SIN-PEK in J on SQ's 777-300 Refitted (73A) Regional Business Class

[yflyer]

It has been a long day in the office. Back in my hotel, my last conference call for the day has ended. How to destress? Why, write a TR of course. But this is a weekday and time isn't on my side.

Thankfully this one will probably write itself. Let's see how far I can get, putting together a TR on-the-fly, say in a 30 minute timebox. It is now 10pm in Beijing. The clock is ticking!

[Edit: Ok, so this took a little longer than 30 minutes, more like just under 2 hours, to write. But it is complete now. Enjoy!]

[yflyer]

My flight to Beijing would be SQ806, a 4.50pm departure out of Changi T3.

I got to the airport at around 3pm on Sunday. At that hour T3 is not particularly busy. The J check-in agents looked quite relaxed that afternoon. There was no queue to speak of.



They were advertising the upcoming Singapore Airlines Grand Prix on the large screens in the Departure Hall. And to the right of the screen, one of my favourite T3 features: the vertical garden. Don't know about the gals, but the guys will tell you about the great view from the other side of the vertical garden, when you are using one of the public airside amenities that T3 offers...



I headed straight into the airside area...



...and up to the Silver Kris Lounge...

[yflyer]

There was a small display of F1 merchandise for sale at the Lounge Entrance...





I headed into the Business Class section of the lounge. I am not a regular visitor to this lounge, but I have come here on occasion over the years. My impression is that, in terms of decor, the lounge has aged quite gracefully over the years. The design remains elegant and timeless.







A very comfortable place to relax before / between flights, or freshen up and shower if needed...



There is also a business center, which I did not visit this time round.

[yflyer]

As you would expect, there were quite a few F&B options available.

Very elegantly presented TWG tea...



Self Service Bar...



Tiger Beer on tap...



Not a very wide choice of wines available, just one red, one white and champagne...

However the red was a delicious selection, "Wallace", a Shiraz Grenache blend by renown winemaker Ben Glaetzer. This is a wine rated 91 points on the Robert Parker website (Rated by Lisa Perotti-Brown, based in Singapore). This was very drinkable...an inspired choice of red!





The white wine that day was a "Mount Nelson" New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which I did not try.





Interestingly, champagne was not a self-service option. A small placard said that champagne was available, and to ask the server if you wanted some.

When did this champagne rationing begin? Did the vast quantities consumed by some of our SQTalk champagne connoisseurs have something to do the need to implement this policy?

I located one of the staff and asked for a glass, and a well filled goblet of Charles Heidseck was brought to my seat a few moments later...

[yflyer]

There was a large buffet on offer, as well as a dedicated dining area...



Both Asian and Western selections were offered. A fairly broad selection of dishes were available. Here are just a few pictures of some of them...

Fried Pork with Bitter Gourd and Black Bean Sauce...



Seafood Linguini...



There was also a very decent looking DIY Yong Tau Foo station...





Several vegetarian options were also available.

[yflyer]

Starters, including a small sushi selection, and Japanese cold noodles...



Salads (and Dessert...)



Small cheese selection...



A self-service sandwich counter...



Elsewhere there were pre-packaged sandwiches...



Overall, I think SQ has put a very decent spread together.

To sum up the overall Silver Kris J Lounge experience, I found the lounge to be a very pleasant place to spend time before a flight. It has withstood the test of time well, and still delivers a premium experience that we have come to expect from SQ.

That said, I found the food selections in the QF combined F/J Lounge in Changi T1 a little more distinctive and interesting, and I preferred the interior decor and style of the much newer QF lounge as well. In terms of catering, the EK lounge had more impressive looking starters and main courses, although the EK lounge decor itself looked old and tired.

Just focusing on catering for a moment: given that this is the flagship lounge for SQ, an airline which aspires to be the best in the world, is it wrong for J passengers to expect more than just "good" catering and ambience? Perhaps a wider wine selection would close the gap with QF's stupendous wine selection, and perhaps more signature Asian local dishes in the lounge would make the dining experience more memorable as well. Given that Singapore has a reputation as a foodie paradise, I think SQ can potentially transform this good experience a great one, from a catering perspective.

