J flyer for a day! (But only one way...) SIN-SYD-SIN on SQ 77W J and A380 Y

[yflyer]

This plane had, of course, SQ's excellent Krisworld AVOD IFE product. On this plane, the inflight info pages had an updated version of the airshow screens, which showed both flight details and map on the same page (rather than cycling through info and maps in rotation). The maps were noticeably clearer and sharper than the previous versions of the map displays as well.



I was pleasantly surprised to find that this flight offered inflight wifi connectivity.



In the back of my mind, I found myself worried that in the long term, this may mean that flights will no longer be a sanctuary from the incessant emails and messages from the office, but in the short term, this was interesting technology to explore.



Just wifi for the moment, no SMS or mobile phone technologies. Thank goodness!



You enable wifi by logging into a wifi hotspot and login page, no different from wifi in a a hotel or lounge. You create a one-time userid and password, which enables you to use different devices (a great feature!), and use your credit card to buy blocks of MB of data.



On my flight, this was USD 25 for 30MB of data. 30MB is not a lot. It is suitable for email, IM, whatsApp and simple Facebook or web browsing. But there isn't enough bandwidth or data for Youtube or even audio streaming.

But the novelty of WhatsApp messaging to wife and kids, as well as a Facebook post of my inflight meal at 30K feet was too much to ignore, and I signed up for the flight.



The sign-up process was quick and painless, and I was ready to surf!

[yflyer]

I was tempted to start this TR inflight...but I will leave the honor of posting an entire SQTalk TR while inflight to another member of our community

Only one device can be active at any given time. On the flight, I used an iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and a notebook computer to access wifi, with no issues switching from one to the other by logging in and out.

You are also advised, upon connecting, to bookmark the bandwidth usage page, and this gives a real time view of how much capacity you have.

30MB really disappears fast! It will go a long way for WhatsApp, email (without attachments) and even Blackberry email connectivity (via wifi on the Blackberry, not cellular). For web surfing, Facebook or SQTalk and other common websites were fine, although speed was closer to dial up than broadband, and images really ate up your bandwidth quota.

The connectivity is via satellite, so network latency (similar to the lag you get on some voice calls) was quite noticeable. I tried to connect to my company VPN and while connectivity could be established, the overhead of the VPN software made connectivity really slow, and ate up bandwidth.



One drawback was the fact that there were parts of the flight where connectivity was lost (fine over Australia, lost over the sea towards Indonesia, and back again close to Singapore). If I had unused bandwidth, and was not able to use it because the service was down, I would be quite disappointed, as the bandwidth could not be carried over from one flight segment to another.

Overall, this was a great addition to the inflight experience. What worked best was WhatsApp, blackberry email updates, and the occasional Facebook post.

[yflyer]

It was now time for meal service. The crew serving the upper deck today were excellent. If some folks have commented on the perception of a slight decline of SQ cabin service over the years, it was not apparent on this flight. Certainly in Y, the cabin crew I have encountered over the years have always been great, with only very few exceptions. Even by those standards, the cabin crew on this flight were superb, among the best I have experienced.



Beef or chicken on the menu today.



I would usually choose the Asian style chicken and rice. But today, I decided to see if my run of good luck with inflight beef would continue.



The beef was a little drier than ideal, but overall a very good meal.



Dessert was a Cornetto ice cream, which seemed very popular with many of the pax onboard.

[yflyer]

This was a very full flight in Y. I popped down the back stairs for a walk through the lower deck Y cabin.



On the lower deck, row 55BC are preferred seats.



On this flight, there was a second meal service prior to landing, with a proper hot meal served.



Apart from noodles, there was also bacon quiche served. For those with a craving for bacon, you can still experience this on the Kangaroo route if you fly via Singapore and not Dubai...



I chose the noodle selection, which was tasty. I appreciate the hot meal prior to landing. In QF Y, they serve a reheated pizza slice in a cardboard box, which pales in comparison.

[yflyer]

Other things I appreciated about this flight: No incessant announcements to fasten seatbelts when the seatbelt light came on. It was surprisingly bumpy over parts of Australia. The seatbelt sign came on several times, but without the annoying and overly long cabin announcement to fasten seatbelts. The crew did come round to check and remind pax to fasten seatbelts, but no announcements.

You could also use phones and tablets as soon as you turned off the runway, onto the taxiway after landing.

We landed 45 minutes ahead of schedule because of favourable winds.

T3 was just as serene and peaceful as when I had departed.



Baggage claim was swift, and I was in a cab home in no time at all.

[yflyer]

Overall, a short but memorable trip, with many high points, and a run of good luck from start to finish. But I suspect it is more than luck...the consistency of experience I have had over the years on SQ and at Changi has been quite remarkable.

Yes, our favourite airline still runs a 3rd rate website, and yes the competition is getting their act together. But otherwise, I had a great experience. Ironically, over the past year or so, I have flown mainly QF on this route, on their A380's.

Now that the QF A380's stop in Dubai, I have been given the opportunity to fall in love with SQ all over again!



Thanks for reading!

[Aussiesqguy]

Very enjoyable and informative report. Thanks for sharing.

[mr_botak]

Thanks for this - interesting report. I believe this is the same crew (certainly the CSS on the left) as was on my LHR trip last month. Very very good... filled out a compliment form online for the first time in ages.

[yflyer]

Very enjoyable and informative report. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for reading, and glad you found the info useful!

[yflyer]

Thanks for this - interesting report. I believe this is the same crew (certainly the CSS on the left) as was on my LHR trip last month. Very very good... filled out a compliment form online for the first time in ages.

Thanks for reading! What a coincidence re the CSS. Yes, these days I also try to send positive feedback when I encounter good service.

[9V-SIA]

Enjoyable read & informative. Thanks

I have aunts who don't convert to bed mode too. What a waste!

[isaac]

thanks for the TR! All the best in converting to full time Jflyer!

[yflyer]

thanks for the TR! All the best in converting to full time Jflyer!

why stop at J? I am sure userid Rflyer isn't taken yet

[yflyer]

Enjoyable read & informative. Thanks

I have aunts who don't convert to bed mode too. What a waste!

Incredible! Hopefully they don't complain about backaches and the poor seating on SQ afterwards...

[qantas_flyer]

Great trip report. Once again, a trip report proving Singapore Airlines are a great way to fly!