SQ's OTT use of the seatbelt sign, and LSS lectures

[feb01mel]

after flying numerous long haul sectors in UA in the past week it is as confirmed by man flyer a very neat and simple 'seatbelts please' - thats it. love it. all the crews seem to be the same.

SQ recently underwent new format of announcement changes, not sure if there is any changes in announcement content for fastening seat belt during turbulence though.

[SMK77]

SQ recently underwent new format of announcement changes, not sure if there is any changes in announcement content for fastening seat belt during turbulence though.

That would be very good news. Does anyone have any details?

I was flying SIN-BKK last week and they did the same old story of PING bla bla bla after some very slight turbulences. Hot beverage service was suspended and I had to ask multiple times before someone asked the cockpit whether the sign is still needed. Of course it was not. My coffee took still another ten minutes. Disappointing IFS and crew.

[ycp81]

On my last few flights long/short haul on Jetstar/Tiger/AirAsia, the seatbelt signs rarely came on (I couldn't even remember them illuminated) during the entire flight even when encountering slight turbulences, except takeoff/landing of course. Looks like SQ pilots are too "trigger-happy".

[sqdazz]

Actually UA pilots are very trigger happy too, but at least the disturbance is minimal

[concept|infinit]

The most number announcements I had was on HKG-SIN. It was bloody annoying. I don't know but maybe its a ploy to get the pax to sit down and not get in their way.


I would be annoyed if I were trying to sleep and the announcements came on repeatedly. Why don't they do something like this:

(first instance of turbulence)

PING!..... Ladies and Gentleman due to turbulent weather please return to your seat and fasten your seatbelts....parents please remove your children form the bassinet....toilets must not be used at this time..(which can be annoying when they leave the thing on even though you haven't moved as much as an inch for ages)...hot drinks service will not be served at this time...blah blah... Should we experience turbulent weather subsequently, we will only announce SEATBELTS PLEASE.

And whenever there is turbulence again they just make a snappy seatbelts-please announcement

[astroboy]

SQ recently underwent new format of announcement changes, not sure if there is any changes in announcement content for fastening seat belt during turbulence though.

In a word, no.

[globetrekker84]

I think NZ has the best one out there from my one point of experience. On LAX-LHR, since it's an overnight flight, they really do not make any announcements except right after takeoff and before landing. When the seatbelt light goes on, all you hear is a "ding" and the text prompt on the IFE tells you to fasten yourself (and the IFE continues without interruption too). Fantastic.

[StarG]

Well it seems like SQ is listening.

I noticed this new announcement at the beginning of the flight (after take off), informing passengers about what to do when the seat belt signs are turned on (babies out of bassinet, do not use restrooms, seat belts over blankets, suspension of hot beverage service etc).
It seemed that they might announce this just one time at the early stage of the flight, and not to repeat it so many times later. Hope this is the case.

Unfortunately the flight (SIN-CGK) was pretty smooth so seat belt sign was not turned on during the flight.

[mr_botak]

That's hopefully good news. I do think a simple "seatbelts please" would suffice - the walkthrough should catch any exceptions such as babies left in bassinets.

[flying.monkeyz]

On my last few flights long/short haul on Jetstar/Tiger/AirAsia, the seatbelt signs rarely came on (I couldn't even remember them illuminated) during the entire flight even when encountering slight turbulences, except takeoff/landing of course. Looks like SQ pilots are too "trigger-happy".

Being LCCs, someone need to pay the pilots to turn on the seatbelt signs.

[SQueeze]

Well it seems like SQ is listening.

I noticed this new announcement at the beginning of the flight (after take off), informing passengers about what to do when the seat belt signs are turned on (babies out of bassinet, do not use restrooms, seat belts over blankets, suspension of hot beverage service etc).
It seemed that they might announce this just one time at the early stage of the flight, and not to repeat it so many times later. Hope this is the case.

Unfortunately the flight (SIN-CGK) was pretty smooth so seat belt sign was not turned on during the flight.

Just went over to India early this week. I didn't notice if it was announced just once. I think it may have been, as if I recall now, my IFE was not interrupted , only remember once before landing. Usually it was really annoying, and for INdia, it's in English then Hindi.

Will take note when I go again in 10 days.

[SQflyergirl]

I'd like to respectfully disagree. Just got off SQ325 and granted there was some turbulence i think it was mild but yet the crew had to suspend services about 6 times. Captains call at the end of the day but unsure from my perspective a little excessive (mind you the 6 times was only whilst I was awake - who knows how many times else it happened whilst i was asleep )

[mr_botak]

Ah 'Cabin Crew Suspend Service'. Up until about four or five years ago I'd heard that once in about 10 years - on AA, and that time it did get extremely rough off the coast of Newfoundland for about half an hour. Was seriously scary These days it is a regular occurance. I'm all for playing it safe, but a few airlines do seem to be a touch trigger happy. Did something change in terms of the risk assessment? Better weather radar or near real time satellite imagery? Better lawyers for the cabin crew?

[CarbonMan]

In these days perceived easy money from law suits from even self-inflicted acts of stupidity, I'm sure many airlines with good corporate lawyers will advice that it is better to be safe than out of pocket. Last week while I was on a PER-SIN flight on SQ, I was firmly told that pax were "highly recommended" to stay seated while the seat belt light was turned on. This was despite the fact that the plane was traveling quite smoothly at that time.

[Wan1dap]

Experiences seem to vary ... A couple of weeks ago I was on SQ286 and during turbulence the signs came on, but no announcements were made.