Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

SIA A380 Premium Economy from Beijing to Singapore on SQ807 - "To Bid or Not to Bid"

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • SIA A380 Premium Economy from Beijing to Singapore on SQ807 - "To Bid or Not to Bid"

    It has been almost two years since Singapore Airlines launched Premium Economy in August 2015. Since that time, PEY has been rolled out across quite a number of SQ aircraft and destinations, including all A350's, all A380's and a good number of 77W's.

    Among the different cabin classes, PEY offers airlines a lot of scope to be creative and innovative. While Economy, Business and, to some extent, First, have become quite homogeneous among airlines, the service concept for Premium Economy still varies quite widely among the different carriers, and has given airlines a rare opportunity to target a new passenger segment, and grow revenues and/or market share, at least for for those airlines which can make PEY work.

    The early pioneers of PEY included Qantas and BA, with the Kangaroo Route, i.e. SYD-SIN-LHR, and now also SYD-DXB-LHR, being obvious candidates for a product in between luxurious F/J and tolerable Y, for those passengers willing to pay a little more for comfort on this mother-of-all-long haul routing. Another early adopter was Eva Air, whose Evergreen Deluxe product in 1991 was one of the first, if not the first, dedicated PEY cabin products, available on flights to North America via Taipei.

    Now most major airlines have launched PEY. The last holdouts include Emirates, who in December 2016 announced the intention to launch PEY, and United, who are currently exploring/investigating the launch of a PEY product (A true PEY, unlike UA's Economy Plus, which is just Y with a little more legroom).

    But what has the take-up of PEY been on SQ? Have passengers been willing to pay the premium over regular economy? Is there really a case for PEY for medium haul travel, vs the obvious benefits of PEY on long haul?

    How have e-services like SQ's mySQupgrade enhanced the passenger experience? mySQupgrade enables passengers to bid online for an upgrade from Y to PEY. mySQupgrade gives SQ some limited ability to optimize revenue and passenger load, while offering passengers the opportunity to choose the price they are willing to pay for comfort. How well does mySQupgrade work in practice?

    Earlier this week, I flew Singapore Airlines to Beijing for a short business trip, and flew SQ's PEY on SQ807, an A380 service from Beijing to Singapore. This was a good opportunity to revisit SQ's PEY product, and offer an opinion on what this cabin class has to offer on a medium haul sector like PEK-SIN.

    I was originally booked in SQ's excellent economy class both ways, but a few days before my trip began, an email from SQ arrived in my inbox. The subject of the email: "Get Upgraded on your Singapore Airlines flight".

    My outbound flight, SQ806 SIN-PEK was operated by a 77W with no PEY, so no upgrade was possible. However, my return flight, SQ807 PEK-SIN was an A380 service with a Premium Economy cabin...I had the opportunity to bid for an upgrade to PEY.

    On this non-redeye 6 hour sector, I did not have a compelling reason to upgrade. I had pre-selected aisle seats for both flights, and SQ A380 Y is very comfortable. I find the PEY value proposition strongest on long sectors like SIN-LHR, at 13 hours. But then, I thought, it had been a while since I checked out SQ's PEY, why not pamper myself a little, especially if the price was right. I clicked on a personalized link in the email to access the bidding system, which was a very user-friendly web page with a slider that allowed you to pick your bid amount. In this case, the upgrade bid range allowable was $100 to $240 (Priced in SGD). There was a graphical meter to show the relative "strength" of the bid, from poor ($100) to excellent ($240).

    I bid $105, despite the graphical meter giving it poor odds. I didn't want it that badly (I would have bid more aggressively if I were flying a longer sector to Europe or the US...). If I got it, great. If not, I would enjoy the A380 upper deck Y mini-cabin. I placed my bid just before the cut-off time for submitting an upgrade bid, 50 hours prior to departure. Results of the bidding would be out at 48 hours prior. I would know very soon if my bid succeeded.

    About 2 hours later, an email arrived in my inbox: "Upgrade Successful for SQ807". Yes!

    I felt a moment of elation. I suspect part of the elation was due to the fact that my bid was quite a low one. SGD 105 for a one-way upgrade to PEY? That represented decent value.
    Last edited by yflyer; 1 June 2017, 03:07 AM.

