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Trip Report - Singapore-Shanghai SQ Raffles Class

 
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sri_bom
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Joined: 22 Dec 2006
Posts: 2365
Location: Singapore

PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 7:52 pm    Post subject: Trip Report - Singapore-Shanghai SQ Raffles Class Reply with quote

Here is my delayed trip report to Shanghai. I had been busy from the time I came back hence could not write it earlier.

Date of Departure & Time: March 27th 2007
Flight No – SQ 806 ETD : 10:10
Aircraft – Boeing 777-300
Flying time : 5:20 Minutes
Class: Raffles (Business) Seat: 12K (Window)
Singapore - Shanghai

Reached 2 hours prior to departure and after checking in my luggage decided to spend some time around the airport. Random shots within Changi Airport.

Photo 1) Nice little desks to work on your emails just before catching your flight. (I think it’s time that they make Changi completely free Wi-Fi on the lines of KL airport)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/471224646/

Since most of the time I have been in a rush, I never got time to explore the sunflower garden. So I decided to visit the same. Just outside the sunflower garden is the movie theater which basically plays movies from Star movies or HBO on a large screen in a movie theatre like ambience. Although a simple concept, the placement and execution is good.

Photo 2 – Entrance to the movie theater

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/471224650/

Photo 3 – Movie posters all across

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/471224658/

Photo 4 – One of the tantalizing posters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475310419/

The sunflower garden itself was a disappointment. My idea was to get some photogenic shots of the apron but you can take snaps only from the side as the front portion is blocked by the garden itself. The garden was quite hot and sunny and since the place is popular with smokers, it kind of stinks. Anyways I did manage to take a few shots including a 2 SQ bird in Star Alliance color - one a 777 and the other a 747 being pushed back.

Photo 5 – The ubiquitous sunflower garden
http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475310425/


Photo 6 – Philippines Airlines on gate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475314775/

Photo 7 – SQ 777 in Star Alliance Colors

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475314777/

Photo 8 – SQ 747 in star Alliance Colors

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475316682/

Photo 9 – SQ 747 in star Alliance Colors on pushback 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475316686/

Photo 10 – SQ 747 in star Alliance Colors on pushback 2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475316690/

Photo 11 – Rows of SQ with one 747 belonging to the emirate of Bahrain and MH.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475321513/

Finally it was time to go as the gates for my flight were open:

Photo 11 – SQ 806 info being displayed on the screen

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475331711/

Photo 12 – My bird to Shanghai

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475331719/

Business class seats are all sold out on the Shanghai route as it is quite a popular route for SQ. I saw a lot of Indians on the 10:10 flight as the flights from BOM/DEL arrive into Singapore by about 8:00 AM and this is the earliest connecting flight to Shanghai.

Now here is the funny part… I was the only guy in the business class in a totally casual dress where as I could see that all the others were in their business suits (This is something I never understand…. the attitude of biz class pax. I am sure half of the pax on the plane will not be meeting any client the moment they land in PVG, so I always fail to understand the need to dress up in your Armani suits if you fly business class).

Anyway, to my embarrassment, as I was clicking photographs, the guy next to me asked whether I was traveling for the first time. I had to explain to him how aviation is a hobby and how we all write about our experiences on the blog. Then he thought that I was a journalist as he could not grapple as to why any one would write their experiences about an airplane ride. Anyway, in my endeavor to explain to him, I could not take more snaps during take off.

Photo 13 – The massive Trent engines from my seat.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475330902/

For some strange reason the engine was making a massive noise during take off which was quite deafening and unusual. I don’t know whether this was because I was seated in business class. The noise eventually subsided as we climbed and leveled out at 10,000 feet.

Before lunch was served, one of the air stewardess came up and told me that she was glad to inform me that my special vegetarian Indian meal has been airlifted. (I found this quite strange because she better be glad, otherwise I would be unhappy).

She first set the table with the cutlery and napkins. The starter was quite interesting and filling. It was some kind of vegetable wrap & reminded me of the famous Frankie which is available at Churchgate station in Bombay. I had a very good German wine to wash down the wrap. After eating the wrap I was quite full and was wondering how I was going to finish the rest of the meal.

Photo 14 – Wrap http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475330908/

The second course was some kind of salad which I decided to give a miss as I found it nothing more then a mess of raw vegetables decorated with strange leaves…..

Photo 15 – Salad - http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/475330914/

For the main course, I was served Jeera rice and Dal which I enjoyed. I guess for vegetarians sometimes piping hot dal and jeera rice can be the mother of all food in case one is not sure what to eat.

Photo 16 – Jeera Rice and Dal –

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/483855031/

For dessert, I chose chocolate mousse over crackers with cheese. After the tables were cleared, a crew member offered us Swiss chocolates, of which I gladly took two.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and before landing I thought of using the restroom. The washroom was occupied and so the air stewardess guided me to the opposite one via the galley. She even held the door open for me, which I felt was a nice gesture. (Of course when I was sharing this incident about the crew to my wife, she said to stop fantasizing as the air hostess would not have entered the restroom with me to help in other matters and was merely holding the door. There goes my fantasy with a Sarong Kebaya lady)

Anyway, the restroom was clean and neat.

Photo 17 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/67514846@N00/483855033/

Overall a much better experience when flying business class. Crew members address you by name. Two crew members were exceptionally good and were really serving from the heart rather than merely going through the bland, robotic motions that is the hallmark of the SQ staff.

I hope you guys enjoyed the TR. I appreciate all comments and feedback.

