Picture courtesy of Airbus (airbus.com)
With October 11 nearing, Singapore Airlines will soon regain the title of the longest route in the world (at about 9,500 miles) with the relaunching of SQ22 and SQ21.
Picture courtesy of Airbus (airbus.com)
With October 11 nearing, Singapore Airlines will soon regain the title of the longest route in the world (at about 9,500 miles) with the relaunching of SQ22 and SQ21.
Singapore Airlines does not have a Krisflyer lounge in Shanghai which is a tad surprising considering that SQ flies 4 daily flights to PVG, so First Class or Suite passengers are invited to use the No.71 Air China First Class Lounge located near gate D71, but on the second floor where there are other cafes and restaurants located.
With the 787-10 serving mainly the regional sector, how does it fare compared to the Business Class cabins of the A380 and 77W? I shall let the pictures do the talking (courtesy of my business partner, AF).
After a hiatus, lets hear it again from CHC on his most recent trip on SQ F to PVG on the 77WR (using the 2013 F cabin, but spotting just 4 instead of 8 seats).
SilkAir is the regional arm of Singapore Airlines which had its humble beginnings as Tradewinds Airlines back in 1989. It was incorporated as SilkAir in 1992 and since then it has been operating regional flights spanning South East Asia, East Asia, South Asia and Northern Australia. It operates only narrowbodies (Boeing 737 and Airbus A319/A320). Recently, they have acquired 5 new 737 MAX as part of their fleet expansion programme.
Although fully owned by Singapore Airlines and one can earn/redeem Krisflyer Miles on SilkAir, it is not part of the Star Alliance group. What it means is that Business Class travellers cannot access Star Alliance Business Lounge using SilkAir boarding pass. Nevertheless, they can still access the Silverkris Lounge in Changi Airport Terminal 2 and designated SilkAir Business Lounges abroad.
Finally, the flight all (almost) flight enthusiast and probably businessmen had been waiting for – SQ22/SQ21. This is the direct Singapore-Newark flight that was terminated back in 2013 due to the rising fuel cost and the old A340-500’s thirst for fuel sealed the fate of this route….. until now!
Singapore Airlines has announced the resumption of this route, but it will be using the more fuel efficient dual engine modified Airbus A350-900XWB (morphing it into the A350-900ULR).
I just came back from a conference in Bangkok and I managed to position myself to try out the new 787-10 in which Singapore Airlines was the launch customer. The 787-10 is meant to handle the regional flights currently being managed by the A330-300s and 777-200s which is way due for replacement. While the SQ974 is still being flown on an A333, SQ973 is being used as one of the short haul route for crew familiarisation before being used for its intended purpose – regional flights (KIX and PER being the first 2 destinations). So how was the flight?
After 2 years of launch, I finally get to try the Airbus A350-900 XWB. SQ 327 was originally operated on a 77W which was changed to A350 since 2017. With the change, Munich no longer has any First Class.
Singapore Airlines fly out of Terminal 2 (while the S-Bahn stops at Terminal 1). There is a Priority Security screening line for Business Class passengers and once through, you will be in the Schengen Area. There is a Lufthansa Lounge in the Schengen Area but international travellers need to use the one that is located after the immigration screening (which unfortunately has no priority line).
More Spontaneous Escapes from Singapore Airlines Krisflyer redemption – but locations this round seems more limited!
One destination that is worth considering however, is DPS. Only 17,500 miles for a return ticket in Business Class! SQ uses the A330-300 for their DPS service. It may not use the latest Business Class seats, it is still a fairly comfortable way to travel on a 2.5 hours flight. You will get to try out the Silverkris Lounge and a BTC on the way to Bali.
I decided to put both flights into one review since these are short haul flights. 2017 had been pretty hectic on many fronts and I decided that I needed a short getaway. I initially redeemed a pair of return tickets to DPS for 70k miles but unfortunately the Mount Agung situation forced me to make some adjustments. I topped up 10k miles to change my tickets to Hanoi instead (as I have not been to Hanoi before). About one week later, Singapore Airlines came up with their getaway promotion where 30% discount on redemption was given on selected destinations. Guess what, Hanoi was one of them! I still had to play around with my booking to enjoy this 30%. I converted more miles from my DBS account and did 2 separate one way redemptions. I was confirmed on SQ 175 but waitlisted on SQ 176 (while holding on to my original booking). 2 weeks before my flight, my waitlist cleared and I duly cancelled my original booking and got my 80k miles back within 4 days (with penalty of USD 30 per person for the cancellation). This is certainly worth the 24k miles savings!
That Time Of The Year! 