Flight Details:

Carrier: Singapore Airlines (SQ)
Flight Number: SQ 212
Route: Sydney (SYD) – Singapore (SIN)
Duration: 7h 50m
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Registration: 9V-SWQ
Cabin Class: Economy Class
Seat Number: 50C
Date: 29/03/16

Singapore Airlines trumps many other carriers when it comes to Economy class service, primarily thanks to the cabin crew. The next few Economy reviews will be brief, and will simply cover any notable events throughout the flights.

Boarding commenced on time, but was rather slow due to a single airbridge being used. Following the usual warm welcome, announcements continued, hot towels were served and menus distributed.

This particular 777-300ER featured the 2006 A380 interior, unlike the majority of 777-300ERs, fitted with the latest 2013 products. As such, the cabin seemed quite dated, but is due to be retrofitted in the coming months.

Being the first medium-long haul Singapore Airlines Economy flight in a while, I began to notice a few things that have been cut back on since my earlier travels. For a start, the traditional headsets have been replaced by cheaper and lower quality earphones. These are not collected at the end of the flight and are meant to be single-use, saving on refurbishing costs.

Soon after takeoff, breakfast was served, with a very basic tasting Western option. I think the best meal choice when flying SQ is always the oriental selection. I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed by it!

I’ll mention now that I was featured in Singapore Airlines’ inflight magazine in March, as part of an article about “SIA Super Fans”. I make it a point to talk to the crew on flights, and in this instance, the steward recognised me from the magazine and was so surprised! He also called the flight deck to check the tech crew names (as I record all these in a log-book), and later informed me that the Captain had called back asking for my name to see if he knew me!

Following the lights being dimmed, about 2 hours out from Singapore, they were switched on again. Hot towels were served once again, followed by a lunch service that was far better than breakfast. As a general idea, economy class breakfasts are almost always atrocious.

We touched down in Singapore ahead of schedule, as per the SIA track record, and disembarked just a short time later. Whilst I was disappointed by the new cost-cutting measures, I later realised that despite this, other carriers are far, far behind SQ.