India Birthday Trip (May 2025) - SQ A350, Boeing 787-10 & A380 to MAA (via DEL)

[SQfanatic]

Flight: Singapore Airlines flight SQ32
Route: Singapore - San Francisco
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900 XWB (9V-SMV, 6.9 years at the time of departure.)
Livery: Normal
Date of Departure: May 28 (9:15AM), Arrival May 28 (9:40AM)
Seat: 53A (Economy Class)
Configuration: 3-class (Business, Premium Economy, Economy)

NOTE: We briefly were on this plane before the swap happened.







Our flight would be departing gate A15







My friend 9V-SMV, which actually flew my mom back on January 2, 2023 also on SQ32 to San Francisco, on time. I'd be on it again. However, as you'll read on, SMV really had other plans and said "Well, not this time buddy, I flew you and your mom back in 2023, I'll send you one of my SJ* friends to fly you home this time"







9V-SHN which would later head to Brisbane





Gate hold area A15





Boarding 9V-SMV at gate A15







Business Class





I did not get a shot of Premium Economy till I exited. Economy Class seat which you had a pillow and blanket.







I was on seat 53A



Our captain came to us close to 9:10AM that we would be departing on time today, but suddenly there was a cargo door leak and actuator problem which the SIA Engineers were trying to fix. However, they could not resolve the problem on time. They thought it would be an easy fix and they would be able to send this plane. With Singapore Airlines paramount on safety, they added SMV was not acceptable to fly. The ground staff took over from there, changed our gate to A12. The replacement plane was parked at gate A1, which was 9V-SJB. Not just iCargo, but I also went there to have some breakfast and saw SJB before it got towed. More on that soon. As an engineer, I know there can be challenges, and often these things take time and are not easy to resolve. Think of it as your car having a leak too of some kind. We were unfortunately told our new departure time would be at 12:00PM SGT, which was 3 hours later than expected. I was expecting to get back on time and login for half a day remotely but sadly with the delay, I had to inform that I would have to forgo a whole day.

9V-SWV headed to Shanghai as SQ830.



While we waited, passengers were allowed to use the lavatory. We were told the gate would be A12.





Of course as per the ground staff's instructions, we deplaned.









Exiting gate A15.



It was 10:30AM as we got there. While they put snacks here at A12, I thought this was actually more of a proper time for breakfast. There was no plane at that time and I thought to kill some time, to find a spot to have proper breakfast.

[SQfanatic]

Flight: Singapore Airlines flight SQ32
Route: Singapore - San Francisco
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900 XWB (9V-SJB, 4 years at the time of departure.)
Livery: Normal
Date of Departure: May 28 (12:00PM), Arrival May 28 (12:25PM)
Seat: 53A (Economy Class)
Configuration: 3-class (Business, Premium Economy, Economy)

Our friend 9V-SJB which came from SQ355 from MXP earlier in the morning. SQ32 mostly uses the SJ* birds but can still use SM* birds too (SMV-SMZ).



This would be towed to gate A12



I had some waffles and maple syrup with cappuccino which was overall excellent.



I was lining up and security took 15-20 minutes, and our plane 9V-SJB was at gate A12



The crew for SQ32 gave everybody a snack pack as a result of the delay. I remember the Typhoon delay they gave a pen. They bowed and said they were sorry for the delay. I understand the frustration of many passengers, but for me, I was actually not stressed at all given I was likely prepared.







For those who don't know A12 has an upstairs view to take pictures of the outside too.

[SQfanatic]

It was 11:45AM by the time we boarded SQ32 (9V-SJB). However it was far quicker to get into the aircraft







Premium Economy class











Seat 53A. The aircraft felt fresher and cleaner. Pillow and blanket.







Evidently you could see it was already Noon and it still took time for boarding and other checks.

[SQfanatic]

Our captain came once again with an announcement that our flight to SFO would be 14 hours and 10 minutes. The same pilot and crew were on board SJB as well.



9V-SKS that would head as SQ406 later in the day.



Eventually we pushed back. The green stewardess inflight manager was empathetic towards all passengers considering they wanted to get back home. Pushback around 12:50PM





Flaps retracted













We went to the end of the runway and took off from here.































Cruising into a lot of clouds, which would then yield turbulence for several hours.

[SQfanatic]

Wifi was available on SQ32 and worked the whole time.























This was my 3rd of 4th leg we got am empty seat to stretch and sleep. Off peak and mid-week travel won here.



