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SQ Capital Express Inaugural SIN-CBR-WLG-CBR in J

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  • #16



    Special musical performance


    The international departure hall at Wellington was small, but more established.



    I went through security and immigration check easily. I spotted a podium and some posters around the departure hall.



    Nice paintings





    9V-SRP resting here at Wellington

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    • #17



      Flight departure screen – we were the only late evening departure


      Since the event would not begin till later, I went to the Koru Club for some refreshment and much needed internet surfing time. WLG actually offered free Internet access, but Koru Club might offer better connections. Anyway, the lounge was really nice and I love all the artwork around the lounge.









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      • #18


        The food was not too much of my personal taste, but looked very fresh and tasty. I had a bowl of noodles in the food court, so I just took a Coke Zero and a dessert.












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        • #19


          A local radio host was our MC and he was funny and well liked…



          The usual speeches…
          SIA Executive Vice President Mak Swee Wah
          Mayor of Wellington – Mayor Celia Wade-Brown

          Cake Cutting



          Ribbon cutting at the gate







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          • #20


            Boarding than began at 7:47pm at gate 46 and there was a jetway this time. Only door one is used for boarding in Wellington, which is the same as Canberra. I was the first one to board the plane and the really friendly SQ staffs were thanking passengers in the jetway. I took a picture with the special inaugural painting and the plane. Once again I took a picture of the nicely cleaned cabin. Given their five hours layover, it was in good shape again.









            Inaugural gifts




            I had sometimes to take the pictures of the seats in various recline position.

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            • #21



              Not exactly a full flat bed… while it was reasonably comfortable, I don’t think it is right to use it on a flight over five hours, especially an overnight one. Given how both longer segments are overnight, using this particular version of 777s is not helping the route. I wonder why they don’t use those 777s with the all-aisle access full flat business class versions (26J + 245Y=271 seats) on this route, compared to the 777-200ERs (retrofitted SR- Series with 38J and 228Y=266 seats). Without the media and guests, the business class cabin will be half full. Maybe someone has more insider information about it. Maybe the SR- series are those 777s with the de-rated engines, so they are less heavy.



              Anyway back to the flight, the business class cabin was less full on this flight, but economy class was very full. There were more Australians taking advantage of this new flight to go to Canberra, but there are also some passengers going to Asia. The first cabin seems to fill with the same dignities and top SQ staffs, who were on the same CBR-WLG flight this morning. The second cabin was slightly quieter, but I had a neighbor, who was also a guest or media team, as the SQ manager came to talk to him a few times.

              Door was closed on time and we pushed back three minutes later.

              We took off from R/W16 at 8:30pm. Given our lightweight, we had no issues lifting off with plenty of space to spare.




              Flying time was three hours and thirty-one minutes with a cruising altitude of 40,000ft. It was a pretty straightforward Trans-Tasman flight.


              It was a light dinner flight, but you got pretty much the full dining experience.

              There was a beverage with mixed nuts service first.




              Then each course was served individually, and you got both cheese plate and dessert, if you want.

              Here is the menu:
              Appetizer
              Classical Gravalax
              Cured Salmon, mesclun salad, pickled cucumber and mustard dill dressing



              Main Course
              *Roasted Beef Short Rib
              With cornbread pudding and smoked tomato butter
              Exclusively created by Suzanne Goin of Los Angeles, A.O.C. and Tavern, Los Angeles

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              • #22

                Or
                Roasted Chicken with Pineapple-Barbecue Sauce
                Accompanied by baby vegetables and roasted potatoes
                Or
                Stir-Fried Sambal Prawns
                Chinese greens, carrots and steamed coconut rice

                Dessert
                Kipiti Rum and Raisin Ice Cream
                Drizzled with chocolate sauce and toasted almond flakes


                Cheese & Fruit
                Assorted Cheese & Fruit
                Kapiti Camember, Kahurangi Blue and Aged Cheddar with fruits and garnishes


                From the Bakery
                Assorted rolls and Gourmet Bread
                With butter or flavored virgin olive oil


                The short rib was delicious, but not sure about the side dishes, especially the random salad leaves in the casserole. I was not a fan of the cornbread pudding, but my neighbor liked it, as he finished it.

                I had both the cheese and ice cream, as I did not anticipate food available on the Vibe Canberra Airport.

                The crew finally had times to do a duty free service and to my surprise, I finally got the SQ Hello Kitty toy for my niece.

                Descend soon began at 9:19pm Canberra local time, which was two hours behind Wellington. The weather was rather chilly and it was foggy – not necessarily something you wanted to hear.

                It was okay in the beginning


                You can tell that it was very foggy


                Second time




                We tried to land on R/W35 the first time at 8:40pm, but then the fog was really heavy. The pilot made an announcement regarding the go around, and we made a second attempt and finally landed on R/W35 at 10:01pm. The fog was very thick, as you could tell from my blurry pictures.

                Taxiing was slow, as the fog was rolling in. I found out later that the Virgin Australia E90 flight coming from Gold Coast, the last arrival of the evening) was diverted to Sydney. It told you how bad the weather was.

                We parked at gate 5 at 10:12pm and got the same Aboriginal welcome again.


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                • #23
                  The new immigration and custom hall was compact, as expected. There was no smart gate, as expected, so everyone shared the same queues for now. There was one single baggage claim with nice designers’ touches. I managed to snap these pictures before a staff told me that no cell phone was allowed in this area. The first bag came out at 10:30pm, eighteen minutes after arrival, and priority tagged bags came out first.




                  Once I exited the custom hall, there were the floral society’s volunteers passing out flowers, along with three violinists performing. Since we were the only arrival at that time, the arrival hall was very quiet.



