Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, Half Moon Bay and the Original Hooters (SQ/VS/B6/DL/UA)

[yflyer]

Back at the gate, Cathay's 4 month old A350, B-LRC, was still at the gate, in final stages of boarding for her flight to Manila...I wished that I boarding that aircraft instead. What a sleek looking aircraft!



Boarding was called for SQ1...



A few more pix of the Y cabin...

The emex row...no protrusion in the emergency door for the first row, 31A/K.



Second Y cabin...



An on-time departure...

Three choices for breakfast on this sector...



Once again, I chose the Indian selection...



It was superb...



On the SFO-HKG sector, the Y cabin was completely full. On the HKG-SIN sector, I was grateful for an empty seat next to mine, which gave me just a little more elbow room.

All too soon, it was time to descend into Singapore...



It was hazy in Singapore that week. On this aircraft, about 4 or 5 minutes from arrival, while we were still descending, I detected a very faint smell of smoke in the cabin. At first, I thought someone had been smoking in the toilet, or worse, something was on fire, but then I remembered the haze situation. The air that we breath on aircraft is outside air which is filtered before it enters the cabin. It was quite amazing that even after all that filtering, a faint smell remained.

We landed on time in Changi...



This was yet another very good flight on SQ, who have a great economy hard product in the 77WN and pretty high standards of cabin service.

Final thoughts? After such a long trip, it was great to be home. I think I spent the entire weekend gorging on hawker food and other local fare.

The next week, I headed to Tokyo with Mrs yflyer, but that is a TR for another time...

Thanks for reading!

[Mlee888]

Awesome trip report! I love how detailed your shots are.

What date were you in Tokyo? I was there 2 weeks ago now. Maybe were on same flight.

[Hajimbo]

Nicely written TR as usual Yflyer. I like that you've tried on different domestic airlines whilst you were in the states. Seems like JetBlue is doing well compared to the rest

Keep it up

[SQfanatic]

Wonderful TR of everything. As far as SQ1, so it is indeed true to believe SWZ has the 3D map app and likely the same with SWU and SWV (Soon SWW will likely have it). I can't wait to fly to India by SQ1/2 this Holiday Season, hopefully I will get a bird like SWZ on both my ways back as long as it has the 3D map. I will def try the Wifi for the long flight, short flight not necessary.

[yflyer]

Awesome trip report! I love how detailed your shots are.

What date were you in Tokyo? I was there 2 weeks ago now. Maybe were on same flight.

Thanks, Mlee888! I was in Tokyo last week...I flew ANA, yourself?

[yflyer]

Nicely written TR as usual Yflyer. I like that you've tried on different domestic airlines whilst you were in the states. Seems like JetBlue is doing well compared to the rest

Keep it up

Thanks, Hajimbo! Actually all my domestic flights in the US were fine...not a lot of differentiation in domestic Y in the US if you stick to the top carriers. But yes, JetBlue has a very good product.

[yflyer]

Wonderful TR of everything. As far as SQ1, so it is indeed true to believe SWZ has the 3D map app and likely the same with SWU and SWV (Soon SWW will likely have it). I can't wait to fly to India by SQ1/2 this Holiday Season, hopefully I will get a bird like SWZ on both my ways back as long as it has the 3D map. I will def try the Wifi for the long flight, short flight not necessary.

Thanks, SQfanatic!

Yes, SWZ has the new maps!

[Mlee888]

Thanks, Mlee888! I was in Tokyo last week...I flew ANA, yourself?

I was in Tokyo last week of August. Took SQ.

However, I'm on ANA in few weeks time. First time using them so looking extremely forward to it. Loved your photos from HKG. Because of this, next week when I am there I'll be skipping the lounge for some food in the terminal.

[HUGE AL]

I ordered a cranberry juice and got the whole can with a cup of ice..I love the fact that like most US carriers, JetBlue does drink service with ice, which means you get ice cold drinks, unlike SQ where you are typically served fruit juices and soft drinks without ice -- on SQ you need to explicitly ask for ice in your drink.

It's an American thing. We MUST have our ice! LOL

My Delta Airlines flight to Atlanta was operated by a Boeing 757-200. This would be my first ever flight on Delta. I would have preferred to try Delta on one of their classic MD-88s or MD-90s, as there are few opportunities to ride this type in Asia. Delta operates an amazing 181 MD-88/90's, out of a huge total fleet of 822 aircraft, but schedules that day dictated that I fly out on a 757.

Be VERY glad you weren't on the MD. They are in HORRIBLE condition and you have an 85% chance the flight will be delayed/cancelled due to maintenance.

Apart from wifi, you have streaming movies, video and music if you download an app onto your tablet or smartphone.