The first meal was lunch right after take off. I opted for the Vegetarian lacto-ovo meal and they gave me corn rice and baked beans. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of baked beans, so it was disgusting. Instead, I ate the bread and salad as well as the raspberry cake which were far better. Even the Indian vegetarian meal was also not so good either.



Lots of turbulence around the South China Sea










Breaks of blue sky in the afternoon.







We hit sunset in Japan close to 7PM JST.



Had some coffee which was not strong but really nice overall.



Sunset and dusk















That's one nice thing about flying Pacific vs. Polar. You'll see a sunset and sunrise and the windows are cooler. Polar flights they get hotter especially Spring and Summer

[SQfanatic]

The A350 lavatory. Far more cleaner and modern than the SQ A380.







Eventually after a good 5 hours of sleep, we got a beautiful sunrise over the Pacific



Decided to explore the IFE. Plenty of movies, TV shows and music, you wouldn't get bored but as I said before, not as good of a selection compared to EK.

























I wonder if these are window cracks due to the elements.



Decided to explore the Voyager 3D Map properly on SJB



AutoPlay





















Explored the other few modes



































Around 10AM Pacific Time the cabin was prepping for breakfast





I had the baked eggs, fried potatoes and beans. As I said, beans were disgusting. and if these were green beans, I would like them. Along with that fruits and bread and yogurt. So this veg lacto meal was slightly better, but really none of the meals on SQ32 even Indian veg meals were up to the mark.

[SQfanatic]

We began our descent into San Francisco International Airport on what would be a cold day later on back home

















Turning left towards California





Our captain said if you sat on the left side of the plane, you'd get a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge. A welcome back home.



Golden Gate Bridge and pockets of fog.



Bay Bridge





















Turning left over Palo Alto













San Mateo Bridge (a little hard to see)



































Landing into SFO around 12:15PM on a still foggy day. By Noon usually the fog clears up but the forecast was already going to be cold even Inland.













Parked at gate G9



Deplaning at SFO







Premium Economy





Business Class





After a few minutes, we proceeded to immigration and customs which took no more than 5 minutes. Baggage took maybe 20-25 minutes. We were out around 1:30PM and got an Uber and got back home around 2:15PM. An end to a great birthday trip minus the delays.

[SQfanatic]

Overall thoughts on SQ32 and the delay? As I mentioned in another thread, IRROPS handled the delay very well. They had a spare aircraft that had the capability to do SQ32 to SFO. Captain kept proactive. The snacks were a little disappointing, but they offered it, so I'm happy when it came to that. We had great crew especially the inflight manager who ensured we were looked after.

Unfortunately, a few things bothered me. The meals were disgusting on this flight and so were the Indian vegetarian meals - bland if you will. When I got hungry for a snack. I don't expect people to chat with me, that's totally fine. But what I want and is non-negotiable is RESPECT. When I looked at the menu and asked the crew what snacks they have (they don't open the galley cart you have to ask them), they curtly replied with "chips, caramel popcorn, doritos, what do you want?" and I took the popcorn and chips and ran off and got scared to ask the crew for anything else. The way the crew did their job on this was if they didn't want to be there. I get ULH is tiring, but if you are working with customers, you need to respect people. I had the same problem with SQ31 except a language barrier. On SQ402 and SQ403, crew treated you the way I remember Singapore Airlines. While I don't expect 5-star service, I expect at a very minimum, to talk to me in a respectful tone like the way I talk to you. If you can't do that, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth, like fear, intimidation, etc. No passengers want that on a 15 hour flight and I've seen it too. Even Emirates treats you with a respectful tone while still getting you what you want.

Now overall on Singapore Airlines?

They're still a great way to fly, no doubt. I got lucky 3 of my 4 flights having an empty seat, so stretching and sleeping were very comfortable overall. I tested putting the arm rest and I still felt there was some cramped feeling onboard. Service quality has gone down compared to before and so have some of the Indian vegetarian meals, the special meals were usually much better in my opinion. I'd fly them again if they were rock bottom cheap, otherwise if the price difference is not super substantial fly with other carriers like Cathay Pacific and Emirates.

In terms of the delay, I'll give them credit because they handled it with grace and humility.

Overall on the trip? Great I was able to for the first time in my life celebrate my birthday outside the US and I hope for many more years like this in my life.

Thanks for reading!

