SQ Business and Economy to Hanoi

[ycp81]

Another public holiday and another short trip to a regional destination, this round to the less visited capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi. My last visit to Hanoi was almost 8 years ago when everything still felt very 70s and was curious with the changes right now. Flights were booked on SQ, going up in Business Class and returning in Economy.

Flight departure from Singapore was at a reasonable timing in the morning at 0920am. With no check-in bags, it was a breeze to obtain boarding pass at the Terminal 2 check-in counter, speed through immigration and to the T2 Silver Kris Lounge.

Staff were offering sandwiches and coffee/tea/juice on carts in the lounging section.




Buffet area. I must say, the breakfast selection, though varied, is nothing inspiring.




Boarding pass with some of the bites from the buffet.




Proceeding to board at Gate E3. Look, a mini SQ chief stewardess!!





07 November 2015
Singapore Airlines
SQ 176
Singapore (SIN) - Hanoi (HAN)
A330-300
9V-STV
Business Class
Flight Time: 2h47m


9V-STV will be operating the flight to Hanoi this morning.




Boarded through the 1st door, welcomed and directed to my seat at 15A. On each seat was a huge pillow and a blanket. Headsets and a bottle of water was also pre-set at each seat. SQ has changed the headrest and pillow designs on its regional business class seats. Blankets are also changed to a new, thicker kind.




Boarding in progress. Business Class was about 20/30, while I heard Economy was totally full. 3 crew members would be serving in Business this morning.




Shortly after seated, I was offered a choice of juices or water, hot towel and selection of newspapers and magazines. Had an apple juice to start.




Inflight magazines.




Boarding was swiftly completed and doors were closed before the STD. Pushback commenced for the almost 3hr flight to Hanoi.




Safety video played.




Taxi towards Rwy20C.




Surprisingly there was not much of a queue this morning for takeoff and we were soon on our way, departing from Rwy20C.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd6LD4ysI4Y

[ycp81]

Making a left turn shortly after lift off.




Overflying Changi, with the eastern part of Singapore also in clear view.








Sockettes were handed out after seatbelt signs were switched off. Reading other SQ trip reports, it seems that longer flights would get the slippers and socks. Eyeshades were only provided upon request.




Not sure if it is sector specified, but no post-takeoff drinks and nuts were offered. Instead, lunch was served immediately after takeoff, a tad too early I think for an almost 3hr flight departing at 920am.

Lets check out the menu for the flight.




Light Lunch served on this flight. 'Light' means no cheese, fruits and pralines offered.




Menu of the return SQ175 HAN-SIN sector. Also a Light Lunch served.




The eye-boggling beverage selection.

[ycp81]

Quick visit to the lavatory before meal service.






Table linens handed out.




Meal trays were delivered.




Starter of Scallops crusted with black sesame, with cherry tomatoes, Asian slaw and Singapore dressing. I had garlic bread and lavosh from the bread basket. To drink, had water and champagne.

[ycp81]

Cheers with Charles Heidsieck.




For the main, I had Booked-the-Cook the Classic Lobster Thermidor.
Lobster tail sautéed in butter, flambéed in brandy, sprinkled with cheese, and served with creamy mushroom sauce, garlic and spicy mustard, and buttered asparagus
It was my first time trying this dish and found it rather tasty, except for the mushy asparagus which were overcooked. However, as the main courses on this flight were not plated, the dish came in a pool of sauce, which is not too visually enticing.




My travel partner BTCed the peranakan selection of Ayam Buah Keluak.
An iconic Peranakan dish, chicken and baby pork ribs stewed in buah keluak and tamarind gravy, served with traditional Nonya vegetable stew (chap chai) and steamed rice
Similarly, this dish was not very visually-appealing, but was in fact very tasty!




Dessert of Water Chestnut Pudding with coconut cream and fruit salad. A very simple Asian style dessert. I would have preferred something more sinful.




Ending off the meal service with a TWG tea. No pralines offered on this regional flight.



Service was up to the expected SQ standards. Responsive, friendly and professional. No complaints here. The one reason why passengers loved SQ is the consistently good service offered in the premium cabins, with the occasional outstanding flight if one is lucky to encounter superb crew.

Nice cloud formations below.




View of the comfortable Business Class cabin.




