A Very Delayed First Class to Manila on board SQ

[pokfur]

[Also posted on Flyertalk]

Background

Ever had one of those days when you just felt super itchy finger, and felt like doing something spontaneous and totally utterly unnecessary?

Two weeks ago as I thought about the upcoming work trip to Manila, I logged into my booking to confirm my seat selection and found a fully packed Business Class cabin. "Wouldn't it be nice if it was nice and empty instead...?" I thought. After all, I have always found the 50-seat 773 cabin to be the most impersonal Business Class cabin on SQ. 8 rows of 2-2-2 stretched between Doors 2 and 3, with no partition whatsoever. Cabin crew just going through motion to get everyone fed before the plane descends.....

Before I knew it, my fingers went on autopilot to check out the First Class redemption page. I mean. No harm right? Just looking only. To my surprise there was no need to waitlist a First Class Savers seat! I could redeem one immediately, which also meant that I could upgrade my flight immediately too.

Nah. What a waste of miles. Why fly First when Business Class is already comfortable enough??

...

...

...

Oh damn where did those miles go?!??? #sigh

The Flight

By chance my sister was flying off from Changi Airport Terminal 3 on the same day, an hour earlier than my flight. Well that gave me a good reason to head over to The Private Room and spend extra time there, despite the MNL flight departing from Terminal 2. I dropped by her place and we went to the airport together, and although she wasn't traveling in First Class we had no trouble checking her in at T3's dedicated F check-in. Her boarding pass also received the special golden SQ sticker, allowing both of us to access the First Class immigration.

Once through, we headed straight for the SilverKris lounge. As expected, I was informed that guests were not allowed into The Private Room, so we hung out in the F lounge instead. The lounge was very crowded, which goes to show just how many Solitaires there are out there. For that reason I minimised the photo-taking.


Decided to have some atas eggs and toasts.


Some dim sum from the trolley

In the meantime I used the iChangi app to check out where gate E8 was.



what's new I'm always being assigned the furthest gates!!!

Soon my sister had to leave for her flight, so I bid her farewell, and proceeded into The Private Room since I was now alone, and eligible.


Ever classy.

It was much quieter in here, but still one of the most crowded I had ever seen it. I suppose other T3 flights like the SYD and LHR flights must be going out full this morning!

[pokfur]

Fresh OJ and a Latte

Unfortunately in my limited times here, the coffee has been disappointing, and it still was. There's just something off about the proportion of milk and espresso....

I was surprised to find this booth in the dining area:


It seems like Krug Champagne would be served in TPR! (.... just not in the mornings....)

It was soon 8.45am, and I thought I'd better get going considering I had to change terminals and walk to the furthest gate. I took the less popular (and less well-known) option of the transfer bus, rather than the SkyTrain. This afforded me great views of the tarmac! Although I stupidly sat on the wrong side of the bus. #sigh


A350!

My brother was also departing on that day and I caught a picture of his A350, in fact SQ's latest 9V-SMR. He was too lazy to come join us in T3

I had underestimated the glacial pace of the bus, and disembarked in T2 at about 9.10am, with just 20 mins to departure. So i sped walked... to.. the.. (omg i cannot i'm breathless) furthest.. f-ing.. gate..


But first, let me take this photo.

However, upon arriving at E8 and going through security, I was greeted with this sight:


I echoed that lady's expression on right.

Eventually i decided to suck it up and joined the queue for the priority lane. That's what happens on a 50J aircraft, with tons more PPS and Krisflyer Golds on this sector full of business travellers.

[pokfur]

Take 1

SQ 910
SIN-MNL
Boeing 777-300ER
9V-SWW
Seat 1A

Firstly I was pleasantly surprised to spy SWW at the gate. Hey, it's a 77W with new F!!

"Welcome on board Mr pokfur!" x 3. I was greeted warmly by 3 cabin crew standing by the door.

Secondly.. hey! This aircraft has been refurbished!!


Just one row of 4 First Class seats.

Thirdly..

"Mr pokfur, unfortunately you'll be very lonely on this flight as you're the only passenger in First Class today...."









Ok I'll stop creeping y'all out.

"May I offer you a drink Mr pokfur?" asked Ms Green Kebaya.

And no I didn't go for champagne. I went for the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee!

[pokfur]

Shortly after Ms Green Kebaya came back and presented me with the headphones, menu, and the special edition SQ70 amenity kit. I commented about how this month it was back to the white/grey kits instead of the black ones, and that I preferred the contents of the white ones. Before I knew it, a second kit magically appeared..... eh heh.



