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

[yflyer]

After checking in, I was surprised to see that the lounge for SQ pax for this flight was the BA Lounge.

"Is there a United Polaris Lounge I can go to?" I asked the helpful check-in agent.

"No, there isn't", he replied apologetically.

No matter. I was not particularly disappointed. It was always nice to try lounges from airlines on the "other side" i.e Oneworld rather than Star Alliance.

After clearing security (A very quick and painless process on this occasion...), I headed straight to the BA Galleries Lounge...



This lounge was a medium-sized lounge with great airside views. Just after 8 in the morning, the large glass windows along one side allowed the morning sun to light up the lounge.



The lounge was not busy at that hour. I believe it was just the BA flight to London, and the SQ flight to Singapore, departing later that morning.



In the distance, I could see my SQ plane being prepped for departure. It was impossible to take decent airside pics, however, as there was a screen on the glass...



There were several seating zones in this lounge.



There was a full service bar...



...and refreshment station in the main lounge area.



Some of the wines on offer...





The liquor selection...



Apple cider...



I asked for a glass of sparkling wine...

[yflyer]

The dedicated dining area...



Breakfast was being served at this time.



With cold selections...



...and hot breakfast items...



I helped myself to a small breakfast.



There was also a separate 1st class dining room, which was closed at that hour in the morning.



I did not use the bathroom in the lounge, but other reviewers have indicated there is an in-lounge bathroom, and exactly one (!) shower room.

Overall I thought this lounge was ok. It wasn't crowded, and had a decent food and beverage selection available, including a proper bar with a good selection of wines and liquor.

Decor wise, this lounge wasn't going to win any awards, but as a place to spend a bit of time before SQ21, it was perfectly adequate.

[yflyer]

I headed to the gate...



Today's flight was operated by 9V-SGE, a 5 year old Airbus A350-900 ULR.



Boarding began at about 9.10am...



I was in the business class cabin today. The J cabin was divided into a smaller 1st cabin, and a larger 2nd J cabin.


This was SQ's 2013 J product, arranged 1-2-1, with all pax having aisle access. A picture of the larger 2nd J cabin below.


These were similar to the J seats on SQ's 77WR (Boeing 777-300ER). They went fully flat, but had to be manually flipped into bed mode. As the A359's fuselage was slightly narrower than the 77WR, the seat design had to be slightly adapted to the A359 cabin, with marginally smaller dimensions.



On the way in, I passed seat 10A, the first row bulkhead seat. This seat had additional legroom in front, compared to regular J seats, as well as some additional privacy. This was probably the most desirable seat on the plane. It was close to the forward galley, but that galley wasn't used much during the flight, so there was little noise coming from the galley.



Bulkhead seats 11 D/F also had extra space in front of the seat.



My seat on this flight was seat 15K, a window seat.



I was excited to be trying out this seat. While this seat product had been available for a long time now, I had never tried it till now.



This seat had a cubby hole in front for the feet, when in bed mode.



I thought the cubby hole looked a little small.

[yflyer]

The seat had a side console with a reading light, and both A/C and USB power. The downside of this console is that it also blocked one of the windows, leaving only one to look out of.



On the other side of the seat, the seat wing had a few additional reading lights.



Seat controls were on the side of the armrest...



There was a large widescreen, which was clear and sharp.



However, it was not a touchscreen, and had to be controlled via a handheld controller.

The tray table was stowed in the armrest.



The table fully extended...



I reclined the seat into lounging position. The angle was fine for relaxing...



However, I struggled a little to find a comfortable position for my feet and legs when reclined like a lounger . With the footrest angled, there wasn't enough clearance between the footrest and the forward bulkhead to place my legs and feet straight ahead.



If I wanted to lounge with feet stretchd out, I had to sit at a slightly awkward slanted angle, with my feet in the cubby hole...



It was possible to sit comfortably, but it wasn't perfect. I did not recall having this issue when I sat in the (slightly wider) 2013 J seat on SQ's 77WR.

Just a minor quibble, but still something to note, considering how good the competition is these days.

All that said, SQ J is still SQ J. I was really looking forward to savouring Singapore Airlines' business class on the world's longest commercial flight, with a block time of 18 hours 50 minutes, and typical flying time between 17.5 to 18.5 hours.

[yflyer]

The bathrooms were located in between the first and 2nd J cabins.



SQ must be one of the few airlines that still has flowers in the bathrooms (Even if they are no longer real orchids).



Hand lotion, facial mist, and Eau de toilette, along with cloth towels...



Drawer of amenities, including toothbrushes, combs and shavers...

[yflyer]

The cabin crew came round with pre-departure beverages...



"Champagne, please!"



This was Piper Heidsieck Essentiel...



Hot towels service...lovely!


Safety video presentation...



Pushback, with wing walkers...



I was surprised to see another SQ A359 in the distance...



We taxi'ed to Runway 22R...



A long line of other aircraft waiting to take off...



...including a couple of United 737MAXes...



