Burj Khalifa and a Burger to Die For - SIN-DXB-LHR-SIN on SQ and BA

[yflyer]

Flowers in the bathroom? That can only mean one thing: yflyer flying J again!



Yes, another Krisflyer redemption for a flight in J...but just for one sector. And unlike some other pax that SQflyergirl and 9V-SIA have encountered in J and F/R, I did at least recline the seat...

Earlier this week, I flew SQ Business on a refitted 777-300 SIN-DXB, BA Premium Economy on a 744 DXB-LHR, then SQ Economy on a 77W LHR-SIN.

On the face of it, a trip where the inflight product would be downgraded a notch with each sector. Surprisingly, at least for this trip, it was all about expectations, and once they were set accordingly, each sector was comfortable and memorable in its own way.

But let's not pronounce the verdict on each of these sectors too early on in this TR...

[yflyer]

My first sector was on Singapore Airlines, SIN-DXB on a refitted 777-300 with the new regional J product. This was a daytime flight departing around 3pm and arriving in DXB around 6.30pm in the evening.



For a sector like this, the regional J product works great, and to be frank, I don't have a lot of trouble sleeping on an angled lie-flat bed either, given that the majority of my flights, including red-eyes, are in Y.

The cabin ambience was bright, clean and spacious. The flight was about half full in J, and the seat next to mine was empty. So in effect, across these two seats by the window, I had more personal space than J on a 77W! Heaven!

[yflyer]

We started with pre-take off drinks...



I started with a glass of Charles Heidseck....



As for the seat itself, this is a comfortable leather-clad angled lie-flat, in 2-2-2 layout. Great for pax, and this gives the cabin a very roomy, spacious feel, but given that the SQ A330's, which have a slightly narrower cabin than the 777, are also laid out 2-2-2, I wonder if SQ has really optimised the space in the J cabin with the 2-2-2 layout. Given how competitive the airline business is, surely they could have made better use of the available space in the 777 cabin? Was feedback from the middle guy in a 2-3-2 J cabin really that bad?



You get a lot of handy storage compartments and a large screen, although programmes are screened in 4:3 aspect ratio.



Controls for the seat are under the armrest.

[yflyer]

We took off to the north.



One of the perks of a daytime flight is great views out the window, in this case of the west coast of Malaysia.

This view out the starboard window corresponded quite closely to what was on Airshow.

[yflyer]

My choice of drink after take-off was a Chablis...



There was of course a bowl of mixed nuts served, but I have made a resolution to try to cut down on the number of pictures of nuts posted...(no reduction in the quantity of nuts consumed, though...)

The usual amenities were provided: noise-cancelling headphones of very good quality, as well as sockettes and eyeshades.



On refitted 777-300's the selection of entertainment options on Krisworld is not as stupendous on the A380's, A330's or 77W's, but perfectly adequate. You get a reasonably wide selection of AVOD movies, TV, music and radio etc, which are a subset of what you get on the aircraft with the latest Krisworld.

[yflyer]

It was then time to eat.



I have to admit that when I looked at the menu, the starter did not look inspiring...salmon (again!) with a spicy, fusion-style (?) vegetable?

But this wasn't the ubiquitous smoked salmon...it was marinated salmon cut in thick slices, almost like sashimi, which were absolutely delicious in both taste and texture. And the spicy kong choi was also something I had never encountered before...if there was any spice in it, it was very subtle, and it complemented the salmon very well. A delicious starter.

[yflyer]

I chose the lamb loin for my main.



Maybe my expectations were set too high by my previous SQ J flight, where I had superb steak from Alfred Portale. This lamb loin was pretty good, but tasted quite conventional compared to the mindblowing flavour combinations of Alfred Portale's steak (which I described in my SQ SIN-SYD TR). Do we really need a celebrity chef to do ratatouille and potato gratin?



So this was a good main, rather than a great one. The Bordeaux wines on offer today did go very well with this main course though, so all was not lost.

For dessert, you had a choice of mango mousse cake or mango ice cream. I chose the mousse cake, which was refined and tasty. I thought it was quite a good idea to focus on Alphonso mango as a theme for dessert.



It was then time for cheese, which was fine, but definitely not pitched at the serious cheese lover (a lot of those in Singapore these days!)...fairly low brow selections. It did not help that the camembert came still wrapped in it's supermarket wrapping of aluminium foil, which I had to remove for this photo op.

