SQ32/31 SIN-SFO-SIN in Y: Impressions of Post-COVID San Francisco

[yflyer]

Today's flight departed Singapore at 9.40am, and much of the flight went by in daylight. At around 6pm Singapore time, it was time for the 2nd meal service, which was listed in the menu as "breakfast". As this was 3am destination time in San Francisco, perhaps it made sense to call it breakfast, but for us on the flight, this was dinner time, and I suspect many passengers, myself included were quite amused to be served a breakfast menu at our local dinner time...

Rather than scrambled eggs, or the Indian option, I decided on the rice vermicelli (i.e. bee hoon) with chicken...



This was piping hot, and quite tasty. I did miss chilli on this dish though. Maybe I should have asked the cabin crew if they had chilli onboard (even if it was a sauce packet). I recall that in the past, these noodle dishes did come with one slice of chilli as garnish (One is better than nothing), but perhaps that too fell victim to cost cutting. In any case it was a decent meal.

[yflyer]

The day's flight routing took me closer to Japan than I had ever been since the start of the pandemic...



We were very close to Tokyo...



The coastline of Japan was just visible out the port side windows...



We were so close to Japan that the peak of Mount Fuji was visible breaking through the clouds...

[yflyer]

Right after drink service, the cabin crew served lunch.

I was in the last row of the plane. By that time, usually they would be out of one of the meal options, but the SQ cabin crew on this flight managed this very well, and apart from the Mediterranean Fish and Asian-style Chicken with Black Bean Sauce and Fried Rice, I was also offered an unlisted option of Beef Rendang, which I happily accepted...



This was a very generously sized portion, and was very tasty!

Dessert was a sure-win...

[yflyer]

Cabin service began with a full drink service...



I decided to give my liver a (brief) rest and go with apple juice...



To pass time, I checked out the vast onboard music selection. On some trips of mine, I listen to a piece of music, either on a plane or on the radio, and it sticks like a soundtrack, and I forever associate that music with memories of the trip. Sometimes it's a pop or rock hit. On this trip, it was a classical piano work, Schubert's Sonata in D Major, D850, played by Eugene Istomin...I kept returning to this piece over and over during the flight (and on my return sector as well...)...

[yflyer]

Onboard amenities were also listed in the digital menu...



I requested eye shades and an amenity kit...



The contents of the amenity kit...


Toothbrushes were also available in the bathrooms...

[yflyer]

We took off. Today's flight was just over 14 hours and 40 minutes long...flying direct was so much quicker than any 1-stop option.



While a part of me missed a short transit stop in Seoul, Hong Kong or Tokyo, where I could maybe grab a snack or visit the lounge, the convenience of a nonstop service was undeniable.

Once above 10,000 feet, I checked out the wifi options onboard.



There was 2 hours of complimentary wifi available, but full flight wifi with unlimited data for USD15.99 was a great bargain (Hurray for unlimited plans!) and I quickly signed up.



I browsed the inflight menu online. No printed menus available, but some wifi services like browsing the digital menu were free-of-charge...

The lunch menu...



Snacks...



Breakfast...



Beverages....

[yflyer]

No underseat obstructions (No footrests, either)...



Large, clear, widescreen IFE on the seat back, along with USB power...



Having watched all of the Krisworld September selections on my SIN-CPH-SIN sectors earlier in the month, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Krisworld on this flight already had the October selections loaded.



What a fantastic selection of movie, tv and music selections on Krisworld, which must be among the best, if not the very best, IFE platforms out there.



There was lots of new content to watch in October, including episodes of a new series, "Travels with Cabin Crew", featuring SQ cabin crew exploring various attractions and locations in Singapore...



For those wanting to keep in touch with the news while airborne, there were several live TV channels.



A/C power was available...



Cup holder...



Foldable tray table...



...with vanity mirror (Doesn't everyone just use their phones as a mirror these days?)



The headphone socket has 2-pins for airline-style plugs, but either socket also works with regular headphones...thumbs up!



The seat pocket contents...still no SilverKris magazine, and no printed menus, but at least the KrisShop catalog was back, along with the safety card, and a card with wifi instructions...



This was a completely full flight. The demand for SIN-SFO is so huge, with 2 flights a day from SQ, and another 2 from UA. Many pax were connecting from other cities in Asia and India.