Ms Green Kebaya was fantastic. A bit 'aunty' but that made the service all the more personal and enjoyable. The regret over splurging those miles vanished within a few minutes of interacting with the cabin crew. I guess First Class really really means personalised, detailed, and undivided attention.


Seat 1A

Soon. I couldn't 'tahan' it anymore.

"Can I please have a glass of Champagne? "

"Of course you can!!!"

Unfortunately the MNL sector is a cheapo F sector whereby only Dom Perignon is offered, and not Krug. I would've preferred the latter but i could make do For champagne pouring it was Mr Green Tie who had the honour of popping the bottle open and pouring it in front of me.


Ahhh.... Yummm.

Soon the doors were closed. However we continued to stay on stand for a while more. For some reason, the cabin remained really warm throughout, and Ms Green Kebaya gave me some iced water. I asked if a cold towel was available, and although SQ only serves hot towels, they were able to produce a cold one after dunking it in an ice bucket! ^



Soon, though, we pushed back.



But... nothing happened... for... 5 mins... 10mins.... 15mins....

Finally, a grave voice came over the pa.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. Unfortunately the pressurisation system of the aircraft is malfunctioning, which is why the air conditioning is not working. We will be returning to the gate. Please await further instructions from the ground staff."

[pokfur]

We were pulled back on stand. And Ms Green Kebaya kept apologising profusely. Well, not her fault, really. It turns out 9V-SWW had been newly refurbished. I was the first bum on brand new seat 1A!! However they hadn't conducted an air test and seems like something wasn't fixed properly.. At least we didn't take off only to all explode from lack of cabin pressure..

The doors were opened, and I could feel a gust of cold aircon air from the jet bridge which was a relief. In the meantime, Ms Green Kebaya gave me a plate of nuts to placate me, kept the champagne flowing, and gave me an iced cold towel pretty much every 5 mins.



This went on for almost 45 (!!) minutes. I could feel the tipsiness... Ms Green Kebaya, and even the ground staff manager personally came to update me constantly on any news they had (basically no news). In light of the delay I thought this was really 'First Class' type of treatment.

Unfortunately, the engineers eventually decided that our aircraft was a no-go and that we'd all have to disembark and have a change of aircraft.

Having drunk more than half a bottle of Dom, i stumbled back into Terminal 2 only to be chased by the ground staff on a buggy for leaving my passport on board. Oops! And to think I thought they were chasing me to give me a lift to the lounge... It was almost 11am by now, and the new estimated departure was 1pm.

This time I stayed in the T2 F lounge and ordered myself some Roti Prata for lunch.



And then more of.. hic.. bubbly.... and ice cream.. hic...



In the meantime, I rescheduled some meetings to the next day, while pushing others back into the late evening. With this delay I knew my day was essentially wasted.

Soon it was to my new gate E26 for boarding. Each passenger was given an apology gift, which turned out to be an adapter. Quite timely since my own was starting to give me trouble.

[pokfur]

Take 2

Our replacement aircraft was thankfully not a 773, or an old 77W. It was a similarly refurbished 77WR 9V-SWN. I managed to capture a pic of her, ironically with my original aircraft SWW in the background with her engine cowling open..



I was welcomed back on board by the same set of crew, and immediately given champagne, iced water, iced towel, and this time, some cookies.



Apparently it was a "brand new bottle of Dom so I'm afraid it might be less chilled..."


Empty 1C, D

This time, everything went well. We soon pushed back, the GE90s moo-ed to life and we headed off to the runway. Ms Green Kebaya paid attention to small details such as putting my handcarry into a dust bag, before placing it on the floor. ^


And we're off!!! Finally!


Bye Singapore...

I went back to the blue mountain coffee for my post take off drink. I think by now I had have enough champagne.. brain and tummy were feeling a bit woozy.



"Mr pokfur, I understand that you have booked the Boston Lobster Thermidor, but let me know if you wish to have any other item from the menu as.. well.. you're the only passenger!"

So there you have it guys. The normal menu is still catered even if you Book the Cook, and even if you're the only passenger in the cabin. ^

After some time, my table was laid and it was time to eat.

[pokfur]

Fresh Fruits plate to start with


Croissant from the bread basket

The fruits were.. well.. fruits. Not sure but I don't think anybody screams about fruits...? The croissant was nice and buttery. I generally enjoy the croissants that SQ serves, and it's a bonus when they are able to keep it crispy instead of serving it soggy.


Muesli for the second course

Actually for this breakfast sector, the meal sequence is pretty much the same as Business Class. Probably the mains are 'better' and so is the dessert, but don't expect any fancy caviar or steaks in the regular menu on this cheapo F. Best be booking the cook if you want your legit First Class main.


