That Time Of The Year!

Planning

Planning for the trip proper was easy as I only intend to stay 1 night in NYC.  My initial intention was to stay in the iconic TWA hotel but after calculating the cost including late check out? I decided to stay in Intercontinental Times Square at only 44,000 IHG points which include an 10am early check in and 4pm late check out by virtue of my Intercontinental Ambassador status.

The hard part was to hunt for a place for me to do my pre-travel swab.  After much hunting (using the link on Singapore Airlines website), I found this place near my hotel at 47^th street which was just a 5-minutes’ walk away.  There are many testing areas in Midtown but with time constraint (I have less than 36 hours in Manhattan), I needed a place where I can get the result on the same day. 

As for pre-travel swab, one only needs an ART to fly to USA 72 hours before departure.  Phoenix Medical Group will certainly be my to-go to place for my pre-travel needs for obvious reason.

The Trip – Part 1: SQ 26

I went straight to airport from work (yes, I worked till 9pm on the day of my travel).  The First Class check-in terminal is still close (unfortunately) hence I could only use the regular check in counter.  There was a queue at the premium check-in counter, and it took me a while before I finally got my boarding pass.  During the check-in process, you will need to present your ART/PCR negative test result and for those traveling to USA, the passenger attestation form as required by CDC. 

Silverkris Lounge (The temporary one)

After immigration, I went straight to the temporary Silverkris Lounge and there was a queue to get in!  My initial hope that the First Class Lounge should not be busy was dashed when I almost had no place to seat in the First Class Section!  Found a table seat, ordered my food via QR code scanning (which is very cumbersome as I need to login to the Silverkris Lounge wi-fi).  The food took 20 minutes – I only ordered the Laksa (which was delicious!) and mushroom soup.  After 1 serving of bubbly (self-help from the drink counter), I took a quick shower and slowly walked to gate A11.  My overall impression of the First Class section? It’s a farce and there is no need to waste too much time there!  Once the new Silverkris Lounge is ready, things will surely be different (I am sure of it).

Boarding was fast.  The last time I walked down the aerobridge was 13 months ago for a pseudo-onboard experience.  This time, I am flying for real!  Walking down the aerobridge brought back the pre-covid memories and boy how much I missed flying.

So how was the flight?

The Seat

The 777-300ER spots 4 seats (previously 8) making it ultra-exclusive but at the same time a little claustrophobic compared to the Suites in A380.  With only 4 seats, one has a much higher chance of being alone and imagine my delight when I was told that I am indeed alone (for the entire flight up to JFK!).  With only 4 seats, there are NO BAD seats in First Class.  For those traveling as couple, the obvious choice 1C/1D would be the natural choice while for those traveling alone it will be either 1A or 1F.

Unlike the Business Class seats, you have a full width leg rest (and not a foot well) making it more comfortable to sleep in.

Compared to the old 777-300ER seats (which I have reviewed on my SQ15 trip in 2015 and SQ636 trip in 2016), both the seat and bed are more comfortable than its predecessor.  Both are equally wide with a very good leg rest space.  The new seat feels more private, and the lounging position feels more comfortable. 

The TV is certainly an upgrade over its predecessor with a large 24” Full HD screen. 

Service

Service as expected is TOP NOTCH!  Nothing less from SQ.  Despite pandemic and crew have not been flying as regularly as pre-pandemic, I was very well taken care of.  Both leading steward Clement Lum and leading stewardess Jess took care of me throughout the journey, making sure that my first flight after almost 2 years is memorable.

On the FRA-JFK segment, a new set of leading crew – Ginny and Gareth again took good care and fed me constantly.  They kept topping up my drinks and honey walnut, knowing that I missed the honey walnut a lot.

Food & Beverage

Since September, Singapore Airlines has reintroduced the course-by-course meal instead of the single-tray meal practice during the pandemic.  Some changes compared to my past SQ26 experience include:

• Reduction in courses – instead of a separate soup, salad and appetizer, you now have a choice of appetizer which can be either the caviar, soup or salad.
• Availability of Caviar as a choice – previously, no caviar was available on SQ 26 (and caviar being presented in the jar) despite this being a flagship route
• More BTC choices for breakfast instead of just limited selection
• The first meal ex-FRA is now lunch instead of breakfast (means Satay and yay – more Caviar!)
• Lack of a physical menu making ordering a little more cumbersome
• Reduction in BTC choices vs pre-pandemic level.  Other than ex-SIN, there is no more lobster thermidor BTC for FCL in other stations (there goes my Lobster Thermidor ex-FRA).

For the first sector, I chose only the Caviar for my appetizer as I wasn’t keen to eat too much as it was quite late.  Lobster thermidor this time was excellent but sadly, what used to be a Business Class BTC is now only for First Class.  I ended up with a good New York Cheesecake.

Midflight, one can request for meal if one is hungry, and I did asked for some.  I had a substantial breakfast before touching down to Frankfurt.

For my second sector, Elaine (the IFM) was pushing me to try all 3 appetizers and all 3 I tried.  Having all 3 appetizer is what First Class dining used to be.  Having beef on flight can be a little risky but the beef I had this round was to my liking.  It was medium-well done which is what I usually prefer, and it was not tough at all.  With the first meal now designated as lunch instead of breakfast, I had a second round of caviar as well.  The noodle served just before landing was good and I don’t recall ever having a lousy Chinese style fried noodle in First Class.

There was no Krug on board, and Taittinger is the other champagne besides Dom Perignon (which I did not try this round).  The crew was nice enough to take every bottle out to show me (not that I am able to appreciate it) but the lack of a physical menu makes it harder to order my drinks.  The one drink that I know I will not miss is my Blue Mountain coffee (which I took 6 or 7 cups throughout the flight).

First meal – Post take off supper

Second Meal – Breakfast

Post Take-off Lunch

Pre-arrival meal

Mid-Flight Snacks

Amenity Kit

Singapore Airlines is still using Lalique for the Pajamas and Amenity Kit.  I received 2 sets of pajamas but only 1 kit (vs. 2 back in 2015 and 2017).  Slippers and socks follow the same black theme which has been so since 2018.

Connectivity

One area upgraded for passengers is the connectivity.  First Class passengers will now get unlimited Wi-Fi throughout the flight.  The connection is quite straight forward but one can only connect 1 device at a time.  For normal surfing and social media, this is more than adequate.

Transit Lounge – Lufthansa Senator Lounge

One no longer needs to walk thru an elaborate maze (with and escort) unlike previously.  What has not changed is how lousy Lufthansa Senator Lounge is!  It is good enough for a 2 hour layover for you to refresh yourself (forget about the food selection).  I have had reviewed this lounge before here.

One difference though is that on disembarkation, there will be a check for those going onwards to JFK on:

• Pre-departure swab result
• ESTA
• Vaccination status
• Return ticket for non-resident

The pandemic has really changed thing for travelers.  In my so many visits flying into JFK, this was the first time I flew into a completely empty arrival hall.  SQ 26 must have been the 1^st arrival of the day as none of the immigration counter was open.  I was through immigration in less than 5 minutes.  In all, I think it took me < 30 mins from the moment I disembarked to the time I was on the cab to Manhattan! (Compared to 2.5h of going thru security when I arrived from Panama City 2 years ago).

Frankfurt view from Seat 1A

Summary of my 32,000 km journey