They've already started enhancing the decor and catering at other lounges like the new Sydney lounge, I suspect it is a matter of time before they do the same at SIN.

[yflyer]

I left the lounge and headed to the gate. On the way there, I noticed Lufthansa LH778 arriving in Singapore after the 12 hour flight from Frankfurt...

[yflyer]

My flight today would be operated by 9V-SYG, an aircraft delivered in Oct 2001.



I made my way past the F cabin...







...to my seat in J.



This was the new regional J seat, laid out 2-2-2, similar to those on SQ's A330's, but not identical (there are some differences in the IFE and AV connections).

A quick peek into Y (laid out 3-3-3) before settling into the J cabin.

[yflyer]

I began with a pre-take off drink...another glass of champagne...I could get used to this.





Scaldingly hot towel...just the way I like it!



Large IFE screen with an AVOD edition of Krisworld (An upgraded version of the old generation Krisworld, with 4:3 content, and slightly smaller programme selection that the latest Krisworld.).

Controller in the armrest...



Really top quality Phitek noise cancelling headphones. They are well built and sound very good as well. Better than the previous generation of noise cancelling 'phones.



Electronic seat controls under a cover on the armrest.



A few drawers and cubby holes to put your stuff...



Universal plug with 110V A/C power. It looks like it will fit most plugs, including UK 3-pin, US and Australian plugs. No USB charging plug on this seat, though.

[yflyer]

Legroom...



Reading light...



Overall cabin ambience...



It amazes me how many people take off their shoes before the plane takes off. Sure, it's comfortable. But if anything happens and you need to get off the plane quickly, or go down an emergency slide, you really want to have your shoes with you. Can't they just wait till after take-off before kicking off footwear?

[yflyer]

Pushback, and a short taxi to runway 20C...



No queue for take-off...just a short wait for an SQ A330 to land before we lined up on the runway...



A powerful, noisy take-off (Typical 773...) to the South, and a long left turn before heading north towards Beijing.

In the picture below, you are looking at about one quarter of the island of Singapore...the eastern coastline is visible all the way to the Central Business District and Marina Bay...

[yflyer]

Eyeshades and sockettes (In a nice new shade of grey...)



I'm not one to complain about SQ not handing out amenity kits. While a small pouch/bag like those you get on other airlines would be a nice souvenir, these things take up space (both in-flight, and at home).

Imagine if you travel often (which is the type of regular J class passenger that SQ targets), your cupboard would soon be overflowing with partly used amenity kits...

In any case, the stuff in the kits are available as self service items in the onboard restrooms. OK not quite the same as getting your personal bottles/tubes of eau de toilette and cream, but a fair compromise, I think.

[yflyer]

IFE was full AVOD, with movies, TV, radio, CDs and info / flight path. The selection was good, but not as large as the latest Krisworld.


For example, only 2 episodes of the hit HBO TV series Game of Thrones Season Four were available, compared to several more on the newer Krisworld.



The other difference was that while the screen size was 16:9 widescreen, the actual movie content was in 4:3 aspect ratio.



Note the black borders on the side of the screen.





You could adjust video by clicking the ">" button on the controller to fill the screen, but this just expanded existing content, and made faces look unnatural.

A minor issue, but clearly an example of where the newer A330 regional business class seat is still superior to the refitted 777.

[yflyer]

It was time to eat...



Four choices of main on this flight...



I began with a glass of Red Wine after take-off...a Spanish Tempranillo...





Satay to start...



Tender juicy skewers on sticks with a thick peanut sauce...

[yflyer]

The starter was scallops and green salad...



The plump scallops tasted great...



I chose garlic bread from the bread basket...



I've always had a fondness for the "snowman" salt and pepper shakers...