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SQ478/479: Cape Town in SQ J class

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  • SQ478/479: Cape Town in SQ J class

    Background:

    This is actually a long-outstanding report about a trip in early May this year. I actually didn't mean to write it initially because I thought there has been countless trip reports on SQ Business Class and I am not sure how I can open a new perspective of it. So I didn't take a lot of pictures of the flights. But then Cape Town is a beautiful place, and I feel I would like to inspire others to also visit this amazing city, which is sited at one of the most spectacular spot on the planet.

    Flight details

    Flight number: SQ478
    Equipment: 777-200ER refitted
    Registration: 9V-SVD
    Seat: 16D


    The journey started at Singapore Changi T2 at the ungodly hour of 0130am where I should have already long been in bed 3 hours before. SQ 478 is the last SQ flight of the day together with SQ 402 to Delhi. And T2 can't be any more peaceful at any time of the day than around this hour.

    Since we were also traveling in business class, we had access to the SilverKris Lounge where we had spent our time since 9pm that night after a dinner gathering with friends nearby. That night was probably the most dreadful night ever waiting for a flight - 4 hours in the lounge with nothing to do and I was so sleepy I had to doze off sitting down on those wonderful-to-look-at and wonderful-to-sit-on chairs but bad-for-sleeping SilverKris chairs. SQ should consider putting bedrooms or nap zones, or at least some nice reclining snooze chairs considering that people come from all sorts of time zones and may need these at any time of the day anyway. There is so much more variety of rest areas in the terminal building but not inside the lounge.

    Boarding was on time and the lounge was soon completely deserted with all passengers going to either DEL or JNB-CPT.

    The flight was usual for SQ J with pre-take off hot towels, and pre-take off drinks. It was really really late and I was already very sleepy and did not intend to eat. I just wanted to sleep, something I already did on and off since the lounge and then while sitting on the airplane waiting for take off (which seemed like forever). It also explained why I have such a dearth of pictures until now. I was sleeping or half-sleeping while walking and embarking!

    I slept crouched in the super-wide SQ chair while the plane was still at the gate and throughout the take-off. I was well asleep albeit in a contorted position in a seat that is far from comfortable to sleep on. And then I was woken up an hour into the flight for the meal - grrrr, I hate being woken up. It seems like I had been sleeping on my seat all along since the gate and I was not asked about my meal or dnd preference. And what I noticed from SQ is that if your dnd preference is not known, a gentle touch to wake you up is in store to ensure you make the decision to either eat or not later come meal time.

    Anyway, once woken up, it was hard to fall asleep again with the lights and the noise of cutlery around so I might as well check out what was on the menu - great, it was my favorite comfort local food - Prawn me. Fine, I went to freshen up, and decided to enjoy a warming bowl of comforting prawn broth with mee. Nice and delicious - no regret. It was a simple refreshment service, no starter, no bread, just a bowl of very nice mee. I thought it's quite appropriate for the hour. It was quick serve, and then straight to bed.



    It was 6 hours of sleep after that before I started stirring to wake up. Breakfast was served soon after. It was still dark outside.
    As usual, standard business class breakfast service started with a plate of fresh fruits, orange juice, coffee, and pastries.



    It was then followed by choice of either yoghurt, muesli, or cornflakes. It was muesli for me that morning,



    And for the main I picked the seasonal tomato menu of baked egg with tomato jam, tomato flan, and sundried tomato sausage. Lots of tomatoes. They were ok. A little over cooked but the tomato flavours were good.



    My partner's selection was an assortment of dim sum. Not too bad if you don't have too high expectation. Haha.



    Landing at JNB was at dawn break in May, and 60% of the passengers got off here. Initially I thought CPT is a leisure market and most pax would got off here and only a handful would continue there. I was wrong. It's pretty good premium business upfront to CPT. It's a decent load of almost half. Oh, and I think I forgot to mention, the flight was 100% filled departing from SIN. This is monopoly route.

    Transit passengers were not allowed off the plane and there we were watching the plane being cleaned. And time to look around.

    Looking at the cabin from the rear.



    Typical seat.



    Lots of storage space, both enclosed and in the open slot/shelf next to the seat. The slot/shelf is handy to keep bulkier items like pajamas and clothes and it's quite away from the aisle so the cabin doesn't look cluttered.