[SQ forever]

The one area where flying SQ has its merits over EK, QR, CX & JL is immigration lines, the A gates are flooded post noon with the mid-eastern & european arrivals. SQ always prided on their AVML offerings, but that looks downhill headed, as also with the crew, not your standard SQ fare, but liked your perspective on flying the perennially popular India-SIN-SFO sector.

[SQ forever]

Also, thought CX economy was a shade sub-par, atleast with their meal offerings akin to QR, and shades below SQ & EK

[SQfanatic]

The one area where flying SQ has its merits over EK, QR, CX & JL is immigration lines, the A gates are flooded post noon with the mid-eastern & european arrivals. SQ always prided on their AVML offerings, but that looks downhill headed, as also with the crew, not your standard SQ fare, but liked your perspective on flying the perennially popular India-SIN-SFO sector.

Thanks for reading SQforever. Yes, technically it is my style, however, most of the time they are giving paneer and I decided to also tone down the rice and paneer lately due to dietary and health reasons. My dad really said the meals were not so good on SQ32. On the other flights, average at best, but even the special meals before SQ32 were much better.

I was wishing to fly to and from Chennai, but for some reason, those prices rose exponentially, maybe upwards to $1500-1600 no matter if your day was an off peak day return. Delhi was cheaper and my dad thought it was a good strategy to save money and do that. But at least won a Boeing 787 one of the ways and empty seats 3 out of 4 legs. To tell you the truth, I was chasing after going by Emirates though the price was higher, but at the same time, they even for Chennai reduced their prices over time by $200-300 even as low as $1100-1200 and I would have been happy to take them directly to Chennai.

That is true. Actually to go to Jewel you have to clear immigration. Before that, you have to go to one of those iPads and enter your details, then scan your passport and face at the counter and then you can go ahead to the Jewel. It worked for me, but for my dad, he basically had to rescan his passport below the iPad and it eventually worked for him. I think one thing that needs an improvement is that by default you should be able to scan your US Passport rather than input everything manually.

Also, thought CX economy was a shade sub-par, atleast with their meal offerings akin to QR, and shades below SQ & EK

I don't know how CX is now, the last time I flew them was February 2019. They were fine when I flew them, exhibited very good service and food was pretty good at least for me. They had more snacks and if you wanted something they'll give it to you without an attitude.

The only thing that blew me off (silently) was the attitude off the stewardess in blue when I was getting a snack. While people will say it's a first world problem and you got what you needed, this is not the way I remember SQ.

Also, hot towels were never given on SQ31 nor SQ32 but on my Indian sectors it was given. Only thing was it did not have the same famous scent that Singapore Airlines used to have. Even Emirates has an equivalent or better scent.

My parents will be flying Emirates in November for Thanksgiving while I stay back. Next October 2026 is going to be the next time I take a trip to India for Navarathri and more likely than not depending on destination picks internationally, it may likely be Emirates. Singapore? I don't know. Even my mom deliberately didn't pick Singapore for November this time around and my dad dealt with it.

One time I'd like to show my mom around Jewel at night. The negative to that is all attractions are closed besides the mall and waterfall overlook.

[SQ forever]

Or probably try JAL BLR-NRT-SFO if a pit stop at BLR is not an issue, their Y seat 2-4-2 on the 789 is the best out there, good crew but meals could be a hit or miss, have even seen chennai folks take a train to bangalore and catch this flight. BLR airport is good to transit too / way better than DEL

[SQfanatic]

I would be happy to do JL but often times its expensive even many off peak periods too.

You are not wrong about that fact, South Indian airports tend to be far more seamless for transitting than North Indian airports. We tried also exploring via BLR but that was also expensive. I do love BLR, only went once, and I do wish I would go again.

[yflyer]

Thanks for sharing your birthday trip, SQfanatic! It's been a long time since I have visited Chennai, so really glad to get an update on what's going on there. The food there always looks so good! The Hyatt there really treated you well too.

I also haven't flown SQ in a while so also good to get an update there. A little disappointed to hear that catering might have done downhill. I used to really enjoy the Indian vegetarian meals on SQ. I never pre-ordered them, but often asked for them when flying on SQ India sectors, as well as USA sectors, and they were previously very delicious. At least your oriental veg meal on your DEL-SIN sector was good!

Also nice to hear that you had an empty seat next to you on several sectors. That makes so much difference in comfort. When I choose seats on flights, I do everything I can to pick a seat with the highest likelihood of an empty neighbour (which usually means an aisle seat in the 2nd last row of Y).

What a nice way to celebrate a birthday!