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Singapore airlines - Thumbs up.


Butch

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Just booked 3 economy returns LHR-MNL for the School holidays in April, everywhere else was £1800+ (including all the ME options). Singapore came in at £944 per person (3 adults).

I've checked their prices for Bangkok in May, not half bad at all, between £450 - £700 depending upon the type of econ ticket. Their PE came in at £1500 return but Business outward and PE back came in at £1910.

Never flown with Singapore Airlines before, I've heard their economy is half decent. It's also possible to "bid" for an upgrade, currently from econ to PE one way (for the return journey) is between £200 to £400 per person (£400 giving a very good chance of the upgrade).

Business with Singapore for dates in September are coming in at exactly £2000. Not a bad fare at all really.

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Pre Covid I have used them for flights between BKK and SIN; I have always travelled economy on these short haul flights.  More expensive than Scoot, Air Asia and similar low cost airlines, but a totally different and professional service offered.  

Food drink and one check in case was included in the ticket price.  Obviously in economy no priority check in, priority boarding or lounge access, but the set up at Changi airport is generally so efficient (almost regimented) that you are not stood in long queues for any length of time.

Fantastic and clean airport at Singapore too.

I must admit since Covid manifested itself I am missing the short trips from Thailand into Singapore.

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My mate flew Singapore Airlines from London to Thailand in December, he came back in February.  He thought the plus was going via Changi which he rated (like me ) a great transit airport.

His thoughts on SQ were similar to his thoughts on BA/Qatar/Thai and Eva as he traveled economy, nothing stood out as special but some nice eye candy.

I always thought that SQ were impressive in business and first but average (similar to other full service airlines) in economy. Probably need to compare in flight entertainment systems etc to make up my mind but price would probably be the biggest incentive in my choice of airline long haul as I have a family.

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  • 3 weeks later...

As an update, we booked direct with the Airline. I asked about the VTL system they are operating and emailed them had a reply back within 12 hours with each point addressed and answered.

I will stick my neck out and say that Cathay and Singapore Airlines Customer Service is far superior to most others. This is our first trip with Singapore as Cathay don't operate a service via HKG at the time of  booking, but I find the SEA Airlines better equipped for a good customer Service delivery that most others.

Slightly OT but Does anyone know if THAI and EVA have re opened their London offices?.

 

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58 minutes ago, Butch said:

As an update, we booked direct with the Airline. I asked about the VTL system they are operating and emailed them had a reply back within 12 hours with each point addressed and answered.

I will stick my neck out and say that Cathay and Singapore Airlines Customer Service is far superior to most others. This is our first trip with Singapore as Cathay don't operate a service via HKG at the time of  booking, but I find the SEA Airlines better equipped for a good customer Service delivery that most others.

Slightly OT but Does anyone know if THAI and EVA have re opened their London offices?.

 

Sent an email to Thai London as website says they're working from home, not calls.

No response in over a week. Sent to same email to Bangkok Office, responded in a few hours.

EVA are scheduled to fly again from London in June.

Been looking at Scoot for non stop to Bangkok. 

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2 minutes ago, Krapow said:

Sent an email to Thai London as website says they're working from home, not calls.

No response in over a week. Sent to same email to Bangkok Office, responded in a few hours.

EVA are scheduled to fly again from London in June.

Been looking at Scoot for non stop to Bangkok. 

If you're not averse to a very short layover, check Singapore prices mate, they're actually half decent plus so far the CS has been mustard. Might be worth biting the bullet for this trip only.

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8 minutes ago, Butch said:

If you're not averse to a very short layover, check Singapore prices mate, they're actually half decent plus so far the CS has been mustard.

About 2 and half Grand for the 3 of us, that's with pick your seats and 30kgs.

But they're meant to be a  great airline by all accounts. 

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4 minutes ago, Krapow said:

About 2 and half Grand for the 3 of us, that's with pick your seats and 30kgs.

But they're meant to be a  great airline by all accounts. 

3 large fir us three to the RP, so what around £800 pp for you?. Seems steep for non direct tbh. Excellent CS so far, but if you can get direct for the same, that's better.

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29 minutes ago, Butch said:

3 large fir us three to the RP, so what around £800 pp for you?. Seems steep for non direct tbh. Excellent CS so far, but if you can get direct for the same, that's better.

Made a couple of small adjustments, now £2100, that's 30kgs coming back which would be more of a requirement comi ng back.

Definitely an option, just 2 hour layovers, the bulk of the flights done in one segment. 

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1 minute ago, Krapow said:

Made a couple of small adjustments, now £2100, that's 30kgs coming back which would be more of a requirement comi ng back.

Definitely an option, just 2 hour layovers, the bulk of the flights done in one segment. 

Regarding the layovers, they have numerous flights per day heading to MNL, I would like to assume there's more than one for BKK so if you miss the connection they can easily bump you. Worth speaking direct to their CS if that may apply. CS is absolutely top drawer, 24hr reply and super efficient.

90kg between 3 of you? You're beginning to sound like my Mrs! check the optional excess baggage if they have it, or if you're opting for Econ lite, look at econ STD.

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I just had a look at the Singapore Air prices to Bangkok for Sept / Oct : £1666 for business outward and Premium Econ on the return leg. Econ came in at a touch over £670 If I recall.

EVA Premium econ came in at £1564, Econ came in at £743

Regarding the EVA Econ fare, that's not cheap but I did actually pay more than that on my worst ever trip in Feb 2013.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've looked at Singapore Airlines from California and in economy, it states a 34" seat pitch, which is about as much leg room as you could ever hope for, especially when American carriers are pretty much 31" seat pitch, so those extra 3 inches really make a difference! 