  • #2
    More on my Premium Economy experience on SQ807 PEK-SIN later in this TR. (To jump straight to A380 PEY, click here.)

    First, I had to get to Beijing on SQ Economy...

    My outbound SIN-PEK flight was SQ806, a 4.55pm departure out of Changi T3.



    Construction of the Jewel at T1 is in full swing now, with the main dome starting to take shape...



    As usual, the departure area of T3 was not crowded.



    One thing I did notice compared to previous trips was that quite a few more airport frontline staff seemed to be doing passenger-relations type work, such as handing out free sweets and snacks, and offering photos with MAX, the airport mascot.



    I have mixed feelings about having a costumed mascot, MAX, wandering around the airport, accompanied by another staff member as a minder. As a character, MAX looks quite insipid and anonymous: a curvy white plane wearing lifejacket-orange pants. Nothing Singaporean about it, as far as I could tell. I am not asking them to stick wings on a Merlion, but I wished that there was at least some attempt to make the mascot recognizably local...

    I did appreciate the free kacang puteh, though...

    Last edited by yflyer; 27 May 2017, 07:28 PM.

    Comment


    • #3
      Today's flight was operated by 9V-SWR, a three class 777-300ER configured with the 2006 cabin products.



      A box of earbud headphones at the boarding gate looks to be the SOP for SQ these days, at least for short and medium haul flights.



      My suggestion is not to touch them, and use your own headphones with an airline adapter, which would give you much better sound quality.

      I walked through the J cabin, equipped with the wonderful 2006 J seats, laid out 1-2-1.



      The Y cabin was also a comparatively spacious 9-abreast 3-3-3.



      Seat pitch was decent, with every seat equipped with footrests and no underseat obstructions.



      My seat for this flight was 31K, an emex row window seat.



      The overwing emex door had no protrusion, which meant that this seat had very good legroom.



      On this 6 hour sector, this emex row seat is designated as a preferred seat, and can be pre-booked online for a fee of USD50 (The fee varies depending on length of sector.). This works out to about SGD70 at current forex rates.

      Between paying for a preferred seat and bidding for a premium economy seat, the PEY option looks to be much better value, assuming of course that your bid goes through...

      A view out of the half-width emex door window, which I could peer out of if I loosened my seatbelt and seat closer to the edge of the seat.

      Comment


      • #4
        Each seat came with fabric pillow and blanket.



        IFE is a large widescreen with full AVOD. This is not a touchscreen, but the UI and controller are quite intuitive, and the program selection (Movies, TV, Music, Radio) is vast. While this is not the latest SIA Krisworld, it is still a very impressive system.



        2D Map View, but no camera views. Flight time of 5 hrs 30 minutes to Beijing today.



        A/C power and USB charging port at each seat. However, do note that on this plane, unlike some newer SQ aircraft, the power socket accepts only US/Australia/Europe sockets, and not UK 3-pin plugs.



        I browsed the radio selections on Krisworld, and decided on the Easy Listening channel as soon as I saw Toto's Rosanna on the playlist. This is an amazing song on so many levels (For music lovers, this 15 minute analysis/dissection of the song is a must listen).

        Last edited by yflyer; 18 July 2017, 09:31 PM.

        Comment


        • #5
          Steaming hot towel before take-off -- I consider hot towels to be a must-have ritual on flights...a refreshing start, and even more refreshing when a 2nd round of hot towels is distributed after cabin lights come on prior to breakfast on red-eye flights.



          Please, SQ, you can cut some frills if you must, but keep the hot towels!

          Comment


          • #6
            A busy day at Changi, but we didn't have to wait too long before our turn to take-off towards the south on runway 20C.



            Cabin ambience in the front Y cabin after seat belt signs went off...a very open and spacious cabin...



            Today's menu, with a special 70th Anniversary cover...





            Full beverage service after take-off, with a packet of mixed nuts for each passenger.

            I ordered a Singapore Sling...



            Although the drink menu looks to have been simplified in print, most items still look to be available.