With slightly less than 2hrs to go, I settled down for the rest of the flight to watch a movie. Noise-cancellation headphones was Phitek-branded.




Reclined my seat and watched the comedy "Pixels".






Before long, we were starting the descent into Hanoi. It was rather cloudy throughout the approach.




Almost there.




Short video of the descent and a glimpse of the Business Class seat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD2tRq74MNQ

[ycp81]

Approaching Hanoi Noi Bai International Airport.






Video of the approach and landing into Noi Bai Rwy11R. We landed almost 30min early as our flight path was changed mid-flight to a more direct route, shelving at least 10min off the flight time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqWFszRuMRo


Spotted a couple of VN B787s, including one parked at the old terminal, now known as Terminal One or the domestic terminal.




A couple of Jetstar Pacific A320/321 as well.




Reaching the brand new International Terminal or Terminal Two, just opened in January this year. We parked in between a CI B77W and a KE B772.








More views of the cabin while waiting to disembark.






Out on the jetbridge.




Again, a comfortable flight in SQ Business Class with the consistently good service SQ is renowned for. Even though the catering on this regional short-haul flight is scaled down (this is my first experience flying SQ Business Class on a regional short-haul), it is still a more than decent offering for a flight length of 3hrs.


The immigration hall is just right out of our arrival gate and with barely a few persons in queue, we were across immigration and customs within 10min.

Baggage claim area, though I have no check-in bags.




View of the brand new terminal building, with newly-minted access roads as well.

[ycp81]

We were original booked to stay at Hanoi La Siesta Hotel, but I suspected that due to overbooking, we were offered to be put up at the sister Elegance Ruby Hotel down the road for a night and was offered the Penthouse Suite. We were given complimentary massage service as well for the inconvenience. The Suite was huge, with a balcony overlooking the city of Hanoi.










The remaining 2 nights, we were put up at our original hotel, La Siesta Hotel. Had booked the Duplex Suite, which was a beautiful room with free minibar and all. Service was excellent and the buffet breakfast offering was awesome. One of my best stays ever in a hotel!








The bustling streets of Hanoi Old Quarters.










Upscale commercial area in French-architecture buildings.

[ycp81]

Made a day tour to Hoa Lu (ancient temples) and Tam Coc (known an the inland Halong Bay).

Hoa Lu temples








Travelling down in the river in Tam Coc














Back to simplicity

[ycp81]

Hanoi's most famous lake, Hoan Kiem Lake.






Hoan Kiem Lake at dusk.




Hanoi Opera House




Not sure what this building is but many wedding couples were taking photos with it in the background.




Dong Xuan Market










A must try in Hanoi, Kem Trang Tien ice-cream! 12,000VND for the signature vanilla ice-cream cone, with other softee and ice-cream bars also available.




Another must-try, egg coffee at Giang Café. A quaint and popular café well-hidden from the main road.

[ycp81]

The hotel staff recommended this very popular store near the hotel selling savoury sticky rice. It is really cheap and delicious!






Some of the food we had.










Not forgetting Banh Mi. This store sells rather good banh mi.




And a visit to an interesting café, The Note Coffee. Café culture is quickly catching with the younger generation in Hanoi.





On the day of departure home, we took the hotel shuttle to Noi Bai airport. The International Terminal is brand new, but felt rather sterile. The new terminal is constructed by the Japanese, and hence maybe that explains the sterile-ness.




Expecting nothing much to do in the airport, we arrived for check-in slightly more than an hour before departure. Even though the flight was supposed to be rather full, the check-in counters were totally empty. Guess everyone else checked in early. The check-in agent informed that the flight would be delayed for 15min due to the late arrival of aircraft. According to Flightradar24, this was due to the longer routing flown by the incoming flight.




The new colourless economy boarding pass.




Immigration and security was swift and we were through to the departure hall without hassles. The standard duty-free and souvenir shopping available, but nothing too attractive.

[yflyer]

Thanks for the TR, ycp81! Great pictures of Hanoi...I especially like the food pics, and also your trip along the river at Tam Coc...great scenery there.

I've been to Hanoi twice, but only for work, and each time I hardly saw anything except the hotel (Intercontinental Westlake) and the offices and meeting venues. There was a lot on the streets that I would have wanted to explore, if I had the chance. And of course there are so many other places in Vietnam worth visiting as well...

