Nonstop to NY on SIA:SQ24 SIN-JFK in Premium, SQ21 EWR-SIN in Business, TWA Hotel@JFK

[yflyer]

Prior to arrival, one final snack...a hot pizza margherita in a box...



This was actually quite tasty.



Our routing across the USA enroute to NY...



It was now bright and sunny outside...



One final glass of Champagne. Looking back at this TR, I think I had quite a few glasses, but hey it was a long flight...



Cabin ambience was bright and airy...

[yflyer]

Some great views of Manhattan at dusk as we made our final approach to JFK...



...with great views of Midtown, Central Park, the Financial District, and even the Statue of Liberty if you looked closely...

[yflyer]

And then, after flying over the island of Manhattan (the blue line below), there was one final treat for any aviation enthusiasts onboard: our plane flew the Canarsie Approach to JFK, officially known as the Parkway Visual approach, (in green and yellow below).



This involved hand flying a curving approach, with a gentle right hand turn at low level, towards the runway...



I haven't been onboard a plane doing this type of approach in many years. In some ways it reminded me of the old approach into Kai Tak (Although that was even more hair raising, with the checkerboard and tall buildings surrounding the airport...)...





An interesting write-up of this hand-flown approach can also be found here.

In the event, from this pax's perspective, the approach and landing were perfectly executed, with a smooth landing at 5.25pm local time, a few minutes ahead of schedule.



On the ground, pax on this flight got lucky once again, with the large JFK arrival hall almost empty. With no checked baggage, I was through immigration and out into the landsided arrival area within 40 minutes of deplaning.

[yflyer]

My thoughts on this ultra long hall sector on SQ PEY?

At almost 18 hrs flight time, this would have been a tough sector to do in economy. In PEY it was a decent flight.

I prefer SQ's PEY on the A380 and 77WR to PEY on the A350. The PEY seat frame on the A350 is slightly smaller than A380 and 77RW PEY, and resembles a Y seat too much (Perceptions matter). Other airlines like QF, CX and BA also have a more attractive looking PEY hard product. But that said, the seat has good legroom and recline, and that makes a ton of difference in comfort.

As for catering, it is hard to beat QF PEY, which is practically business lite (with real glassware and china throughout, not to mention pre-departure beverage service even in PEY). I wish SQ would do more to differentiate their PEY catering from Y.

So overall I consider SQ's PEY to be quite average.

That said, the 6 solo PEY seats on the A359ULR are great. If I were to fly SQ PEY on this sector again, I would definitely choose those seats if possible. I found those seats to be much better than the regular PEY seats because of the added privacy and space. Those solo seats are hard to come by. I would select those seats, even at additional cost. I had a great flight, and a lot of the credit must go to those solo seats, which might be some of the most desirable PEY seats in the air today.

Next up, the TWA Hotel at JFK.

To be continued!

[9V-SIA]

Premium Economy on A340-500 was 2-3-2 so new seats a bit narrower
Beautiful view of Manhatten! Never flown this approach before
Nice TR so far!

[StarG]

Thank you for bringing us along your trip with your TR as always!
Enjoying it so far.

[Pinkfloyd]

As always, an excellent TR!!

[yflyer]

Thank you for bringing us along your trip with your TR as always!
Enjoying it so far.

As always, an excellent TR!!

Premium Economy on A340-500 was 2-3-2 so new seats a bit narrower
Beautiful view of Manhatten! Never flown this approach before
Nice TR so far!

Thank you for reading, 9V-SIA, StarG, and Pinkfloyd!

Yes, I got very lucky on this flight, to be sitting on the "right" side of the plane to see Manhattan! The Canarsie approach was quite amazing, as I was not expecting it. It was not the usual stabilised approach, and I was very surprised when the aircraft started banking at very low altitude!

I believe the A340-500 fuselage is slightly narrower than the A350 (hence the XWB - extra wide body), so I think the A345 could only do 2-3-2 PEY style seating, whereas the A359 can do 2-4-2 PEY. My recollection of the A345 exec economy seat was that it is about similar to the A350 PEY seat in dimensions and recline. Of course, I last flew it a long time ago, so can't be sure.

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

From the arrivals area at JFK T4, I headed to the nearby Airtrain station and rode the Airtrain (Free between terminals) one stop to the next station, T5, which was also where the TWA Hotel was located.