Sri_Bom
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stealthpilot
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Always hard to explain yourself to other passengers huh Smile
Nice TR, no pics of the seats by any chance?

As for the business travelers, it's not unusual at all for them to go to meetings straight from the airport or something. They work on the move, airport to- conference or hotel im sure it’s more convenient to stay appropriately dressed.
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malQ
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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 9:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for an interesting trip report. I agree, the salad looks like a sad attempt to recreate an onion-inclusive desi salad, but then that's what they usually present with a Hindu-Indian veg meal, to keep out the egg/meat/lacto elements.

Your comment on Business Class pax is true, mos times the majority of them sit and behave as though they are there to be seen and not see.

The art of enjoying business class travel includes wearing smart casuals to board and then you change into a track suit with zipper pockets as soon as you board before take-off, drinking some wine BEFORE boarding, consuming gallons of oranje juice or other non-caffeine non-sweetened beverages while on board, and being on an equal hail-fellow basis with the cabin crew which is not much more than a cheery attitude towards equals who are serving you rather than a higher attitude towards servitude.


I learnt this on Business Class on Aeroflot (where you often get bumped up to First Class) and Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic. I did not learn this on Jet Airways Club Premiere and British Airways Club Whatever. And I really enjoyed this on BR-Eva Executive Deluxe . . . but I did not learn this on KE-Korean or CX-Cathay.
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the_380
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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 10:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great TR sri_bom... liked the pics also...
Btw speaking of Biz. Class passenger atttitude, from what i have seen/heard, it is quite bad (somewhat similar to what sri_bom mentioned in his TR) in top choices like EK,SQ,VS, etc.
But as far as i have seen in AI,IC,9W MOST of the passengers from Biz. Class are not so bad, they do end up giving you a smile.
Fantastic TR neways.
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karatecatman
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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Smile TR


Talking about business class here's a nice read:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117831481244892665.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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sri_bom
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Location: Singapore

PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

malQ wrote:
Thank you for an interesting trip report. I agree, the salad looks like a sad attempt to recreate an onion-inclusive desi salad, but then that's what they usually present with a Hindu-Indian veg meal, to keep out the egg/meat/lacto elements.

Your comment on Business Class pax is true, mos times the majority of them sit and behave as though they are there to be seen and not see.

The art of enjoying business class travel includes wearing smart casuals to board and then you change into a track suit with zipper pockets as soon as you board before take-off, drinking some wine BEFORE boarding, consuming gallons of oranje juice or other non-caffeine non-sweetened beverages while on board, and being on an equal hail-fellow basis with the cabin crew which is not much more than a cheery attitude towards equals who are serving you rather than a higher attitude towards servitude.


I learnt this on Business Class on Aeroflot (where you often get bumped up to First Class) and Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic. I did not learn this on Jet Airways Club Premiere and British Airways Club Whatever. And I really enjoyed this on BR-Eva Executive Deluxe . . . but I did not learn this on KE-Korean or CX-Cathay.


Thank you all for the feedback. MALQ I agree 100% on the above.
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Birendra
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PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 10:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice trip report.

Thank you for sharing.
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Nimish
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PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 3:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent report with good pictures to boot. Glad to see traction in the TR section these days!
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Akshay
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PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 4:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent TR & pics sri_bom.. Liked the pics especially
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stealthpilot
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PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 8:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

malQ wrote:

Your comment on Business Class pax is true, mos times the majority of them sit and behave as though they are there to be seen and not see.

The art of enjoying business class travel includes wearing smart casuals to board and then you change into a track suit with zipper pockets as soon as you board before take-off, drinking some wine BEFORE boarding, consuming gallons of oranje juice or other non-caffeine non-sweetened beverages while on board, and being on an equal hail-fellow basis with the cabin crew which is not much more than a cheery attitude towards equals who are serving you rather than a higher attitude towards servitude.

Well I agree to an extent. but....
On long flights it might seem more convenient to wear smart casuals. On those long hops they have lounges and shower areas etc so they can change and freshness up, but on a short flight (even 4 hours) it doesn’t astonish me that they stay dressed. Now if they leave their coat on then ya, that’s weird.

However most business class travelers are not there to show off or be seen. They fly multiple times a month- obviously there is some prestige in flying J but these guys do it all the time its unfair to imply that most of them have a superior snobbish attitude.

I know that’s not what anybody is implying but im just clarifying. There will always be the odd person there to brag, but im sure the frequent biz travelers have a reason (other than pride) to wear what they do while traveling.
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HAWK21M
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PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 10:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Its the Individual concerned.Most are not confident with their special status & need to flout it.Whereas the person whose humble or a frequent user on Biz class won't find it extraordinary.

regds
MEL
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AKLDELNonstop
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PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2007 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice TR mate!!! If possible please embed the pics in ur next TR makes it easier. Don't have to click the links again and again.

As far as business pax are concerned, many of them are prolly silly consultants going to meetings with even sillier clients to discuss the silliest of strategies.

Cheers
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sri_bom
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AKLDELNonstop wrote:
Nice TR mate!!! If possible please embed the pics in ur next TR makes it easier. Don't have to click the links again and again.

As far as business pax are concerned, many of them are prolly silly consultants going to meetings with even sillier clients to discuss the silliest of strategies.

Cheers


He He You have me laughing on the business class pax attitude I agree all this corporate jargons sometimes makes me wonder whether anyone conducts real meaningful discussion.....

I have tried numerous times to embed the images into the TR but some how technically I seem to have a challange inspite of some help from Aseem I have given it up finally.....find giving the links much easier...

Cheers

Sri_BoM
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