Suggestions to improve SQ

[9V-SIA]

I read so many complaints about SQ here without many suggestions that I thought it might be useful to have a thread to offer their lurkers feedback.

I'm no SQ apologist. I like them but if I was based in London or Sydney, I doubt SQ would be my preferred airline. Non stop connectivity is what I look for in a frequent flyer programme.

Aircraft
I'm happy with their cabin product
Should they pack in more passengers to lower their prices?
I find if I do a dummy booking on SQ, BA & EK to London, SQ is not the most expensive in January

But should they order more A350/787 instead of A380?
EK has more destinations and frequencies to Europe than SQ
They need planes for long & thin routes IMHO
They should be launch customer if A359R and bring back nonstop to EWR & LAX

IFE
I'm happy with it. I used to use it more a few years back but I prefer to sleep

Food
Standards here have dropped. But I tend to eat very little inboard nowadays too!

Crew
A mixed bag. Some good, some not so good. Never really bad
They are to me the best thing about SQ and it broke my heart when they clawed back some overseas allowance because of exchange rate differences last year. Mood onboard flights during that spell were definitely more sober

Krisflyer
I only fly SQ so I can't comment on other airlines programmes
Availability of saver seats is excellent

Upgrades for loyal members?
SQ has no upgrade policy
You get what you pay for
I'm ambivalent to this policy

Free transport to airport?
Why not if it's free!

Website
I dare say this has done immeasurable damage to their image & while hard to quantify cost them business
Let's hope the worst is over

Middle East airlines
It's a good thing SIN is an O&D market.
Just by geography alone we're at a disadvantage over Dubai and co.

Just my 2 cents

[Kyo]

I wouldn't say their Saver availability is excellent. Possibly since you're in the upper ranks of PPS? Even as a KF*G myself this year, over KF*0 and KF*S, BD*G, A3*G in previous years, I'm regularly on the waiting list - and sometimes, the list still doesn't clear (okay, understandable, since everyone else seems to be a PPS on the routes/schedule I want to fly). And yes, I purposely decided to finally focus on KF*G just to test my theory that there would be no improvement over Saver availability as opposed to BD*G or A3*G. So far, I haven't been proven wrong. Once I had to tell KF that I held double *A status before they bothered to escalate a waitlist on SIN-SYD to their manager (it cleared 4 days later). Does that sound like excellent availability OR service to any normal human being? No, it sounds like they are being choosy and selective. And a stingy and snobbish.

Just two days ago I was told I'm not even allowed to waitlist. I had to explain I would misconnect absolutely before they sought special approval to add me to the waitlist, not 1 min, thirty seconds later... I wonder, what's the point of acting so tough and heavy-handed to the people who fly with them...

If only a certain Latin American carrier didn't take half a year to retroactively credit my flown SQ miles (and I didn't have to learn Spanish, and endure a 29 mins translated phone call), I'd abandon this half-baked program already.

"I feel you deliberately made it difficult to book so I don't get to claim my hard earned points. And if by miracle the site doesn't hang, I find the rules of using my miles skewed in your favour. It's all you you you."

Crew quality is indeed a mixed bag. It didn't use to be this much of a mixed bag, that's the problem that's commonly mentioned here: robotic versus charisma + charming. Some things, are inate. There's only a certain amount of training that can be done. Some people have it within them, some don't. Could it be that previous staff selection processes were more finnicky and fussy about who made the cut and who didn't? Some ex-SQ staff who are personal friends of mine have also made these very assertions...

I've also heard that maybe the Middle Easterns are poaching some of the creme-de-la-creme 5* crew from SQ (and other airlines) with higher pay?

Just my 2 cents!

[KC*]

My suggestions (or wishes) are:

1. Bring back Premium Economy;
2. Allow pre-ordering of meals before flight;
3. Don't ever install touch-screens;
4. Don't ever allow cell phones to be used for voice-calls on-board.

And like Kyo, I struggle to get those saver seats.

I guess it is too much to ask for any improvement on their "out-of-this-world" website.

[Pinkfloyd]

4. Don't ever allow cell phones to be used for voice-calls on-board.

+1

[scooby5]

I am happy, in general, with aircraft. There seems to be a tad more space even for a shortie like me.

IFE is good, no complaints.

Food is so so, but no worse than anybody else.

Crew, fulfil a function. Yes sometimes a bit monotone but no real complaint.

KF, the fact SQ seems to treat FF with disregard is probably their largest failing after their website. I've been KF*G a few years, never seen an upgrade or even a thank you beyond their spiel from the book at flight's end. As a MPC-S member I was treated far better by Cathay and it was stepped up again reaching Gold. The downside about CX is that a lot of their plane interiors are looking old, with like 4" screens for IFE etc.