    Mirror and cup holder.



    Scratches!

    Last edited by SQueeze; 30 October 2014, 12:01 AM.

  • #2
    By the time we were about to depart again an hour later, it was already bright and glorious outside. Interesting cool architectural feature of JNB.



    I have never seen these before: Arik Air from Nigeria and RwandAir from where else but Rwanda.



    Since it's a half-full flight, I got to sit at a window seat to take pictures. On the way to the runway passing by SAA, Egyptair and a BA.



    An SAA A340



    Thai and Etihad. It has recently been announced that Thai is dropping out of the Asia-South Africa market. Looks like prices from Singapore is going to hit through the stars.



    It was an empty flight so time to do silly pose with my sleep companion



    Beautiful Africa outside



    A JNB suburb



    Meal service soon started afterwards starting with a glass of orange juice



    And then frittata with coffee.



    Or fried pork with rice.



    Approaching Cape Town from the Northeast.

    Comment


    • #3
      And incredible views passed one after another.







      Landed in time with Table Mountain looming in the distance



      And here we are at Cape Town International adjacent to a row of BAs and Mangos, all doing domestic runs. CPT had lost a lot of international routes.



      The great beauty ready for a quick turn around back to JNB and then SIN.



      Welcome to the "most award winning airport in Africa". I am not sure, but I should think so.



      It's not the most architecturally-appealing airport though. Long walks, low ceilings. But well, better than Mexico City.



      Welcome to the Mother City.

      Comment


      • #4
        Dedicated to the beautiful city of Cape Town, pictures speak a thousand words.

        A serene view of V&A waterfront





        Interesting mix of working dock and leisure, entertainment facilities







        Night time at V&A





        Table Mountain









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        • #5
          Glorious clouds and skies.









          Gorgeous sunsets.









          Charming vineyards







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          • #6
            Just lazing on the grass, basked in sunshine



            Just lazing on the beach



            And beaches just as I like it - "air-conditioned at 20 degrees"









            Comment


            • #7
              Unfortunately, just like all wonderful vacations, it all had to come to an end. And it all ended on the day when finally bad weather arrived. Good for us.



              Flight details

              Flight number: SQ479
              Equipment: 777-200ER refitted
              Registration: 9V-SVI
              Seat: 11A and 12D


              Cape Town airport departure hall is so much better than its arrival hall. It was not crowded that morning.



              We checked in at a dedicated business class counter



              Process was smooth and soon we were in the transit area.
              We roamed a little bit but there was nothing much of interest.



              So we went to the lounge which is quite dated.



              It had decent spread of food but not of great quality.



              Not many international departures and they can fit an entire day of flights in the same board.



              A BA 744 and a BA 777 in the distance. They have 2 flights per night back to back



              Air Namibia, possibly to Windhoek.



              Air Botswana to Maun. I will be quite apprehensive being on props on inclement weather like that day



              And then aerial view of CPT. Bye bye CPT and see you for a 3rd time next time.



              Meal service between CPT and JNB is called refreshment service. It started with a glass of orange juice.

              Last edited by SQueeze; 29 October 2014, 11:46 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Followed by either a chicken and mozzarella panini with chips. It's fine. Good enough for me.



                Or egg fettuccine with beef and mushroom stroganoff. It's also fine.



                Nothing special on the flight to JNB. But more interesting spotting at JNB - Malawian and Air Zimbabwe.



                Another look at the rather retro-looking Air Zimbabwe



                And a very beautifully-coloured Air Seychelles



                Stopover at JNB was again one where we had to stay onboard. And it was time to take more pictures. I was then sitting at the bulkhead row. This I think is the most popular seat in the cabin. True that it has an unrestricted width of legroom and feels less claustrophobic but I have a slight problem with it because the screen is further from the seat and appears smaller if you are watching IFE. For me, I take this seat only on red eye flights because they are ones where I just need to sleep and not watch anything.



                The seat itself is not different than the rest.

                Comment


                • #9
                  From JNB to SIN, the meals served will be a full lunch and a breakfast.

                  It started with a glass of drinks but I can't recall if this is one of the juices of if it is one of the cocktails.



                  And then satay was served. They were good as usual. The satays probably had flown from SIN-JNB the night before as per comments on the catering forum.



                  And then a rather sad-looking salad arrived.