That app is USELESS on an iPhone.

I browsed the inflight magazine...this is Delta's route map, a jumble of red lines befitting the world's largest airline...

I think American may have that now.

I can see why regular Delta passengers are very loyal. This was only my first flight, but I could see that Delta treated their premium pax very well, and that the crew, both tech and cabin crew, on my flight, had a lot of pride in their company.

You must have gotten a flight in the Twilight Zone.

DL has one of the worst FFPs as they do not publish award charts and change the burn rate frequently. You won't know how much a flight will cost you until you book. And good luck getting a CIVIL representative on the phone. I am convinced they have gone through anger management training as they usually end up yelling at you.

[yflyer]

I was in Tokyo last week of August. Took SQ.

However, I'm on ANA in few weeks time. First time using them so looking extremely forward to it. Loved your photos from HKG. Because of this, next week when I am there I'll be skipping the lounge for some food in the terminal.

I just tried ANA as well for the first time...an impressive airline, although I find JAL to be just as impressive. In fact, JAL's 787's are superior since they are almost alone in the airline industry to operate 2-4-2 economy on their Dreamliners.

Enjoy your transit stop in HKG, Mlee888!

[yflyer]

Be VERY glad you weren't on the MD. They are in HORRIBLE condition and you have an 85% chance the flight will be delayed/cancelled due to maintenance.

I am willing to take that chance, HUGE AL! Part of the experience flying these classic types. I am also on the lookout for any KLM flights on one of their little Fokkers...

You must have gotten a flight in the Twilight Zone.

DL has one of the worst FFPs as they do not publish award charts and change the burn rate frequently. You won't know how much a flight will cost you until you book.

Hmmm...didn't notice any Gremlins on the wing! Yes I heard about their FFP! If I were a DL FF, I would be very upset about DL not publishing award charts. For all it's quirks, I am quite happy with SQ's Krisflyer FFP and their accrual/redemption policies. Referring to accrual in Y of course, so I don't have to worry about great mystery: PPS value. How that is derived should be the subject of a twilight zone episode...

And good luck getting a CIVIL representative on the phone. I am convinced they have gone through anger management training as they usually end up yelling at you.

Yelling? What on earth are you asking for that winds them up so much?

[Pinkfloyd]

I am willing to take that chance, HUGE AL! Part of the experience flying these classic types. I am also on the lookout for any KLM flights on one of their little Fokkers...

They fly the F70's quite frequently on the AMS-KRS route, although KRS is not exactly a tourist destination... Use to do that route on an almost weekly basis... Not much to write home about really...

[yflyer]

They fly the F70's quite frequently on the AMS-KRS route, although KRS is not exactly a tourist destination... Use to do that route on an almost weekly basis... Not much to write home about really...

I beg to differ!

Does it climb with the power of a 757, or does it struggle to get airborne like an A343?

Does it land smoothly like a 777, or is it ultra silent on descent before occasionally landing with a big cabin-shaking crunch like the A380?

How quiet is the cabin? On my last AA MD80 flight, it was surprisingly quiet in the front of the Y cabin. But I suspect at the back of the plane it must have sounded like someone was vacuuming the floor the entire flight...

I think there is a lot to write about!

I have to confess I had not heard of KRS before your post. I had to googled it. It looks like an interesting place.

[yflyer]

I don't know about the others but I do know that B6's older A320s were never fitted with ovens onboard; perhaps some newer ones might have. I believe only the MINT A321s have ovens. That would probably be one reason why catering is such.
Perhaps our US-based friends would know better

I hope to try the MINT service on JetBlue one day!

[Pinkfloyd]

I beg to differ!

Does it climb with the power of a 757, or does it struggle to get airborne like an A343?

Does it land smoothly like a 777, or is it ultra silent on descent before occasionally landing with a big cabin-shaking crunch like the A380?

How quiet is the cabin? On my last AA MD80 flight, it was surprisingly quiet in the front of the Y cabin. But I suspect at the back of the plane it must have sounded like someone was vacuuming the floor the entire flight...

I think there is a lot to write about!

I have to confess I had not heard of KRS before your post. I had to googled it. It looks like an interesting place.

Power-wise it's more like the A340. KRS suffers from a short runway and a bit of issue with cross-winds due to the terrain, hence the landings are generally a bit bumpy and sudden. Landings in AMS are generally a bit smoother but KLM pilots flying the single-aisle fleet (IMHO) seem to be a bit "rough around the edges"

Forward part of the cabin is generally (but not much) better than the aft as the F70 turbofans are located at the aft of the aircraft...

Although not as big as SVG, KRS is very much a town catered to the Oil & Gas industry all thanks to a guy called Bjarne Skeie... but that's another story..