F RTW for 77W inaugural.

[LukeGT]

CGK, i got your pic in Y. (luckily, i hadn'd had yet my lunch!!! )... may i postit here please?

[LukeGT]

[DeltaFlyingProf]

CGK, i got your pic in Y. (luckily, i hadn'd had yet my lunch!!! )... may i postit here please?

This post is made by CGK:
Yes...
No problem. In fact, DFP had asked me and that's the reason why you got it.

[DeltaFlyingProf]

They better iron the kinks out quickly, or those double-miles redemption levels are going to look even more unreasonable than they currently do!

I wish I could listen in on the debrief the managers must be having about the flight. CGK and DFP, I hope you gave them comments they can chew on.

This post is made by CGK:
Definitely this first flight experience was not something that I expected. Not worth it to do it, if I knew the service was not good.
I am too jetlagged, may be my posts are jumping up and down. Let's go back to the earlier time. Around 22:15, the lady at SKL told me that we would have a buggy ride to the Gate F54 for the party. (I got this because I had to be the waitress for serving "mocktails" for patrons to try.) StarG, J777 and plong went first. DeltaFlyingProf, Norway_Asia and me would take the second ride. Then, we met zvedva at SKL. We chatted briefly because we were excited to be in the party gate. But, unfortunately, our buggy ride was not marerialised. Yuo the SKL lady had to take care one pax through immigration first.
Walked all the way to gate F54, and met the other three outside. Took one pic together by the first flight banner, and we went in after saing goodbye to J777 and StarG.

It was a pretty full at the gate. The gift of black leather passport holder was given after the gate agent took the necessary BP. The French cuisine buffet was served. I saw snails, mshroom soups, and I was not really paying attention too much, and good mini dessert. SQ provided a photographer who took photos of four of us as a memento. I did additional pic with an SQ Girl. Then I was talking to the marketing manager of SQ who mentioned that they would contact me in the near future for quotes in their 60th anniversary of SQ. Who knows wait and see.

Upon boarding at the L1, the purser a bit snappy regarding my BP. Yeah my BP was tucke in somewhere since I was busy chatting wile at the gate. Found it, and of course, change in attitude. This was the sign that the crew would not be great. Went to my seat, and saw 2C and 2F were busy playing with their seats. In fact almost all pax did that.

Warning: For pax like to travel heavy on carry-on, the new F is bad news. There is no overhead bin to give spaciaous impression. Carry-ons are stored underneath the footstall (?). My rollabag and backpack did not fit there well, especially I had an additional bag. But somehow I managed to stuff them in. But for DFP, with his rollabag underneath his footwingstool, he could not stretch his legs, other than put his feet on top of the footwing. Traveling light on carry-on should not be a problem.

[DeltaFlyingProf]

This post is made by CGK:
Norway_Asia was playing with the tray table which is stored underneath the screen, and it swings down a bit towards the lap. But then you can adjust the height where you want your tray. Thus ergonomically it's good.
Of course, he and I decided to sit together to show how wide the seat is. Well 3-slim-SQGirls would be possible sitting on this new F seat. I asked him what his impressions about the new F seats. Well, the answer was the WOW factor was not there. The term "enhanced sky suite" is really appropriate. The C seats are more revolutianary. In fact, three of us agreed that the F cabin is too cramp. 744 nose cabin feels so spacious in comparison to this. In addition, with the tiny C cabin behind, I think the C suite is more appealing, as it's as big, large, wide as the F suite.

Okay, I started to look around the seat. Yeah, it's something new, but indeed miss the tray for letter/card/pen. Instead there is a drawer to store things underneath the tv screen. Yes, the screen is very large, and good for entertainment. On the side panel, I saw three different storage magazine-size. One has the power outlet, telphone jack, well not really know what they are.
Oh, no place to store the shoes like on LH. Shoes were wrushed by my backpack.

The FA started to distribute the goodies. The amenity kits: yeah, you have seen them in the website. Not a big deal, since I don't really use them. But still, it is a good kits for gifts for friends or family.

The pajamas is tan-coloured with a brownd striped on the side. Looks like nice colors, matching with the whole cabin theme. Model wise, it is similar to the current one, but the mateials look softer and smoother. And, yes, SQ loves jjpb3. He dislikes the current top because of the zipper. And guess what? The new pj has the zipper for the top neck, but they have a lining behind it.. so not possible to have an accident which the zipper hurt your skin. I do think the pjs is pretty comfortable to wear.