Pricing, generally I find SQ more expensive out of SIN that anybody else. There are times they match LH or BA to Europe but are rarely cheaper and are nowhere near pricing of Middle Eastern airlines, MH or Thai.

Based on only that, if I could jump back to using my MPC instead of KF, I would do it in a heartbeat but living in SIN makes OW direct flights in Asia a little harder to come by.



9V-SIA, whilst your thread was about making suggestions for improvements, you didn't make any rather just come out with the same as we've said many times.

My suggestions to SQ, treat your members better because you are failing miserably. Look at your pricing because those of us based in Singapore shouldn't be used to subsidize those on transits or visits.

[milehighj]

I read so many complaints about SQ here without many suggestions that I thought it might be useful to have a thread to offer their lurkers feedback.

I have a few things to add here but it's not really offered to the SQ Lurkers, because suggestion A is:

"Change the SQ Lurkers, and hire some Doers. What's the bloody point in having access to this trove of info, and, by way of one small example, TWO YEARS LATER YOUR WEBSITE STILL LOOKS AND WORKS LIKE A PILE OF HORSE SH*T?!?!?!"

B. "Change the Head of IT, and hire a leader and a team of people who know what they're doing. Preferably world class people from web companies like Google who are the best in what they do, not second rate tripe like what you have."

C. "Change the Marketing people. Stop living off the Singapore Girl and find a place for the SQ brand in the 21st century."

D. "Change the Revenue Management people. Fill some of those empty seats at some more realistic fares. It does wonders for the bottomline..."

E. "Change the Management, and hire people who remember how to please the customer and please the shareholder by making money at the same time. Preferably world class people from service companies like Four Seasons who are the best in what they do."

This will obviously be lost on the SQ Lurkers. Hoping some Board of Director Lurkers and some Temasek Holdings Lurkers read SQT too... [Or can be encouraged to. ]

[SQ228]

Look at your pricing because those of us based in Singapore shouldn't be used to subsidize those on transits or visits.

You have a very valid point there. Those of us in Australia have just been offered a fresh round of insanely low prices for 2014. I've never seen SQ discount so heavily, ever. They want to stop us from switching to EK and the like, especially now with the QF alliance, but this means taking their own citizens for granted and expecting you to pay full price.

Having said that, I intend to take advantage of what I'm offered!

[pungpui]

In J: amenities in line with other premium carriers - i.e. a proper amenities bag and PJ's (instead of those ugly blue sockettes and eye shades from the Raffles Class days) and free transfers to/from the airport.

Saver seats are also difficult in some situations as well. Eg business class redemptions to Europe in my experience need to be booked as soon as they're available (ie a year in advance!) - there are only 2 redemption saver seats on SIN-AMS in business per flight.

[Sethor]

IMO SQ need to catch up on a few things like-

-30kg baggage allowace in Y
-Chauffeur service for long haul J & F passengers
-Introduce Premium Economy

[Kyo]

In J: amenities in line with other premium carriers - i.e. a proper amenities bag and PJ's (instead of those ugly blue sockettes and eye shades from the Raffles Class days) and free transfers to/from the airport.

I forgot that one, but absolutely right. Lagging so far behind on a supposedly premium J product without a J amenity kit is just atrocious. What a total shame for a national airline... SIN-EWR, longest flight in the world, no amenity kit. What the...

[MLflyer]

I think Premium Economy or "Executive Economy" should be re-introduced (and should be a given!), theres a market for Y+ pax who want a little bit extra and willing to pay that little bit more for a more premium experience. I'm thinking something like AF, NZ & QF's offering (leg support, wider seat and premium dining and Skypriority for AF, Lounge access for NZ) on the A380's and even 77W.

I guess SQ might be afraid of some J pax defecting, but thats not really the case if they get their balance and product right. SQ after all is the highest yielding airline in its region. QF's own Premium Economy is very popular on their LAX & LHR/DXB routes for example.

[zilchster]

I admit that I am quite the SQ fanboy.

But first and foremost, before they fix anything, they need to fix the website. That's almost the first point of contact/sale for passengers.

Frankly, I am not sold about their business class seats. I know it is unique and the widest business class seat in the sky but it takes up toooooooooooo much space. They should have gone for the herringbone layout which CX is doing. Well, as a matter of fact, when one is sleeping, it is almost like the herringbone layout. They could easily add another say maybe 8 seats with the CX layout and lower J fares as a result.

Amenity kit in J. Disappointment.

Food wise is still fine. Not excellent, but not that bad also. Still okay compared to other airlines.

I read the GA 77W First class trip report. SQ should be aiming for that kind of service.

I find the service onboard still okay. It still has one of the better Y service in Y.

More upgrades/appreciation for its tier passengers.

Other things that I am not really sold - Premium Economy - does this mean they have to dilute their economy product. Maybe 3-4-3 on the 777 is the way to go for economy. I am also not sold on the 30kg economy class luggage thing. It's a matter of keeping up with the ME3 and the likes.