                  Arrival gift bag from Canberra Tourism Board




                  In conclusion, I hope you enjoy this inaugural trip report. It was a bit long, but I hope you will enjoy the pictures. My feelings about the sleeper service have not changed, and IMHO, I still felt that it was a cheap shot to cut cost, and denying passengers both supper and breakfast was pretty cheap in my book. I know some of you feel differently, but if you are going to turn on the cabin lights two hours prior to arrival and serve breakfast in multiple courses, it tells me that you expect most passengers expect breakfast. If SQ really wants to do a “real” sleeper service, please just served the meals in one course and don’t turn up the light till 30 minutes prior to arrival. Since SQ does not offer a lounge in Canberra, it should stick with a supper service out from Canberra and continental breakfast prior to arrival. Yes you got a free snack in the sole café, but unless you offer J passenger free meals in the café, SQ should just make an exception and serves a proper supper due to the ground operation. I also am not sure about putting a regional business class product on a flight that involves overnights in both the longer segments.
                  All the parties involved have great hopes for this route, and things seem to be well booked till Christmas.

                  For those who want to experience the wonderful business class experience down under, I highly recommend the CBR to WLG Trans-Tasman flights. You almost get a full international business class experience with full three course meals, accompanied by the full array of amenities, like slippers, socks and eyeshades. The redemption rate is good between those two cities, and they have plenty of availability. Surely there is no lounge at Canberra, but out from Wellington, you get access to the nice Koru Club. It seems like a nice bargain if you are traveling Trans-Tasman.

                  I actually will fly the inaugural nonstop SFO to Singapore flight in October and while I have lowered my expectation since it is not really a special inaugural flight, I will definitely report back on this special flight.

                  Thanks for reading!




                  Carfield

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                  • #24
                    Another great TR Carfield!!
                    God must have been a ship owner, he placed the raw materials far from where they are needed and covered two-thirds of the earth with water...

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                    • #25
                      fantastic TR! Thanks vy much for the detailed coverage, zooming into the lil bits, and adding yr observations.

                      For every two months over two years, I flew into CBR from SIN. Through QF or VA via MEL or SYD (oh how I hated the inter-terminal bus ride) or the 3.5 hours coach ride or drive. This SIN-CBR is a god-send hence.

                      Terry Snow, as you observed, had worked vy hard on this, as did Andrew Barr.

                      AFAIK a SIN-CBR direct was being discussed as early as 2006. Long time coming.

                      Lots of memories as I take in all the familiar points in yr pics.

                      Once again thanks for the great TR

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                      • #26
                        Great TR, thank you!

                        As a CBR resident I'm very interested. I'm flying J redemption SIN-CBR in January, disappointed to hear of the lackluster product, but feel the convenience of a going directly to a small, fast efficient airport a 10 minute drive from my house is still better than connecting. You're right, great route for A350. My feeling is that a prime target for this route is govt employees connecting to/from Asia in J. There will be a lot of interest, but these customers expect recognition, good ground service, and flat bed. SQ will not meet these expectations as it currently stands, I feel. They must be hoping the convenience will outweigh all of this. Will be most interesting to see what repeat business of this market will be like. My wife is exactly one of these customers, so will be interesting to see what she thinks of our leisure flight and whether she'd take it for a work trip.

                        Also flying WLG-CBR Y in March. Cash fare, total cost was about S$130, actually less than the cash component of a Y redemption fare. $130 is a bargain in its own right, but more so considering all fares in and out of CBR are ridiculous. The absolute minimum even to go CBR-SYD (shorter than SIN-KUL) is usually more than that, the "standard" price about 2-3x, and at busy times I've seen it as high as S$800+! Don't get me started on J to PER. 3-4 hours in a domestic config 737, fare can sometimes be more than a J fare to Europe/USA.

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                        • #27
                          long time lurker, first time poster!

                          I was also on the same flight that evening on the inaugural, but only on the first leg Singapore - Canberra. Was disappointed at the goodie bag, as I had read other inaugural reports of a more bountiful memorable swag bag for the SIN-DUS / SIN-AMS flights.

                          Anyway, the flight made for an interesting experience with all the drama in the business cabin towards landing, but still a memorable experience for me.

                          Looking forward to my next flight on the inaugural to SFO! Pity I won't be able to catch Mr Carfield as I would be flying into SFO from SIN.

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                          • #28
                            Great TR, Carfield! I enjoyed reading this...

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by thelongroad View Post
                              Also flying WLG-CBR Y in March. Cash fare, total cost was about S$130, actually less than the cash component of a Y redemption fare. $130 is a bargain in its own right, but more so considering all fares in and out of CBR are ridiculous. The absolute minimum even to go CBR-SYD (shorter than SIN-KUL) is usually more than that, the "standard" price about 2-3x, and at busy times I've seen it as high as S$800+! Don't get me started on J to PER. 3-4 hours in a domestic config 737, fare can sometimes be more than a J fare to Europe/USA.
                              That is absolutely insane!! How on earth did you score that fare? Is that return or one-way?

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                              • #30
                                Originally posted by eminere™ View Post
                                That is absolutely insane!! How on earth did you score that fare? Is that return or one-way?
                                One way. IIRC, it was actually slightly cheaper (from memory NZ$117) at one stage, bit it took me a few days to get my plans in order. I've seen and can still see fares at and around this price for WLG-CBR for quite a few dates, though not in the other direction. And only as a one way, never as part of a CBR-WLG-CBR round trip. Have never searched a WLG-CBR-WLG round trip, so couldn't say.

                                Y redemption is also very reasonable in terms of price and miles required. J, less so in my opinion.

                                I have also seen very reasonably priced J fares, around S$500.

                                Flight times for all segments are also very convenient for CBR residents, except CBR-WLG, for which I personally would prefer a very early morning departure, or late evening arrival. Can't have everything.

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