[LightSpeed]

Thanks for the report. At first glance, it seems that the crew were so overwhelmed with duties on the new aircraft that their standards of service suffered severely as a result.

Tad unfortunate for a start. Hopefully this will improve over the coming sectors these birds are due to fly.

Enjoy Paris!

[DeltaFlyingProf]

This post is made by CGK:

Another proof of service disarray, the left section were asked first the pre-board drink. 2F got his champagne, then 2D a bit later. But, I was waiting for 2C to get his drink. It seemed took so long. And in fact I did give a signal to oe of the FA regarding DFP's drink. Well, we wanted to toast our first flight on this new 77W with new seats. A bit of a let down I must say.

Taking off.
Started to play around with IFE. Strange but understandable, on the remote control screen, it says: "00:00 to SYD". I guess it should show how many hours to go before reaching the destination, and SYD was the original A380 plan for inaugural.
New flight maps which is much more details, and yeah big screen make it different. But then a problem started to come up. I don't remembered exactly since I did not have a major one. But DFP noticed something that the system sometimes freezes. And yes, seat 2A has to have a reboot.

Bad news was the information for flight time to destination etc is completely wrong. I dont believe 77W could make it to Paris in 8 hours. And yes, the map shown was incorrect. Well, it was prior to landing that I noticed it. It was still showing after Red Sea, but we were told by the captain to be seated before approaching CDG. No wonder when I got up I could not find any info how log more to land. And yes, the idea of checking on plkong prior to landing was never happened.

[DeltaFlyingProf]

This post is made by CGK:

After leveling, yes another glass of Krug. This time in a proper champagne glass, but shorter stem handle. Again, between my drink served, and DFP drink served, the time lag was a bit too long. And yeah there is a bit a problem. It seems to me that the FAs can not grasp the idea that 2C and 2D are travelling together. This was shown when the green SQG took my meals order. I conferred and asked DFP what he might want to have, and we talked about it. But the LSS kept saying, "I will take Mr. DFP's order later." What I did was asking DFP what he chose, so that I could choose something else and, we can try two different dishes.

Dinner starts. Well, I must say the new china and place settings are very classy and exciting. Again, it's not the usual matching with the rest of the cabin color. The caviar pattern along the plate rim are black earth-tone color. (Sorry, can't pin point the exact color since it's a bit dark. Yes, my overhead light is working, but not on 2C. The side lamps/lights are not bright enough for dinner. The cutlery now has a thinner look. In short, it's a . Oh and yes, I like the salt-pepper thing.

The caviar serving was pretty generous, but the FA did not bother to ask for second. Ad clearing the plate was taking a bit long as well. The asparagus soup was delicious. And the beef main course was delicious. Menu will posted later. Unfortunately, no dessert for this supper. No cheese and fruits cart. When I said I would like to have some cheese and would like to know what they were, she came back with a pre-plated cheese with 4 grapes, and two dried fruits. Well the old F presentation by showing the whole cheeses should be done again. After all, I dont like all king of cheese.

Without dessert, i wish the crew would deliver the cake for Mr. DFP for Joyeuse Saint Nicolas. that I ordered when I was at SKL after that SQ1 delayed fiasco.

[StarG]

Some observations from my SIN-HKG SQ862 today:

First Class

- Walls and drawers/cabinets in the front end as we enter the aircraft are all covered in wood finish with chrome accent, giving entering the F cabin a luxurious feel. However, as expected, the F cabin still lacks the exclusivity felt onboard SQ B744. It is just never going to be the same.
- As seen in the ads, the seat is really wide. However, the seat cushion is very short in the upright position. I am not tall but the cushion does not support the full length of my thighs. The positive side is that you are able to put your feet up the foot stool even during take off and landing.
- There are no overhead bins but there are plenty of space below the foot stool to store hand luggage. The space is tall enough to accommodate most 20” rollaway bags even stored sideways. The pax across the aisle from me brought a rollaway and two briefcases and there are no space problems.
- The seat feels spacious but not much more so than the SkySuite. Even though it is huge, everything seems closer and reachable when in upright position (unlike the SkySuite where it is impossible to extend your foot to the front wall under the desk when upright.
- In bed mode, the Suite is VERY comfortable and spacious. Yes, answering my own earlier question of whether or not the seat back (not the seat back cushion) is sturdy enough to be leaned on. The same goes to the J one.
- My iced tea was served an a full sized glass (as in land-sized, not air-sized).
- There are special menu design in all classes for the flight. New design for the leather folder in F.
- Washrooms are designed very differently than on other SQ aircraft. There are plenty of mirrors and chrome accent. Nice, spacious sink design. Nice lighting.
- We knew that J lost “Raffles” and its logo, and now I just found that F is losing its logo as well. In place, it is just SQ logo on sockettes, etc. Back to pre 1998 era.
- The F tableware has, appropriately, caviar-like design. However, I expected the linens and crockery to be nicer.
- The new noise cancelling headphones are VERy comfortable to wear and it works very well. However, I haven’t tried the famous Bose QC2/3 to make any comparison.
- The multi-adjustable table is fantastic.
- Overall, the new F rocks!

Business Class

- I really like the shade of blue/turquoise they use for the blankets, pillows, etc. The sockettes handed out are also in this same color.
- In bed mode, taller passengers might feel a lack of shoulder (and perhaps feet) space when lying flat. This is due to the angled nature of the seats.
- There are plenty of storage space even though there are no center overhead luggage bin in J.

More to come, hopefully, as I remember more items.

[StarG]

Just read CGK's posts above mine. Seems like our opinions differ in regards to the new F seat.

[DeltaFlyingProf]

This is CGK.

Great observations! Now I remember what you posted above. Tall glass is really a nice touch. And yes the seat cushion was short. And Norway_Asia commented on that short cushion as well...

[MAN Flyer]

This is CGK.

Why are you posting as DFP then ?.

[StarG]

(Real) DFP: actually you can flip the seat yourself - it is easy. I did it all (flipped it into bed and back into seat) without any help from the FAs. To flip, pull the handle behind the seatback cushion and just fold, then unfold the top part open. Make sure the table is 100% stowed in its place or the top part of the seatback cushion will bang onto it. To return it to seat mode, press down the front/upper edge of the seatback cushion sharply and pull the handle behind the seatback. As to where the additional pillow, duvet etc. go when you flip the bed into seat, you can just stick them all between the seatback and the seatback cushion.

[DeltaFlyingProf]

This is NOT CGK

I like the bed linen. It matches the design of the cabin and it feels nice. I also like the new PJs. The PJs come in only one tan color with dark brown trims. The PJ bags are of the same dark brown color. The tan color matches the whole color scheme of the cabin and is really nice. Compared to the old PJs, the material feels softer and smoother. There is a flap behind the zipper so no catching of chest hair in the zipper anymore! (I heard that complaint about the old PJs from jjpb3 )

I left my Farragamo kit on board.... since CGK says he does not keep them and use them as gift, maybe somebody can convince him to give his to me!

Another technical glitch was the esspresso machine...
I asked for a double esspresso and I got it. Then I was asked if I wanted a second and I said yes. After 5 to 10 minutes, the FA came back and apologized that she could not give me my second esspresso yet because they were having problem with the machine. It was overheating she said. I never hear again about my esspresso... CGK did get one with his breakfast, which he took much after me, so they must have repared the machine and she (the FA) must have again forgotten about me...

[DeltaFlyingProf]

(Real) DFP: actually you can flip the seat yourself - it is easy. I did it all (flipped it into bed and back into seat) without any help from the FAs. To flip, pull the handle behind the seatback cushion and just fold, then unfold the top part open. Make sure the table is 100% stowed in its place or the top part of the seatback cushion will bang onto it. To return it to seat mode, press down the front/upper edge of the seatback cushion sharply and pull the handle behind the seatback. As to where the additional pillow, duvet etc. go when you flip the bed into seat, you can just stick them all between the seatback and the seatback cushion.

I did try to put it back, so I did also find out about the table having to be really fully stowed. But I also saw on one particular re-straightening, that there is a belt the FA put back and it seemed that maybe there were a few things that had to be done that I may not know about, so after playing with it a little bit, I gave up. I also noticed the FAs are fumbling with the sharp down press on the front/upper edge that you mention.... I saw in some case the FA having to do at least 3 tries. I guess next time, I will try to do it myself.