Ah yes, I can hear the jokes now.

But what would cause me to question booking with them is that I don't care how comfy the seats are, that flight for me is over 17 HOURS! And then the 2 and a half hour connecting flight to BKK. Longest I ever flew was 15 hours from Dubai to SF in 2020 and that was about my limit. By 13 hours, I was starting to get antsy to get off that sucker.

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I fly  SQ all the time ,until covid it, as I live here.Made a mistake of flying BA once.Shower of shite.

They are  using the A350 now for London. I flew to London just before COVID hit .For business class the seat is huge width wise. However when you make it into the bed the foot area is tiny and at an angle. Very weird and not so comfortable. Your flat but not straight .

Overall still the best airline by miles.Changi airport also fantastic. Im going to london in a few weeks ,looking forward to getting on a plane again.

Enjoy your flight with SQ

 

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13 hours ago, Butch said:

food was excellent, 2 choices of chicken or prawns , good portions served 2 hours into the flight with breakfast of eggs or chicken served 4 hours prior to landing. Snacks and drinks available throughout, and Cabin crew were very easy on the eye as well as being very quick and attentive.

Perfect!

Was the wine in economy served in bottles that can be stashed in the seat pocket, or by the glass (2 at a time)?

I'd like to know which other airlines do bottles in economy too.... Air France use to do a cracking bottled wine in economy

 

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13 hours ago, Derek Dangleberries said:

Perfect!

Was the wine in economy served in bottles that can be stashed in the seat pocket, or by the glass (2 at a time)?

I'd like to know which other airlines do bottles in economy too.... Air France use to do a cracking bottled wine in economy

 

Wine served by the plastic glass, decent selection of red and white, but no rose. The CC serving were generous with it, I had a gin and tonic and a can of tiger on the go during lunch, followed by another tiger beer when the came round with more coffee.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Final update on how I found Singapore Airlines:

We landed this morning bang on schedule at 07:45, having left Singapore 45 min late. Our MNL-SIN flight also left a few minutes late but arrived early into SIN.

Singapore airlines have a very ordered and rapid system of boarding, done in "groups". Your Pass is checked prior to going through the door to the airbridge, but if you're in group 6 (boarded from rear to front) then once group 5 is called, join the queue and you'll be allowed through.

Our MNL-SIN was an Airbus A350-900, very clean, very modern and extremely quiet and smooth. I was really impressed with the A350 and prefer it over the Boeing 787 for both passenger comfort and space. Our SIN-LHR was, however, a different story. It was an aging 777-333 which, to be honest was showing signs of wear and tear. Seats were hard, headrests were hard and stiff to move, as was the seat recline, although in economy it was quite generous. Legroom was less than the Airbus A388 and A350, but only marginally. I did find the tray table in the Boeing too low though, so eating the (crap) food meant having to bend my neck and "hover" over the plastic tray in order to stop me decorating my crotch with chicken noodles.

When the seat is in the upright position, it's also bloody uncomfortable.

IMG_20220501_140203 (Medium).jpg

The food was also pretty abysmal. My noodles were hard, and I ended up chucking them into the toilet after 30 mins after eating. Again, the toilets showed their age and unlike the Airbus, where free toothbrushes etc are in the drawers in the econ toilets and numerous, in this Aircraft there were just a handful (eyeshades are available on request) . Also paper cups but a sign over the tap saying "NOT FOR DRINKING" - daft.

IMG_20220501_140234 (Medium).jpg

Main meal served 2 hours after departure, noodles or fish with rice, breakfast served 2 hours prior to landing, scrambled eggs and sausage or shrimp rice. Neither of the options were particularly appealing, whereas on the outward the food was very good. Snacks available throughout in the galley.

Had I paid for a biz class fare on this aricraft, I'd feel pretty ripped off. Seats were dated and did not look very comfortable, the PE cabin was relatively small and had the older style "faux leather" seats, but would have been a good choice I think.

Econ seating is, surprisingly 3-3-3 on this dated aircraft, I'm not sure if this is representative of all Singapore Airline's 777 fleet though.

The IFE was every bit as good as the Airbus versions, Cabin Crew service was exceptional.

I've no idea what Aircraft Singapore run and on what route they use them on, but the Airbus A388 / A350 combo was by far the best experience. Incidentally, the A388 Window seats have a great deal of space between the seat and "wall", whereas the 777 does not.

The experience does not put me off Singapore though. It's a very well run, slick and efficient operation on the ground, as pax we were kept very well informed and the CC are super cute (the female ones, anyway). The dresses they wear do allow anyone in an aisle seat an interesting view when they put or retried anything from the trolley...😍

chatting with the wife, once we've burned through our currently considerable Marco Polo mileage, we may well switch to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer, as like Cathay, they really do have a very impressive set up.

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5 hours ago, Butch said:

Final update on how I found Singapore Airlines:

Ta.

Are they back serving booze in flight ? I believe many airlines ceased doing this during Covid.

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10 hours ago, Zeb said:

Ta.

Are they back serving booze in flight ? I believe many airlines ceased doing this during Covid.

Yes, and copious amounts as well. During service you're offered wine / beer etc, then about 10 mins later they come round for second drinks, coffee tea, wine etc.

As I was driving home from the Airport I was not on the juice, but on the outward I had a can of Tiger and a glass of wine on the go during dinner, and a further 3 cans afterwards. Just a question of going to the galley and asking, or hitting the call button and asking very nicely.

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