SQ to Manila: Comparing the Old to the New

[yflyer]

After my meal, I browsed the IFE (There was wifi as well, which I did not use)...



A great selection of movies, TV and music on demand, as well as playlists. As good an IFE system as you could find on an airline, I think, and quite a straightforward UI to use as well.

While earbud headphones were provided, sound quality was much better if you used your own headphones. No adapter was needed, while the system had a two-pin airline headphone socket, plugging your regular headphone miniplug into either socket would give you true stereo sound. Thumbs up!

[yflyer]

As for overall cabin ambience, I found SQ's 787-9 Dreamliner cabin to be fine for regional flights.

The first of the 2 Y cabins...





The second, larger Y cabin...



SQ's 787-10 has the most comfortable 9-abreast 787 cabin I have flown in, which is to say it is better than the likes of 787 Y on TG, AI, NH, QR, UA and TR. But it is not as good as JAL, which has the best 787 Y cabin, laid out in a supremely comfortable 8-abreast 2-4-2.

[yflyer]

Descent and an on-time arrival into MNL.



As I was one of the first to deplane after J, and got to the immigration queues before they got too long, and was out of the airport fairly quickly.

Overall a wonderful flight on SQ to Manila on SQ's new 787-10. I found the aircraft hard product fine, with good seat comfort/recline and IFE -- everything you could want in a modern economy class product (Except an 8-abreast cabin...). Catering was superb, and so was cabin service.

Given the late night arrival, I had booked a hotel car to take me to the Grand Hyatt Manila, where I spent the next 2 days.

[yflyer]

The Grand Hyatt Manila, in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), is the tallest building in the Philippines, at 66 storeys and 318 meters tall.



It has a distinctive gold top, and houses a bar, steakhouse and entertainment complex on it's upper floors.



The lobby was large, maybe too large -- to the point that it felt cold and empty, rather than grand. The lobbies of the Makati Shangri-La or The Peninsula Manila were much more awe-inspiring when you entered the hotel.



The lounge and main hotel buffet restaurant were on the 2nd and 3rd levels.



My room for my stay in October was a regular King room, done in dark wood tones.



This was a very comfortable room...



The bathroom had a sliding partition, which could be left open to give give the room a more open ambience.

Large free-standing bathtub...



...with separate shower stall...



Small walk-in wardrobe...



Attractive teapot and cups...



...and an amazing illy iperExpresso Francis Francis X9 coffee machine that made wonderful coffee using illy capsules...



I use Nespresso at home, and am happy with it, but I found the coffee from this illy X9 machine to be much smoother, richer and tastier than Nespresso...

[yflyer]

The room for my stay in October was very comfortable, however on a previous stay at the Grand Hyatt Manila in April, I was given a different room which I believe was a deluxe room.



This was an impressively large room...





The bathroom had two sinks...



Large tub...



..and separate shower stall...



This room, on a high floor, had panoramic views of the city...

[yflyer]

F&B at the Grand Hyatt was very impressive...

On one occasion, I ordered a room service Filipino breakfast...



This was a huge breakfast portion, with a Filipono beef tapa and rice as the centerpiece, which I struggled to finish. Note that the standard portion for breakfasts here included three (!) eggs.

On other occasions, I headed downstairs to the Grand Cafe for their amazing breakfast buffet, which had a huge selection of Western, Asian and Filipino dishes arrayed around multiple open cooking stations.





Some of the Filipino specialities on offer...





There was a gym and a large outdoor pool...

[yflyer]

The Executive Lounge at the Grand Hyatt was very impressive as well...



This was located on a very high floor, with panoramic views of Manila...





Lounge buffet area...



Some of the wine and beer selections in the Lounge...

[yflyer]

There was a steakhouse and grill, named "The Peak" on the top floor of the Grand Hyatt.





Apart from indoor seating, there was outdoor/bar seating with very nice views of the surrounding area...



The menu...



I dined there on several occasions...

The steaks there were quite impressive...my colleague ordered the Australian tenderloin...



