SIN - EWR Trip Report

[sQchap]

I noticed no one has posted a trip report on this all-business flight so here's a novice attempt at churning out a TR. I'll keep it short and sweet. Hope this is useful.

Check-In

It was a nice and early Sunday morning when I arrived at T3, and unusually quiet too compared to the previous Sundays where I departed on Morning flights.





Business Class check in was also empty so check in was quick and all done in less than 10 minutes. I was assigned bulkhead 30K which was in the cabin toward the end of the fuselage.



SKL

After discreetly snapping a few more shots I headed to the SKL. I was glad I did not arrive too early because shopping at T3 is rather expensive!



SKL was quiet too that morning. Showing my BP to the lounge dragons they directed me to the C pax area. Given how much the stock market tanked the week before it wasn't surprising that the lounge dragons weren't in a very good mood too (despite the lack of passengers in the lounge).



Boarding

After spending about an hour at the SKL I headed for Gate B1. Going through security was a breeze, again because gates B2-B5 weren't in use.

I've always wondered how they would board passengers on SQ22 given the single class configuration. Upon boarding there was nobody so I thought they allowed pax to board at the their own convenience.


On the way back from EWR I found out that there actually is a boarding sequence. First to board - pax with young children or who need special assistance, followed by PPS members only , then pax in rows 30-38, 18-29 and 11-17. (So here's some God-like treatment for you PPS pax out there! )

[sQchap]

In Flight

My first impressions upon entering the aircraft was that it felt a lot smaller than the A380. Not sure what the exact width of the A345 is but the presence of the overhead cabin compartments definitely made it feel a lot more claustrophobic. The seats felt smaller too (not sure why but can someone confirm this?)



The third section of 9V-SGD.



The windows were noticeably smaller too, compared to the superjumbo.



Here's another thing which is different. The side storage compartments are missing...



It wasn't a full flight that day, probably only 70% full but every single window seat was taken up. My bulkhead seat was actually better than expected. The proximity to the washrooms weren't a problem as the seat was not right next to the toilet. Furthermore, compared to the A380 where bulkheads have TV screens mounted to the wall, I had a small "personal" wall which made it feel more private.




After drinks were served, we took off promptly at 1050.

[sQchap]

Soon after take off drinks and nuts were served. (PITA pax will probably want to know if the nuts were served warm - they weren't unfortunately)



This was soon followed by lunch service.



Starters
Marinated lobster with Orzo pasta, salmon roes, roasted vegetables and baby lettuces. Choice of creamy Singapore dressing or lemon vinaigrette.




For the main course I had Grilled beef steak served with black pepper sauce and roasted vegetables. The steak was a little dry and overcooked though.





We were given a choice for dessert! Between Ben & Jerry's New York fudge and Haagen Dazs cookie ice cream I chose the former.

I was so surprised by the choice of dessert I forgot to take pictures!


After tea/coffee and petits fours the cabin lights were dimmed.



I then started checking out this month's IFE. The flight mode picture of the earth only showed one 2D profile of the earth though, so I was staring at the African continent throughout. (The route was understandably long but I prefer the map shown on the A380 SIN-LHR route)

[sQchap]

Something new came as a pleasant surprise again on the A345. You can now connect your iPod directly onto SQ's IFE system.



I was hoping to browse through my iPod using the seat's handset but it turned out the songs did not load onto the screen. I could nevertheless still listen to the songs via the IFE but I had to manually select them on the iPod.



Interestingly, 9V-SGD (the bird which I took to EWR) and SGA (the one I took back) had slightly different iPod hubs. The seats on SGA had extra space (for your glasses for eg) but almost none on SGD.

[Edit: I think the lack of space came from the fact that my seat was a bulkhead in the beginning, and not due the difference in aircraft.]





Halfway through the music I fell asleep, only to be awaken by an FA asking for my dinner choice. This was around 7pm SIN. (If I'm not mistaken, I thought dinner was always served much later in the past)



Dinner Menu, Singapore - New York
Prelude
Satay, with onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce.



Starters
Duck liver terrine with smoked duck breast and mixed salad



Main
Linguine Pasta with sautéed prawns, spring peas, zucchinis, wilted spinach and tomato coulis.



For dessert, there were two choices again. Opera gateau, or Pandan coconut panna cotta. It was the Opera pour moi.



After dinner we were all put to sleep like babies again.

[sQchap]

The flight was very smooth throughout until we encountered some turbulence over Alaska. Looking out of the window I was greeted by dawn over the Alaskan mountains.





The passenger mingle areas (like in the past) were no longer there. Instead, it is now all storage areas by the galleys. There are also only six washrooms on the A340-500, so it tends to get rather crowded at times.




(Notice the tap which only has a hot/cold switch instead of a temperature adjuster like on the A380)

We arrived at EWR almost an hour earlier than the scheduled arrival time (favourable tailwinds maybe?). I took the opportunity to snap a couple more shots before saying so long to the cabin crew who made the 18 hours an extremely pleasant one.

[slacker]

Nice trip report!

I think you are the first to post any trip report or pics of the new A345 cabin in any aviation forum.

Congrats for making history!

[Singapore_Air]

A nice trip report SQChap. I think Slacker is spot on when he says this is the first trip report of its kind on the internet. Well done.

[KeithMEL]

V nice overview of the new service, sQchap. Some great photographic work there, especially of the food.

[SQ LPP]

Great report! First report on all C A345.
It's a great reminder that several of us did the first flight on A345 SIN - EWR - SIN several years ago!

[jjpb3]

Bravo, sQchap, for a detailed, informative and pioneering TR.

I was so surprised by the choice of dessert I forgot to take pictures!


After tea/coffee and petits fours the cabin lights were dimmed.
...
I then started checking out this month's IFE. The flight mode picture of the earth only showed one 2D profile of the earth though, so I was staring at the African continent throughout. (The route was understandably long but I prefer the map shown on the A380 SIN-LHR route)

And humorous to boot.

[nickbot]

Excellent report sQchap, some great photos there

[Pure Shores]

Thank you for the trip report.
The first one I have seen on the refurbished A340!

[chelseanyc]

thanks for posting this tr. would it be ok if you post your return trip ewr - sin flight for us please? thanks!

[HUGE AL]

I've been curious about this bird for quite some time. Many thanks for a great TR.

[9V-JKL]

Thanks for sharing sQchap!