Similar to the British Airways flight BA 1, SQ 21 is one of the ’special‘ flights on my list.
Here’s why:
- it is the longest commercial flight with a scheduled flight time of 18:40h – actual flight time depends on wind conditions, of course. Distance is approximately 10000 miles (converts to 16000 km). Based on the inflight flight statistics our flight was around 10200 miles in distance.
- it is an all-Business Class flight with 100 seats 1-2-1, operated by an Airbus A340-500
- it is Singapore Airlines – never had a chance to fly SQ before
- due to the lenght it is a challenge – both physical and mental
- it is one of the few flights which arrives +2. That’s arriving 2 days after departure due to time zones and flight duration and schedule (will cover why this was most important to me in another post)
In preparation for this flight I was able to select my prefered meal online, as mentioned in this post.
As I had an inbound flight with United Express I had to change terminals in Newark and used this opportunity to stop by the Singapore Airlines check in counter to get a SQ-branded boarding pass (which was a good decission, as it turned out later).
TSA security control was easy but with the new x-ray scanner. Stil unsure, if I like this….
SQ departs from Terminal B. The official Lounge for this flight is the Scandinavian Airlines Lounge. Could also have used Lufthansa’s Lounge next door but I wanted to stay in the SAS-Lounge. Unfortunately, there are now showers in any of the two lounges. That’s a bit sad, as SQ 21 leaves at 23:00 in the evening after a probably long (business) day and arrives at approx 06:00 in the morning in Singapore, at the beginning of a new long (business) day. And guess what? There’s no lounge with showers either in Singapore which can be used with an inbound flight. Luckily I do have a Priority Pass and there’s the „Ambassador Transit Lounge“ in Terminal 2 with basic showers.
Boarding started on time and they did want to see an original SQ boarding pass. Tried it with my printed by United boarding pass but was declined. Strange. Can’t they imagine that there are connecting passengers with no original SQ boarding pass? Hm.
Was the second pax to board. This was my first impression:
The seat itself is very comfortable as a seat. It measures 30 inches in width. Really liked it. And the leather is comfy, too. Seat pitch is not that much.
What I did not like is the bed. The seat can easily be turned into a fully lie flat bed but it is way too short for me. I’d say, bed length is about 1,80m – similar to British Airways seat in the A318. And, even more uncomfortable, I’d to lie with angled legs and foot space is very limited. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of that :-( I know, I’m too tall for a frequent flyer and Singapore Airlines is an Asian airline….
Seat features power and iPod connectifity.
Cup holders.
Nice 20″ entertainment system with top movies – even in German language!
We were ony 30 Passengers on board. That’s sad as SQ does probably not really earn money with this flight. On the other hand I am wondering why they do not open award space for this flight. It was really difficult to find an available seat and it was more than luck that I got this seat on this very special date!
There are no real amenity kits available for this long flight, but shaving kit or toothbrush are available at the lavatory. Well, the lavatory is _very_ small. It was a real hassle to change clothes.
We only got a pouch with slippers and a separate eyeshade. But that’s typically Singapore Airlines. Nothing secial related to this flight.
About half an hour after take off service started with drinks (fortunately Coca-Cola brand) and the first meal service started soon with a thuna salad followed the main course.
I pre-ordered „Pan-fried fillet of beef in three peppercorn sauce with garden vegetables and roasted potatoes“.
It was delicios!
And an ice cream as a dessert.
During the long flight there was serverd another hot meal on request:
Approximately one hour prior to arrival in Singapore we got a breakfast. I pre-ordered eggs sunny side up with sausages and hash browns.
As a summary, it was a nice flight, big adventure and experience. Thought, it would be more comfortable.
Here’s a picture of the acutal flown flight path:
More technical details on this flight can be found in Wikipedia. Our flight took 18:50 hours and was 10350 miles long.
Regards,
Dieter