            The usual cocktails could probably still be ordered, although I did not try ordering a spritzer to see if this was still available.
            Last edited by yflyer; 1 June 2017, 03:14 AM.

            Comment


            • #7
              Shortly after beverage service, dinner service commenced.

              Two choices of main today, an international selection of braised beef...



              ...and an oriental selection of steamed fish fillet and fried rice...



              I went for the beef option...



              The quinoa and baby shrimp salad was a creative and tasty starter...



              The braised beef brisket was decent but not exceptional: while the rosemary gravy had good flavour, the beef was a little on the stringy side, and the vegetables and potatoes tasted slightly bland.



              I accompanied the beef brisket with a full bodied French red wine from Paul Mas, which as served in a real glass.



              Dessert was a delicious 70th anniversary special: Teh Tarik ice cream...a highlight of the meal. Wonder whether this is available in any of the SQ Lounges...

              Comment


              • #8
                On a recommendation from my friend, who is quite a connoisseur of movies, I watched Lion...a gripping movie based on the true story of Saroo Brierley, an Indian boy who was lost at age 5, far from home in Calcutta, and ended up growing up in Australia after his adoption.





                Just a couple of interior aircraft scenes (I am guessing a 747) as Saroo flies on a plane for the first time on his way to Australia from india.



                A wonderful movie...highly recommended!

                Comment


                • #9
                  At least on this flight, the onboard restrooms come with amenities such as toothbrushes and combs...



                  Comment


                  • #10
                    The remainder of the flight passed quickly, with an interesting routing which overflew Hong Kong enroute to Beijing.



                    One final pic of the row 31 emex preferred seats...



                    An on-time arrival and smooth landing into Beijing Capital Airport on a clear evening, where we deplaned at a gate not far from the immigration counters.

                    Despite being among the first Y passengers to deplane, all non-Chinese passport holders on the SQ flight, including F and J pax, were faced with a queue of at least 30-45 minutes as another plane had arrived before ours.

                    On the positive side, rather than individual queues at each counter, there was a single common queue to all counters. One queue for Chinese Passport Holders, and another separate queue for Foreigners. And once the quicker-moving queues for Chinese passport holders cleared, batches of foreign pax were directed to the Chinese passport queue for clearance.

                    The late night drive from the airport to the hotel was smooth, and by the time I arrived at my hotel, it was past midnight.
                    Last edited by yflyer; 27 May 2017, 11:14 AM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      My hotel on this trip was the Conrad Beijing, a hotel located 7km East of Tiananmen Square, close to the East 3rd Ring Road.



                      This is a hotel with an intimate, modern vibe...



                      The rooms are large and stylish...



                      Large work top...







                      Nespresso machine...fruit and chocolate...



                      When I arrived in my room, it was turned down and ready for bed...



                      ...complete with Panda plush toy...

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Very spacious bathrooms...



                        Two basins, and mirror with built-in LCD television...



                        Separate shower stall...



                        ...with high quality Aromatherapy Associates toiletries...



                        Large walk-in wardrobe with both red fabric robes and fluffy white bathrobes.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          One feature I did like about the rooms were the electrically operated curtains: two sets of switches for the large bedroom windows and bathroom window...



                          Nice sunset views from the bedroom...



                          ...and tub...

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            The pampering even extended to pillow menus...





                            ...and bath menus...





                            A little over-the-top, in my view. Does anyone actually order off these pillow or bath menus?

                            I found the regular bed and pillows to be wonderfully comfortable. No need to request a special one. I wasn't entirely comfortable with someone else coming into my room to fill by bathtub either, no matter what the promised benefits to mind and body were!

                            The one menu I did appreciate was the in-room dining menu.

                            On this trip, I sampled their Gong Bao chicken, served with a bowl of white rice, and a bowl of piping hot herbal ginseng soup. Quite delicious.

                            Last edited by yflyer; 27 May 2017, 11:18 AM.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              There is also an indoor swimming pool in the basement. With biting cold winters in Beijing, it is not surprising that hotels have indoor, rather than outdoor pools.



                              Loungers and Jacuzzi by the pool...



                              Well equipped gym...



                              There is also an in-house spa, although spa prices were astronomical.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X