These are the gripes from the pax point of view.

Get Silk Air into *. Improve Silk Air product. It is really a crappy airline really. Hardly a premium carrier.

Up to now I wonder their investment in TR and Scoot was madness on their part.

Plus they made some bad investments over the years.

But from a management point of view

1) Retain customer loyalty
2) Change the J product (I know they just did - a bit disappointed they did not follow CX.)
3) Work with your Star Alliance partners please. That means being able to book tickets with * connections on the website without an exorbitant price.

[bent]

My suggestions (or wishes) are:

1. Bring back Premium Economy;
2. Allow pre-ordering of meals before flight;
3. Don't ever install touch-screens;

1. Something they might possibly explore with A350 if they are smart. i doubt they will be having PCL on board A350s since the market for PCL is shrinking. If they were smart, they will have JCL, Premium Y and YCL

2. This might work for P and JCL but then of course there will be some fickle pax who will change their minds onboard the flight. But still, definitely a good suggestion. It's like extending their BTC service.

Will be a logistic nightmare if this was extended to YCL. Crew will have to know where each pax is seated!

3. too bad it's already done in YCL. I guess some ppl will say SQ is not keeping up with times if they don't go touchscreen? And honestly if the screen were to be as flawless as the iphone, I think this is a good step forward. We shall see when the new 77W makes its maiden flight tomorrow.

I have a few things to add here but it's not really offered to the SQ Lurkers, because suggestion A is:
D. "Change the Revenue Management people. Fill some of those empty seats at some more realistic fares. It does wonders for the bottomline..."

E. "Change the Management, and hire people who remember how to please the customer and please the shareholder by making money at the same time. Preferably world class people from service companies like Four Seasons who are the best in what they do."

[SIZE]

If you noticed, there are some really excellent fares ex-SIN even for this Nov/Dec period. I have never seen such low SQ fares for year end travel. I believe they are really trying to fill the seats.

You have a very valid point there. Those of us in Australia have just been offered a fresh round of insanely low prices for 2014. I've never seen SQ discount so heavily, ever. They want to stop us from switching to EK and the like, especially now with the QF alliance, but this means taking their own citizens for granted and expecting you to pay full price.

Having said that, I intend to take advantage of what I'm offered!

agreed, as per my point above.

IMO SQ need to catch up on a few things like-

-30kg baggage allowace in Y
-Chauffeur service for long haul J & F passengers
-Introduce Premium Economy

30kg is something they should really explore, given other airlines are already doing so

wonder if they will start charging for chaffeur service - Ancilliary Revenue seems to be the new buzzword among airlines these days

I think Premium Economy or "Executive Economy" should be re-introduced (and should be a given!), theres a market for Y+ pax who want a little bit extra and willing to pay that little bit more for a more premium experience. I'm thinking something like AF, NZ & QF's offering (leg support, wider seat and premium dining and Skypriority for AF, Lounge access for NZ) on the A380's and even 77W.

I guess SQ might be afraid of some J pax defecting, but thats not really the case if they get their balance and product right. SQ after all is the highest yielding airline in its region. QF's own Premium Economy is very popular on their LAX & LHR/DXB routes for example.

Let's see if this gets implemented on their A350s

[ken44]

For me, basically SQ is nice the minute you get up the plane. Yes sometimes you get crew that aren't as fantastic, but they've never been bad. They do have a couple of crappy planes but so does almost everyone else. IFE is really good. I'd go so far as saying that they're the best in the air, but everything else is really mediocre.

1. If you have to contact them, you're in for a rough time. The waiting time is horrible, I don't think I've ever gotten to speak with an actual person within 15 minutes. And when you finally get through and have a conversation a few sentences long, you wonder why did you even bother trying and waiting. Compare this with CX. Up till this summer they used to play Robbie William's Feel as background music, and I've never heard the song till the end on the phone before. Yes they do have employees that are clueless too, but at least they're apologetic and proactively try to get someone else to help; unlike SQ where some are just snobbish.

2. So you decide to email them. And guess what, I've never had a reply that answered my question. They're using the Japanese way, except that it's less apologetic and still doesn't get to the point within 3 paragraphs. Unless they're telling you no.

3. So you try to settle it yourself on their website. Again it doesn't work.

4. And despite all the trouble, SQ does not appreciate you for sticking with them.

They really should learn a thing or four (the above) from CX.

[GLAM82]

Not sure how the roster for flights are done, perhaps someone could enlighten but I feel that I always encounter the freshly minted ones on the flights between Singapore and Fukuoka and Singapore and Nagoya. Service is not normally up to par and it seems that the style of service at times are not in line with SOP.

Flights between Singapore and Seoul and Singapore and Tokyo are generally very good and what one expects from SQ.

Above observations in J class.