A powerful take-off, sounding very quiet from the front of the plane...



A view of EWR, with a light dusting of snow, as we climbed out...



Nice views of Manhattan's financial district, and the Statue of Liberty, out of the starboard side windows...



A last look at Manhattan island...



Nice views as well of JFK Airport (Top left in the picture below)...

[yflyer]

After take-off, a Singapore Sling, accompanied by a bowl of warm nuts. I hadn't seen these nuts on SQ in a long time! Thumbs up!



I browsed the IFE. As usual, there was a great selection of movies, TV and music, as well as live TV.



By now I was so used to touchscreens that I kept touching and swiping the screen itself to select movies. However, this was not a touch screen, and I had to use the handheld controller to select programs. Time for a system upgrade, SQ!



I picked out some music to listen too...



The noise cancelling headphones provided were very good.



When it comes to audio and music, I am a very fussy listener. I found sound quality of the IFE via these headphones very satisfying (Much better than the sound quality from the headphones in PEY on my outbound SIN-JFK sector).

I asked for slippers and eyeshades and these were promptly brought to my seat.



Penhaligons amenity kits were also available, but I did not ask for one, as these tended to pile up unused, at home.

[yflyer]

I browsed the menu...



Amenities on offer...



The lunch menu...



Dinner...



Refreshments...



Today's wine list....the Piper Heidsieck 2014 vintage caught my eye...



Reds...



Port...



Cocktails...





Spirits and beer...

[yflyer]

Non-alcoholic...






Illy Coffee...



TWG tea...



In-house tea selections...



Specialty coffee...

[yflyer]

Lunch was served not long after take-off. This came on a single tray, with starter, cheese and fruit.



I started with a white wine, a Chablis Premier Cru...



I also asked if the Piper Heidsieck Vintage 2014 was available. It was! This came with a distinctive black label.



Yum, this was much better than the Essentiel. Cleaner, sharper, with an intensity and effervescence that just danced on the palate...



I could drink a lot of this...

The cabin crew came round with a bread basket...



The starter was Hudson Valley smoked trout...



This was quite tasty...

[yflyer]

For my main, I had pre-ordered the BTC slow roasted beef fillet...



This came very attractively plated...



But how would it taste? I sliced into it...



Yum! Delicious! Tender, tasty and still pink on the inside. Very nicely done!

Beef is notoriously tricky to get right onboard. There is always the risk of overcooking it and having it taste like cardboard. Not today!

After that I had the cheese...



...fruit...



...and ice cream...



A satisfying meal!

[yflyer]

Our routing today took us over the Atlantic, towards Europe...



The sun was setting fast...



With the help of the cabin crew, I flipped the seat to bed mode...



There were pillows and a blanket...



There was a soft mattress liner under the seat...



I found this to be quite a comfortable sleeping surface...



...and dozed off somewhere over the Atlantic...



When I woke up, the cabin was still dark.



I ordered a G&T...



...then went back to sleep, until about 10 hours into the flight, when the lights came on for dinner service.

We were now over Iran...



Another hot towel...how refreshing!

[yflyer]

Full table service for dinner, with cutlery and plates set on a white table cloth...



More of the delicious Piper Heidsieck Vintage 2014 Champagne...



Salad with Dukka...



Garlic bread from the basket...



I enjoyed the salad, with the Dukka adding some complexity and texture to the mix...



My main was another BTC option, the pan-roasted veal cutlet...




I was stunned to see that the veal cutlet came bone-in -- thumbs up! This looked as good as a main course in a restaurant on the ground!

I sliced into it...


Divine...

The meat was so tender and flavourful...just incredible for an in-flight meal.



This must be one of the best in-flight meals I have ever had on a plane. This dish really raised the bar for me, on what could be achieved for an inflight main course. I would have been happy eating this in a restaurant on the ground!

I paired the veal with a Tempranillo from Spanish winemaker Lleiroso.



The Lleiroso Crainza 2019 was a wine that won a prize at the recent Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2023 international wine competition, and it was nice to be able to sample this wine onboard SQ21.

As for Asian menu options, the pax across the aisle was having the red chicken curry with rice, and that looked pretty decent too.



After gobbling up the veal, I had no space left for cheese, but the cabin crew let me take a picture of the cheese platter for future reference.



For dessert, I chose the Pistachio Praline layer cake...this was very tasty.

[yflyer]

On this flight, our routing took us over Iran, just outside airspace over Afghanistan, before overflying Pakistan, then India...



It was daylight outside, and I opened my window shades to snap a few pictures of the landscape below...



Ambience in the first J cabin...



...and the 2nd J cabin...



I watched a movie, "Anatomy of a Fall", recommended by my friend who was an avid movie buff...



This was an excellent movie, with an amazing screenplay that is so much better than most of the movies that are coming out of Hollywood these days.

[yflyer]

With 5 hours left to run, I could not resist ordering a bowl of noodles from the refreshment menu...



This was braised beef on vermicilli...



This came in a decent sized portion, and was quite tasty too...