I opted for the striploin...



...which was very nicely done, even if it was a little closer to medium than my requested doneness of medium rare...



I paired my steak with a glass of Clarendelle from Bordeaux, a wonderful wine brought to you by the winemaking team responsible for the Haut-Brion first growth Bordeaux.



Overall some very attractive dining and F&B options at the Grand Hyatt Manila.

[yflyer]

There was no reason to have all your meals in the hotel, though. There were many other dining options within walking distance of the Grand Hyatt in BGC.

On one evening in April, my colleagues and I took a stroll from the Grand Hyatt to Abe, a local Filipino restaurant, within a lively entertainment complex in BGC.



Abe is a chain of restaurants specialising in traditional Filipino dishes...



Some of the dishes we sampled...

Crisp deep fried fish...



A delicious dish called Sisig Pampanga, made from parts of pig head and other organs...



Baby squid...



Beef Asado...



Local greens...



And their famous bamboo rice...







A wonderful meal, with many local delights not seen in other Asian cuisines. I would highly recommend Abe in BGC as a place to sample Filipino specialities in a casual setting.

[yflyer]

My flight back to Singapore in October 2019 was SQ919 MNL-SIN, a 4.40pm departure out of Manila.

Prior to my flight, I spent time in the SilverKris Lounge in Manila Airport T3 (Covered here).

My flight that day was operated by Boeing 777-300 series rego 9V-SYH.



This was a 17 year old aircraft with the interiors refitted with 2-2-2 regional J and 2006 Y seats (Similar to 1st generation A380 Y / 77W Y).

At the gate, there was a dedicated waiting area for F, J and PPS/Krisflyer Gold pax, which was quite convenient.



My seat onboard was the bulkhead aisle seat in the 2nd Y cabin (Seats 46HJK pictured, I was in 46C)...



The Y cabin on this 777 was laid out 3-3-3.



These were wide, and very comfortable Y seats. The aisles on this 777 were also noticeably wider than the aisles on SQ's 787-10.





Seat recline was very good...



Bathrooms had mottled grey counters...



For a 17 year old plane, the interiors were in great shape as the aircraft had undergone an interior refit. The refitted seat products, while not the very latest, were also fairly modern. For example, the 2006 Y products, taken from 77W's that had been upgraded to the 77WR cabin, were still comparatively modern seat products. This meant that the age of the plane didn't make much difference -- this was a very comfortable plane to fly.

[yflyer]

Hot towels handed out before take-off...



An empty middle seat between me and the window seat passenger, what more could one ask for?



Fold out IFE screen (Not a touchscreen!).



US-style A/C power socket (Bring an adapter, as some older SQ planes, including A380's have the same type of power socket)...



USB also available...



IFE controller...

[yflyer]

Smooth flying today, for the most part...



The IFE system had a slightly older UI, but this was perfectly usable...

The program selection as fairly wide...



A movie on Krisworld this month was Detective Conan, a Japanese cartoon which featured Singapore as its plot location...



Always nice to see Singapore featured in movies or television...





This month's SilverKris magazine...

[yflyer]

Dinner was served on this flight. Once again, no menus were presented. I was asked my choice of main from two options, one of which was beef (I forget what the other option was...)...



This was beef with rice...



The shrimp and cucumber salad was quite tasty, with small, tender shrimp.

The beef with rice was tasty as well...



...with generous chunks of beef...



Dessert was a Chocolate Cornetto...



...which was sinfully satisfying...

[yflyer]

Cabin ambience on this flight was very good...noticeably more spacious in Y than either the 787-10 or A350....



SIA should be applauded for retaining a 9-abreast 3-3-3 layout in Y on their 777's when so many other airlines have gone for 10-abreast 3-4-3 Y on their 777's -- a configuration which I avoid wherever I can.

[yflyer]

Descent into Singapore...





Final approach...



On the ground in Singapore.



Overall, a very comfortable flight. Although this was an older plane, the cabin had been refitted and the Y product onboard was absolutely fine. Catering and service were very good too.