Tada!! The Boston Lobster Thermidor

And yes, there is a difference between the Business Class and First Class lobster, as long as you make sure to order the correct one. The key word is 'Boston'. If you order the 'Classic Lobster Thermidor', you'll just get the same one served in Business Class. Basically the Boston is almost twice the size, and the chunks are larger and tastier. Yumm..

But then.. I mean... Ms Green Kebaya did say I could have anything else from the menu... didn't she???



I am a greedy fat pig.

In all honesty though the prawn mee/beehoon was really good. The broth was tasty and the prawns crunchy fresh! The pork belly slices were of course a little fatty so I avoided some of them....

With the second main course cleared, it was a challenge to accept the dessert but who could have resisted this allure...



I managed about half of it before surrendering.

That was it. I couldn't anymore. And there was no way I was going to have dinner after landing in Manila.. After all it was already almost 5pm!

My tray table was cleared and I opted for another cup of coffee.

The rest of the flight was spent mostly just reading and stoning. Frankly I had been up since 6am and still had not reached my destination. I was getting tired and couldn't wait to land. The cabin crew really were fantastic. The IFM understandably wasn't present much; after all I already had a two-to-one crew-passenger ratio. 3 to 1 would've been a bit OTT. But the two greenies serving me were nothing short of delightful.

Soon, we began our approach into Manila. What was apparently a simple approach as shown on the IFE turned out to be wrong, and we still had to do some circling.




Sun was already setting

When finally we were cleared to land, Ms Green Kebaya came around to do her final checks and apologised again for the delay. The day for her would be even longer than for me; she still had to fly the return sector. Yikes. I settled back into my comfortable seat and enjoyed the final moments of the flight.



And finally, touchdown, a few minutes past 5pm. Unfortunately the first thing I had to do was to cancel my 5pm meeting. After a quick taxi to the gate, we stopped at the gate and I bid my fantastic crew goodbye. Hopefully one day i will fly with them again. Despite flying almost weekly nowadays, it's really rare to ever bump into the same cabin crew, by which time they probably wouldn't recognise me anymore anyway...

Conclusion

It's clear that First Class is on a decline, with many airlines including Singapore Airlines downsizing their cabins. The 77Ws went from 8 to 4, the A380s Suites will be halved from 12 to 6. And many people say that Business Class with their flat beds is more than enough, even more so on such a short regional 3-hour sector. I agree, I do. Business class really is more than enough. But flights such as this one remind me why First Class is still First class. From the check in, to the lounge, to the seats, to the food, wine, and most importantly, service....

Sigh.

My finger's itchy again.

[yflyer]

Brilliant TR, pokfur! As someone who has only ever flown SQ F once, you make me envious! Glad it worked out well in the end despite the equipment change...great that you were moved from a 77WR 4 seater F to yet another 4 seater F...and glad you had your fill of Dom....thumbs up for a wonderfully readable report!

[Wan1dap]

No photos of PEY? It doesn’t exist then!

[pokfur]

Brilliant TR, pokfur! As someone who has only ever flown SQ F once, you make me envious! Glad it worked out well in the end despite the equipment change...great that you were moved from a 77WR 4 seater F to yet another 4 seater F...and glad you had your fill of Dom....thumbs up for a wonderfully readable report!

Thanks yflyer!! Definitely enjoy reading all your reports as well. I think time to change your username to Fflyer please? Save up a bit more miles and try it again!

No photos of PEY? It doesn’t exist then!

Lol! Indeed no photos... Was too happy in my little corner of 1A.

[CarbonMan]

Enjoyed the TR, pokfur! Entertaining!

[SQ228]

Excellent, so now you've produced "confirmation" of SWW without the need for a trip to CPH while being served champagne! Impressed with your work!

[loldude333]

Loved this TR! SQ F is always an experience.....especially since 99% of us are y-flyers. Your comments also were pretty entertaining; never heard anyone describe the GE90s as 'moo-ing to life' but i suppose that fits the engine start sequence noise. This TR also brought back fond memories of my SQ318/319 experience last year. My photos of that trip are lost in my damaged old phone so that TR will never see the light of day.

[SQfanatic]

Amazing TR pokfur. I'm sorry I doubted you at first on SWW (I flew on it last year on SQ1). As far as the delay you encountered, man must have been frustrating but still good they switched all of you from SWW to SWN to get the treatment you needed that day. Either way, it must have been an amazing journey for you.

The entire SWU-SNA has PEY because SWV is now a 77WR as of now. Thank you again for your TR and many more to come.