                  I chose the Kai Krapow for my main which was another sad case of 2 morsels of chicken in a rather thick sauce. I am not sure if Thais will recognize this dish.



                  Partner chose the stir fried pork with ginger and spring onions with seasonal vegetables and fried noodles. I think it's better taste-wise but will give it a C for presentation, it's very sloppy for J class.



                  There was only 1 selection for dessert which was a cappuccino pudding



                  Post lunch was lights off for the overnight. Of course, it's technically a day flight for the body clock because this is only just after lunch. I really don't like these day flight timings ex-JNB or ex-Europe. I am usually unable to sleep.

                  Hours later and surprisingly after a doze, we were woken up for breakfast. It started with a plate of fresh fruits, which I thought also looked rather sad. Half a strawberry, anyone? This was the plate served before I consumed any of them. Anyway, I think this is standard serving size on SQ but somehow this one looks really sad. I think the colour is sad and the half strawberry doesn't help. But they were all sweet and I am sure good they are good for you with lots of vitamins.



                  For the main, there was a choice of either a French toast, fried noodles (this is almost always there on any SQ flights), or poached eggs. I was not keen on any of them so I had the crew prepare me a bowl of instant noodles (Tom yum flavour). It was yumm. It was instant noodles elevated to a different level - served on china, lots of garnishes, and beautifully presented. And it tasted delicious.



                  My partner had the fried noodles with seafood which tasted very nice although the menu listed it only uninspiringly as "fried noodles with seafood". The seafood was plump and juicy.



                  The journey came to a close soon after breakfast service was wrapped up.

                  Final thoughts

                  Overall, I find SQ to be very comfortable as usual for its hardware. The crew was great on the long-haul - fast, responsive and warm. They were the same set between our 4-5 days there. I have mixed response to the food especially with the ex-JNB noticeably lacking in catering quality. I don't like the outbound timing but I think that kind of timing forces one to adjust to JNB time faster. SQ is going to be the last route ex-southeast Asia when TG withdraws. We will expect increased fares and decreased quality. But I hope they will maintain the route because I want go back to Cape Town.
                  Last edited by SQueeze; 30 October 2014, 09:43 PM.

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                  • #10
                    The difference in catering on SIN-JNB/CPT between J and my recent flight in Y is really as huge as heaven and hell! Not helped by the not too good service on the SIN-JNB sector as well, and with prices even higher than SIN-Europe flights, I really felt short-changed flying Economy to CPT.
                    My past and future travels

                    My Travel Map

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                    • #11
                      Wow! Love the pics especially the sunsets, SQueeze! Wish I can just pack my bags and go! Thanks for a great TR!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thanks for posting, SQueeze!

                        Wonderful pics of Cape Town...I was there for my honeymoon many years ago, and have always wanted to go back.

                        Looking at the onboard catering, it looks like the Asian dishes are the ones to go for, especially the noodle selections...
                        Last edited by yflyer; 1 November 2014, 07:12 PM.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by yflyer View Post
                          Thanks for posting, SQueeze!

                          Wonderful pics of Cape Town...I was there for my honeymoon many years ago, and have always wanted to go back.

                          Looking at the onboard catering, it looks like the Asian dishes are the ones to go for, especially the noodle selections...
                          We all want to go back to such a beautiful place
                          Going to be my 3rd time next and think will check out the garden route, and or may be Namibia from there.

                          As for the noodles, yes, it's generally good so far but it's getting too commonplace on their flights. Some sort of fried noodles is on every flight I think. But once in a blue moon when the soupy type comes (like the prawn Mee), grab straight away.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by SQueeze View Post

                            Haha looks like the standard economy fruit starter out of SIN, throwing in half a strawberry and served on a plate.
                            My past and future travels

                            My Travel Map

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by ycp81 View Post
                              Haha looks like the standard economy fruit starter out of SIN, throwing in half a strawberry and served on a plate.



                              Aha ... gotcha SQ. It's almost exactly the same indeed.
                              Nice comparison, fruits on SIN-JNB in Y vs JNB-SIN in J, tell the difference other than the plate.

                              Now you give me the idea to post these two pics to SQ on Facebook. LOL

                              And more horrible thought, the fruits on the JNB-SIN in J were leftover from the previous night's incoming flight's Y catering.

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