[yflyer]

Although this was a daytime flight, the shades in the J cabin were all pulled down part way through the flight, and I took the opportunity to lie down and take a nap.



What you see in the picture is the flattest I could get the bed to go. Not completely flat, but I did find it very comfortable.

[yflyer]

Prior to arrival, a refreshment was served.



I chose the Malay-style mee goreng (fried noodles).



This was delicious, and really hit the spot! It was quite spicy though, and came with an extra portion of chilli in case anyone needed to up the temperature even more!

[yflyer]

It was time to descend, and we were treated to incredible views of Oman, UAE and sand dunes, coming into land at DXB.



As an added bonus, on landing roll, I spotted an Ethiopean Airlines 787 taxiing for takeoff. After turning off the runway, I was fortunate to be sitting at a window seat on the side parallel to the runway. I had my camera ready, in case the 787 commenced its take-off run, and it did!



There is another, arguably more dramatic, crop of this picture in the "Other Airlines" forum on SQTalk, in the "Masterthread - 787 Problems" thread.



It was great to see 787's flying again.

[yflyer]

I was on a business trip, so like so many of my other business trips, the only sightseeing I got to do was from the window of a taxi.

The Burj Khalifa is one incredible building. Even seeing it with my own eyes, it was hard to comprehend how tall it was. It dominates the cityscape. One day I have to go up there to take in the view.



I didn't get very close to the Burj Al Arab either, that other iconic building in Dubai, although I did visit it on a previous trip to Dubai.



That evening, after work, I had dinner at the Souk Al Bahar, where there were many restaurants with incredible views of the Burj Khalifa by night.



Every hour, for a few minutes, the water fountains (and water cannon...) at the base do a choreographed water and light display which is quite popular with the patrons of the mall. It was all very over the top, like so many things in Dubai.



And that ends the first installment of this TR. Next up, DXB-LHR on BA Premium Y!

[yflyer]

After dinner, it was a quick taxi ride to Dubai airport, for my BA red-eye to Heathrow, departing at 1.55am.

DXB was busy, as usual.

I have mixed feelings about DXB. On the down side, it is always crowded, and there is inevitably lot of walking involved getting from point A to B through various tunnels and walkways.

On the other hand, you have to marvel at how well the infrastructure works: DXB is a highly efficient processing and sorting machine, and excels at channeling large volumes of pax out of, and into planes, at high speed. It even manages to persuade many of these pax to part with cash at the many retail and F&B outlets within the terminal.



There aren't many opportunities for me to fly a 744 these days, so I was glad to have the opportunity to fly on one of BA's 744's on this route.



I flew Premium Economy, which on BA 744's is laid out 2-4-2. The Premium Y cabin is placed just behind F on the main deck, and in front of both the upper deck staircase and the main deck J cabin.

[yflyer]

This was not a new aircraft, and the seats showed signs of wear-and-tear.



However, the seat itself was large and fairly comfortable.



Each passenger had a small pillow and blanket.



You were also provided with headphones and a small amenity kit with a toothbrush, earplugs, eyeshades, socks and a ballpoint pen.





Here is a picture of the seat in the "fully reclined" position. Not a lot of recline, though noticeably more than vanilla Y.

[yflyer]

Printed menus, on a double-sided card, were handed out.



On this flight, there would be refreshments after take-off, followed by a full breakfast prior to landing.



My refreshment tonight was a tandoori wrap, which tasted pretty good.



I also ordered a gin & tonic, which I was pleasantly surprised to receive in the form of a gin miniature, and a separate can of tonic water, and ice in a cup, complete with lemon slice, which I could then mix myself.



IFE consisted of old-style AVOD, presented on a small 4:3 screen.



The selection of programmes was very interesting, though. Apart from Hollywood hits, you had radio programmes like "Desert Island Discs", a classic radio series on the BBC, which has apparently been running since 1942, and is still running today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features...t-island-discs

[yflyer]

At that point, I took a stroll back to peek into the cabin behind premium, which was the business class cabin. This was in BA's signature staggered 2-4-2 layout.



This is as different as you can get from SQ's J seating approach: BA's concept provides for long, narrow lie-flat beds, and judging by how well the pax were sleeping, this is a layout that works.



I have not flown BA J myself. If anyone has first hand experience comparing BA J with SQ J, do share your thoughts on how they compare.