From the Airtrain station, it was just a short walk in the outdoors to the TWA Hotel, designed by architect Eero Saarinen. This terminal building at JFK, the TWA Flight Center, operated as an airline terminal building from 1962 to 2001.

This iconic structure was extensively restored and rebuilt, and re-opened as the TWA Hotel in 2019.

What a stunning building this was...



Though small by today's standards, the terminal buildling was absolutely beautiful and definitely deserves to be preserved as an architectural landmark...



Outside, an old convertible and a VW van, in keeping with the retro theme...



Inside, I felt transported into another era...a vast atrium, with flowing curves, still looking starkly futuristic, yet somehow feeling nostalgic and harking back to the 60's...



Airline check-in counters were now converted to hotel check-in desks...



What incredible attention to detail, with furniture and decor accurately reflecting the era...



While no longer in the air, TWA lived on here in this hotel...



Both manned, and self check-in were available.

Welcome to 1962, indeed...



I was not yet born then, but this was as close to a time machine as I was going to get...



To get to my room, I had to walk though one of two red carpeted "flight tubes"...



These were originally envisioned as passageways from the main terminal to the satellite gates where planes were parked. Now these led to the new hotel accommodation blocks where the rooms were located.



I took the lift to my room...



On the wall, movable displays, reminiscent of the flipping airline displays, with an ever changing selection of quotes...



The corridors to the rooms were in TWA red...

[yflyer]

I entered my room...



What a beautiful room. The room was not large, but it was beautifully styled, and very new (Picture below taken early the next morning, just after sunrise).



Long writing desk located behind the King bed...



When a friend saw pictures of the room, he immediately recognized the chair as the Womb Chair, also designed by Eero Saarinen.



Light coloured walls and dark wood flooring, with gold metal accents...



This was a very elegantly appointed room.



There was an open "wardrobe", you hung your clothes on hangers along the wall...



TWA-branded pencils and note pad...



There was an old style telephone...



...but also modern amenities like this wireles. charger...



Very nice glassware and ice bucket...

[yflyer]

The bathroom...



Shower stall, no tub...



TWA branded toiletries...



After dropping my luggage and freshening up, I left the room and headed out to explore the hotel.

[yflyer]

Back in the terminal building, I marvelled at the amazing architecture...I hadn't been so awestruck by the interior of a building since I visited Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.



The 60's theme was everywhere...



It was now 7.15pm, and it was time for a drink. This was part of my jetlag mitigation strategy, which could be summarised as: caffeine in the morning, when I should be awake, then alcohol in the evening, when I should be asleep.

There was a bar in the terminal atrium....



...but why go there when, just outside, there was a Lockheed Constellation, which had been converted into a cocktail bar...



Today's flight connection at JFK would be from an SIA Airbus A350 to a TWA Lockheed Constellation...what an irresistible proposition...



This Connie was restored and transported to JFK, where it was now permanently parked...

[yflyer]

The Connie was parked just outside the hotel "airside" area. To get to it, you exited the hotel and took a short stroll. What a beautiful plane...



I never imagined I would ever set foot inside a Connie...



Yes, this was the real deal...



The interior...



Give me this over a 737 any day!



Not sure if the seats or seat pitch were historically accurate, but this sure was a roomy plane...



A glance out the window...



In the rear of the plane, a full bar setup, manned that evening by E, who hailed from the Philippines.



There was a boisterous crowd in the plane that evening. I asked E if it was always so buzzing...

"Somtimes it is, sometimes, it's very quiet..."



Today, it was very lively. After I got my drink, I asked if I could take a wefie with E. He graciously agreed, and even invited me behind the bar for the picture. A couple of young ladies nearby offered to take the picture for me, and of course I accepted. I then returned the favour by snapping a pic of them with E.

Feeling uncharacteristically gregarious that evening, I headed to middle of the plane, sat down next with them, and their party, and started chatting...



They had never been to Singapore, and were amazed that I had just gotten off a 17+ hour flight...

What a fun bunch of people, and what a great way to spend time after a long flight!

[yflyer]

Several drinks later, I exited the Connie down the rear stairs, and headed back to my hotel room.



Back in the room, all that Champagne during the flight, plus the drinks in the Connie, had the desired effect: despite the 11 hour time difference between New York and Singapore, I slept soundly the whole night, and only woke up the next morning.

[yflyer]

I woke up the next morning to dense, thick fog outside.

I had booked a room with a view of the JFK control tower. But where was it? No tower could be seen.



I headed out of my room to continue my exploration of the hotel...