[yflyer]

My seat was in the Y cabin, laid out 3-3-3.



After my SIN-CPH-SIN flights where the A359 cabin product was the older 2013 Y seat, it was great to be able to fly in the latest Y seat, first introduced in 2017.



The Emex seats on this flight are usually very popular...



...especially the window seat directly behind the Emex row, without a seat in front of it...



Bulkhead seats, with IFE mounted on the wall...



My seat was in the rear of the Y cabin...



On this long flight, I picked the last row aisle seat, so I wouldn't have to worry about anyone behind me when reclining...



This last row seat had decent recline...



...similar to the recline for regular seats...

[yflyer]

I passed through the J cabin, with the 2013 Y product, laid out 1-2-1...



Those would have been really comfortable seats for this 14.5 hour flight, but as I mentioned, I was just passing through...

I continued through the SQ PEY cabin. This was laid out 2-4-2.



While I had a great flight to SFO in PEY in 2018, in general I am not a big fan of SQ's PEY on the A359 for two reasons: First, the 2-4-2 layout feels too similar to Y (By contrast UA's 787-9 Premium Plus is laid out 2-3-2), and on SQ, the PEY meal concept is essentially Y, whereas almost every other airline, including United, offers an enhanced PEY meal service.

For this reason, I am usually very reluctant to upgrade from Y to PEY on SQ's A359. On SQ's A380 and 77WR, the seat frame is different, and the PEY cabin more spacious. I much prefer the PEY hard product on SQ's A380 and 77WR, although I still wish SQ would revamp their PEY catering concept to be more competitive with other carriers.

For my next SIN-SFO flight, if I were to choose between SQ A359 Premium Economy and United 787-9 Premium Plus, it would be a no-brainer for me to try United, to see if the actual experience matches up to this paper comparison, which is clearly in United's favour.

[yflyer]

I left the SQ Gold Lounge and headed to my gate.

As I waited to board, I caught a glimpse of one of SQ's baby 737 MAX 8's, which I would only get to try for the first time a month later, from Hanoi to Singapore.



At the gate, 9V-SJD, was being prepped to operate SQ32 SIN-SFO. This was SQ's newest A350, the 61st in the fleet, first delivered just over a month ago, on 21 August. Coincidentally this was the same plane that flew SQfanatic's dad to and from SFO a month not long after delivery.



After flying an older A359 (relatively speaking), 9V-SMK, on my SIN-CPH-SIN sectors the week before, it was nice to be on a brand new plane on this flagship service to SFO.

It was soon time to board...

At the door, a beautiful sight of green, red and blue...

[yflyer]

Overall, I thought this was a decent lounge with pleasant decor, a spacious, airy feel, and good F&B. The decor was pleasant, rather than inspired. In terms of catering, I thought the Asian breakfast selection was better than the Western/International selection. On my wish list would be a larger selection of liquor and wine, including sparkling wine, and perhaps ensuite WC's in the showers.

Comparing this lounge to what was available in the T3 SilverKris Lounge, it was clear that the SilverKris Lounge was the flagship lounge, and the offerings here were a notch below the SilverKris Lounge.

[yflyer]

There were showers in the lounge...



Rain shower...



...as well as towels, toothbrush and other amenities.

[yflyer]

The liquor selection...

One red and one white wine on offer...



I sampled some of each...



Not bad...



No champagne or sparkling wine though. If champagne was not within budget, why not at least offer Prosecco?

A smallish liquor selection...



Beer on tap...



Canned beer, mixers and soft beverages...



Coffee...



...and tea...

[yflyer]

There were also international selections, including bread pudding...



Scrambled eggs...



Corn...



Sandwiches, cheese and yogurt...

[yflyer]

I headed to the buffet to check it out...



Steaming hot dim sum...



Har Gao and Siew Mai...



Vegetarian dumplings...



Traditional Chwee Kway...what a treat!



I couldn't resist sampling some of the dim sum and the chwee kway...all were delicious!



Plain fried bee hoon...



Self service laksa, with quails eggs...



This also hit the spot...



Meatball congee...



Also very delicious!



Not everyone has their pork meatball congee with cut red chilli and soy sauce, but I do...yum...