I recently did a short trip to Hong Kong for a quick break amidst my busy schedule. Making my booking about a month before departure, I was not able to find any bargain fares on any budget carriers operating between Singapore and Hong Kong. So, I decided I might as well travel on a full-serviced airline. As it was going to be a holiday weekend, most of the seats were booked, even those on business class. I eventually booked myself to travel on SQ 856, which was an A380 service, leaving at 0945 hrs. At the same time, I placed myself on the waiting list for SQ 860, leaving earlier at 0830 hrs, in order to have an earlier arrival into Hong Kong.

Till 48 hrs before departure, there was still no confirmation for the earlier flight. So, I went ahead to check in online for the 0945 flight. I kept checking on the seat availability till the night before the flight. At about 10.15 pm, after I had finished packing, I checked again and noticed that seats had become available. Excitedly, I called up SQ reservations and changed my flight to SQ 860. Soon after, the inventory for economy class became zero again, even when I checked it before leaving for the airport in the morning.

SIN-HKG
SQ 860
Dep: 0830
Economy Class


Took a cab from my home, ten minutes away from the airport and arrived at Terminal 3, Changi Airport.


Since I had checked in online, I proceeded to the bag drop counter. There was a separate queue for those travelling without baggage.


Immediately after clearing immigration, two stewardesses whizzed past me. Not sure about others but the SQ girls hardly fail to get my attention.


Aircraft being prepared for the 3 hr plus flight.


When I arrived at the gate, most of the passengers had boarded the aircraft and the boarding call was made for all remaining ones to board. It was only 30 minutes before departure.


Snapped these seats before the passengers seated in them boarded the plane.


Passengers trying to stow their hand carried items in the overhead bins.


Big screen for inflight entertainment on this B777-300ER.


Fried rice with chicken for brunch.


Tiramisu ice-cream was served as dessert.

HKG-SIN
SQ 859
Dep: 1030
Business Class

I decided to upgrade the return flight to business class using my Krisflyer miles. Since this flight was operated using a B777-200 aircraft, I could upgrade the flight on Business Saver Award, costing only 15000 miles. Otherwise, on the A380 or B77W, it would cost twice as the saver award is not applicable on these flights.


Arrived at Hong Kong International Airport using the Hotel Shuttle. It cost HK$130 per person per way. Initially, I thought it was a little costly as compared to the airport express train but considering that the shuttle would pick the passengers up directly from the hotel and that the journey was only about 30 minutes from my hotel in Mongkok area, it was worth the money. On board the bus, the seats were also huge, being 1 - 2 across. Hence, it was a comfortable ride.


SQ Business Check-in Counter. Apologies for the blurred image.

I was asked if I knew where the lounge was and I queried about the location. Was informed that the SQ lounge was located near Gate 15.






I left the lounge early and saw the aircraft being pulled to the gate.



Aircraft being prepared for the flight back to Singapore. It had arrived as SQ 870 the night before.


Cabin crew boarding the plane to prepare for the flight.


New Business Class seats on this regional aircraft.




If you looked through the cabin into Economy class, you can see the upholstery is similar to the ones on the A380 and B77W.


Had the seat on the first row in the second cabin. Lots of leg room.


Huge engine. CI aircraft next to us.


Starter - Soba with scallops


Main - Noodles with fried beef


Ice-cream dessert


Fruits - Pomelo and strawberry

Tea was also served and I had to decline the chocolates that were offered. It was too much to have.

Overall, it was a very pleasant experience and time went by quickly. It was a bit of an indulgence to fly on business for me but I would be glad to travel on economy with SQ, anytime.

Hope you enjoyed reading.

Nice TR. Thank you.
I didn't know that SQ 77Es were retrofitted wit the new regional C class

As the saying goes, "they've still got it"; despite the "Johnny come latelies" like QR, EY, EK, etc, SIA is still the one to beat.

Surprised you didn't take the 380; have you flown on it already?

Looks like a great trip anyway!

Great report! The additional pitch of the retrofitted regional J on the 772s is really beneficial.

Quoting LY777 (Reply 1): I didn't know that SQ 77Es were retrofitted wit the new regional C class

7 of 11 772s have already been retrofitted.

Quoting kaitak (Reply 2): Surprised you didn't take the 380; have you flown on it already?

I had already flown on the A380 when I flew to London last year. It was very smooth and quiet on take-off and I was surprised by that. It was a very smooth flight and withstood turbulence very well. The downside of the A380 was that it took close to 45 minutes for my luggage to appear on the belt at Heathrow. For that trip, I returned on the B77W as the A380 flight I wanted to go on had no aisle seats left and that flight (SQ319) was not as full compared to the outbound one.

I would definitely have loved to fly on the A380 but thought there would be more opportunities to do so in future. In Singapore, we are fortunate to have quite a few options if we want to get on an A380 flight.

Quoting nicholaschee (Reply 3): 7 of 11 772s have already been retrofitted

I was originally booked to return on SQ 863 at 1330 hrs on a B77W. I had read about the new business class cabin on some B772s and it would operate on SQ870/SQ859 initially on the SIN/HKG route. I also did not want to burn too many miles upgrading on the B77W.

When I landed in SIN at 1410 hrs, I noticed from the gate information that the same aircraft would operate back to HKG at 1900 hrs as SQ 870. So, it seems that SQ has designated this aircraft solely for SIN/HKG turnaround and operate on only 2 sectors per day. During the flight, I also noticed the IFS asking one passenger for his opinion regarding the new configuration as it was only recently introduced on this route.

I must say it was quite a worthwhile upgrade on the saver award for the new business class seat.

Hi thanks for the report, i always enjoy reading the SQ reports!

Quoting franxSIN (Thread starter): So, I decided I might as well travel on a full-serviced airline

Excellent choice, good to see support for the full service carriers

Quoting franxSIN (Thread starter): New Business Class seats on this regional aircraft.

The seats look great, i really like the look of these new regional seats, could easily travel long haul on them, let alone regional. I noticed that they are 2-2-2 on the 772, the same as the 333 which has a narrower cabin- so they must be more spacious on the 772?
I think these look better than those on the long haul 772ERs, do you know if they will be fitted on them too? i.e. operating into CHC and AKL?

Thanks,
Timothy

Quoting timb777 (Reply 5): I think these look better than those on the long haul 772ERs, do you know if they will be fitted on them too? i.e. operating into CHC and AKL?

My friends and I are looking at the possibility of travelling to NZ in December. Will definitely be travelling in Y unless we redeem for an upgrade. Based on the schedule, there are 2 SQ flights into AKL - a B772ER and a B77W. Into CHC, there is a B772ER. At the moment, the longer-haul B772ERs are already in 2-2-2 configuration in Business. I am not sure whether these aircraft will receive any refurbishment to the cabins or not. However, I do know that they have been in service for a few years already and in a few years' time, if and when they do get replaced by newer aircraft types, there will be enhancements made to both Economy and Business cabins, as is the case with the A330 replacing many of the B77E services.