[ycp81]

I've been to Hanoi twice, but only for work, and each time I hardly saw anything except the hotel (Intercontinental Westlake) and the offices and meeting venues. There was a lot on the streets that I would have wanted to explore, if I had the chance. And of course there are so many other places in Vietnam worth visiting as well...

You certainly should return to Hanoi some day to explore!

[ycp81]

There were quite a number of Fast food and café style eateries at both ends of the terminal, including Burger King and Popeyes! However the prices are in USD and almost equivalent to prices in Singapore.




Cabin crew cutouts at the entrance to the common Business lounge. Can you guess the airlines?




Flight information display




Our departure gate was still being prepared.




SQ bird just landed, about 15min late.




Taxiing in. Rather busy at the International Terminal with Korean, Asiana and EVA preparing for departure.








Delayed Aeroflot B77W being turned around for the flight back to Moscow.




SQ being turned around as well. Apparently the Hanoi route is double-catered from Singapore as there are no catering trucks servicing the aircraft.




10 November 2015
Singapore Airlines
SQ 175
Hanoi (HAN) - Singapore (SIN)
A330-300
9V-STU
Economy Class
Flight Time: 3h02m


Time for boarding, with boarding announced by groups and was orderly. With the usual pleasant greetings by the SQ crew, I proceeded to my seat at 59A. Guess most of you will be very familiar with the seat now, but on this aircraft, the footrests have been removed. Not that I missed them though.




Out the window. It was raining slightly.

[ycp81]

On each seat was a pillow. Blankets would need to be requested from the crew.

Inflight magazines were similar to the inbound flight. However, this flight has the brand new safety card design. Should have taken one of the older cards off the previous flight as a souvenir!








Ear pieces were also pre-set at each seat. As reviewed by many, the sound quality from these cheap earpieces is hollowly and bad, but it is actually able to block out some aircraft engine noise.




Boarding completed rather swiftly and hot towels distributed. Economy class was almost full, with most passengers transiting at Singapore to other destinations it seems. Quite a number of Malaysians transiting in Singapore to KL and Penang on the flight.




Pushback and safety video played.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sefT66_1wNk


Only had a very short taxi to Rwy11L.




And we are good to go!






Video of the takeoff from Rwy11L.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlK6CM0GyXc


Breaking through the clouds to glorious blue skies.






Started with the movie, Ted 2.




Lunch was served shortly after departure. No pre-lunch beverage/nuts service was offered and it seems that SQ has also scrapped the Economy menus on this sector, even though the flight is scheduled at more than 3hrs. Guess Hanoi must be a really low-yielding flight. Meal were served from the front and rear of the aircraft and choices were offered verbally by the crew.

[ycp81]

Lunch is served. From the water cup and butter packaging, the catering is definitely from Singapore. We were offered a choice of Chicken with rice or Pork with potatoes. On the tray were also a starter, warm roll and a dessert. Looks like SQ has reinstated the starter on Hanoi flights, but sacrificed the menu booklet.




I had the chicken with rice option. The chicken was in a slightly spicy gravy and tasted not bad. However portion seems a bit small. Not sure if it is due to the new casserole. Also had a juice and tea to go along.




Starter was only a very simple millet salad. Dessert was a chocolate mousse.




Main course of Chicken with rice.




The other Pork with potato option, which looked much more generously portioned and tasted slightly better.




The chocolate mousse dessert was fantastic!




With the almost full cabin. the crew on this flight definitely worked hard but still remained professional and all smiles. Trays were cleared soon and more drinks offered. I grabbed an apple juice.




Cruising over Vietnam and leaving the coast of Vietnam.






Visit to the lavatory, with amenities still present.




Cabin view.




Flight path.

[ycp81]

A bit of Stephanie Sun MTV,




And a bit of Katy Perry's concert.




And we are starting the decent into Singapore.








Short video of the descent while flying pass Batam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34GxySAkj-4


Approach and landing on Changi's Rwy02L. We arrived more than 10min early despite the late departure due to the short flying time.










Video of the landing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LETyCZztfA4


Taxi to the gate.




Parked at Terminal 3 Gate B1. Disembarked to thank yous by the crew.




Our aircraft in the sunset.




Again, a comfortable and consistently good flight on SQ. Am certainly satisfied with the offerings in economy on this short-haul flight.


Thanks for reading and all comments are sincerely welcomed!!