink, as well as meal choice...



You could have your meal immediately after take off, or prior to landing.

On this flight we chose to dine immediately after take off.

[yflyer]

J cabin ambience was very pleasant...



Each seat came with eye shades, socks and sippers...



...and a bottle of water...



On this flight, an orange/brown amenity kit was provided...



The contents of the kit (Picture taken at home after the flight)...



Pillow and blanket...



3 point seatbelt on the seat...



...but the shoulder strap was required only for take-off and landing, and could (and should) be removed for greater comfort when in cruise.



Steaming hot towels handed out prior to take-off...

[yflyer]

Just over 4 and a half hours flight time to Singapore this evening...



A powerful yet smooth take-off into the night sky...

[yflyer]

My post take-off drink was a Bloody Mary...



Not long afterwards meal service began.

Today's menu...



For this PER-SIN red-eye, the meal service format was a sleeper service, with a truncated supper menu.



Pax had the choice of a meal either after take-off, or 2 hours prior to landing in the morning, which meant that some of the meal choices were breakfast items, such as waffles or eggs.

In fact, 2 of the 4 meal choices in J were actually breakfast options, which limited your supper main course selection, so those planning to dine after take-off should consider pre-selecting a BTC option, as inflight main courses suitable for supper were quite limited.

Tray tables set with white tablecloths...

[yflyer]

Both Mrs yflyer and I had BTC'ed the lobster...



This was a beautiful dish...



My BTC Lobster on the outbound SIN-PER sector was good, but this ex-PER Australian lobster thermidor topped the ex-SIN version by a fair margin.

The sauce was rich and creamy, and the lobster very tender. Although this was a business class BTC selection, it was very close in taste and presentation to the Ex-SYD Suites BTC version of lobster thermidor. Very delicious!

I paired the lobster with the same Coldstream Hills Chardonnay I had on my outbound flight...if anything, the Chardonnay tasted even better than I remembered it to be on the outbound sector...







Mrs yflyer enjoyed her lobster too.



Best of all, this meal service was done quite quickly...we were finished with our meal barely 52 minutes into our flight...



..which gave us as much time as was feasible to rest or sleep during the remainder of the flight.

[yflyer]

I reclined the seat to bed mode...



...the recline could be accomplished by pressing a button on the side console.



No need to get up to flip!

Glass of whisky as a nightcap...



...and I fell asleep for the remainder of the flight...





I found this to be a very comfortable bed and sleeping surface...thumbs up!

[yflyer]

I spent the remainder of the flight fast asleep on my fully flat bed.

Just prior to descent, the lights came on, and the cabin crew came round with refreshing hot towels and a selection of fruit juices...



Top of descent 30 min before landing...



Great views out of the left hand windows as we approached Changi...



A very smooth landing...we landed at 6:18am and we were first off the plane and into the terminal at 6:25am.



Overall a wonderful flight on SQ from Perth to Singapore...the hard product and cabin crew on this 787 were both great.

A 4.5 hour red-eye flight is not enough time to get a full night's sleep, whatever your class of travel, but at least on this flight in business class, we were as comfortable as could be reasonably be expected, and SQ's new regional J product certainly proved itself to be one that was capable of meeting passenger needs and expectations on overnight sectors such as this one.

As on the outbound SIN-PER flight, I was very impressed with SQ's 787-10 business class seat on this red-eye PER-SIN sector. The new staggered/forward facing 1-2-1 fully flat seat, manufactured by Stelia and highly customised for SQ, is far superior to SQ's previous generation regional J seat, which is a 2-2-2 angled lie-flat design from Weber/Zodiac. Not only does the 1-2-1 layout of the new cabin offer greater privacy as well as direct aisle access to all pex, the fully flat design of the new seat also makes it much easier for most people to sleep than an angled lie flat J seat.

For comparison, the previous generation regional J seat, which is fitted to all of SQ's A330s and some 777's, can be found here.

The difference in business class cabin products on different aircraft types is something to note, because at present, out of the 4 flights that SQ operates to Perth, note that 2 are A330 flights, one is a 772, and only one flight pair, SQ215/216 is operated by the new 787-10. This means your J class experience will vary a lot depending on which of the daily flights you take.

The service format also differs on the outbound evening and inbound red-eye 787 flights. If you want the full 787-10 J experience, then SQ215 SIN-PER is preferable, as you have a full dinner service, including a canape course of satay, whereas SQ216 PER-SIN is an overnight sector with a very abbreviated sleeper meal service.

[yflyer]

Final Reflections

This was a very enjoyable visit to Perth and the Margaret River region.

There was a lot more to see and do in the Margaret River region than just visit wineries...







...and Perth was a very pleasant city to spend time in.



The accommodations on the trip were very good: The Westin Perth was a great new hotel, with beautiful rooms and an impressive Executive Lounge. Vintages offered spacious accommodations in a very convenient location in the Margaret River town center for a reasonable price. The Olio Bello Glamping accommodations were superb -- a wonderful place to spend a few days.

Highlights of the trip included Glamping at Olio Bello, our tour of the region with Hank as our guide, as well as our winery visits and tasting sessions, especially to Fraser Gallop, Cape Grace and Heydon Estate. These boutique wineries really opened our eyes to what was available in Margaret River beyond the large, big name wineries.



We ate well throughout our trip: Our dinner at Miki's was quite an experience. if I were to name one meal or dish that stood out, it would be the Augusta Whiting Fish & Chips at Squid Lips in Margaret River. These were ultra fresh locally caught fish (In the waters off nearby Augusta), battered and cooked before our eyes before being served wrapped in paper along with freshly cooked chips. The pizzas we ate at Theo & Co in Leederville were also exceptional.

I really enjoyed my runs in Margaret River and Perth as well -- for me, no trip would be complete without at least one long run, and on this trip I had two.

And of course, getting to and from Perth on SQ's new 787-10 regional business class was half the fun!

Thanks for reading!

[SQfanatic]

Happy New Year! Amazing TR, overall, yflyer. I really enjoyed the pictures of Perth, the vineyards, and the natural beauty you got to explore. Great 787 pictures as well. I could tell you had a lot of fun in Australia.

[loldude333]

This trip report had me hooked the entire way; amazing stuff. You should write for travel magazines!

[yflyer]

Happy New Year! Amazing TR, overall, yflyer. I really enjoyed the pictures of Perth, the vineyards, and the natural beauty you got to explore. Great 787 pictures as well. I could tell you had a lot of fun in Australia.

Thanks, SQfanatic and happy new year to you too!

This trip report had me hooked the entire way; amazing stuff. You should write for travel magazines!

Thanks very much for reading, and for the kind words, loldude333! I enjoy writing these TRs, and posting on SQTalk gives me far more flexibility to write what I want, and when I want, than any publication ever would!

[etp]

The new 787-10 Business Class looks great. Wish that I could have flown on the 78X back from Tokyo last flight instead of the common 77W.

[Pinkfloyd]

Year another great TR yflyer!!!

[yflyer]

The new 787-10 Business Class looks great. Wish that I could have flown on the 78X back from Tokyo last flight instead of the common 77W.

Except for very tall / very large pax, I think the new SQ 787-10 J is fine even for long haul. That said, the amount of personal space in SQ's 77WR J or even the older 77W J is very impressive, and feels even roomier. If I were on a very long flight, I would still prefer 77WR J. Of course the trade-off is that you must get up to flip the bed. Not an issue for me, but some people don't like getting up to flip.

Year another great TR yflyer!!!

Thanks, Pinkfloyd!