Flying with Singapore for first time in ages -- Y seat selection

[jjpb3]

Thanks. So far, I have had no luck with SQ Reservations at all. They once said "we cannot process your seat request till check in opens 48 hours before departure"..

You can lower your blood pressure simply by booking online. ASR in Y being a benefit of online booking has been in place for quite some time now.

[lee_apromise]

Thanks. So far, I have had no luck with SQ Reservations at all. They once said "we cannot process your seat request till check in opens 48 hours before departure"..

That's absurd...they can't assign you to a specific seat but they can certainly assign you for either "window or aisle" for tickets issued by a TA.
Try calling them again.

[jjpb3]

That's absurd...they can't assign you to a specific seat but they can certainly assign you for either "window or aisle" for tickets issued by a TA.
Try calling them again.

Are you sure about that? For bookings with TAs, I thought those had always been requests, not definitive assignments.

[zxcvbn]

Well, sometimes booking online costs more than booking through a TA..

[lee_apromise]

Are you sure about that? For bookings with TAs, I thought those had always been requests, not definitive assignments.

Everytime I book through a TA in BNE, I call SQ and I "REQUEST" for "AISLE" and I go to "MY BOOKING" and it shows as "AISLE". During OLIC, it was always consistent.

[kelvgoh]

Well, sometimes booking online costs more than booking through a TA..

i would say that isn't always true. the best is to get a quote from SQ website, then call your TA to see if their price is similar. i've had many occasions where SQweb quoted me cheaper prices for an identical itinerary and fare conditions.

Many TAs i've used have always insidiously added £10-20 to the 'Taxes and surcharges' portion of the air ticket.

Other unseens costs are if you need to change your dates. Many TAs don't allow you to change your first outbound, and charge ridiculous amounts (£50) for subsequent changes. Likewise, any changes to your itinerary have to be processed by your TA, even if you're not in the country of booking. a complete pain imho.

When you book through SQ online - dates are more or less flexible within your fare conditions.

in sum - it always pays to compare, and read the long 'terms and conditions' attachments

[zxcvbn]

Thanks.
Will consider that in future.

[kelvgoh]

Everytime I book through a TA in BNE, I call SQ and I "REQUEST" for "AISLE" and I go to "MY BOOKING" and it shows as "AISLE". During OLIC, it was always consistent.

I guess you've been lucky. On LHR Y flights (which are usually quite full), i've seen loads of ppl boarding the plane and complaining to the crew that they requested for aisle seats and end up in middle seats.

I fly btw LHR and SIN in Y. That's 13 hours. I don't mind paying £20-30 more to book online and make sure that i get a comfortable seat

[MarkB]

Well, back home from our 3-week trip - A380 (SQ317) from LHR to SIN was lovely, compared to the 777 we had for the SIN-BNE leg. Flights home were average (BNE-SIN) and awful (SIN-LHR), the latter having (or so it seemed) no air-con; my wife and I were baking! Also, it seemed hours passed between drink offerings, so I made a trip or two to the galley to ask for some; the staff, as usual, were friendly and polite though

Next time, we'll be booking online at the SIA site to ensure we get the seats we wanted, but for all flights we did manage to get the few two-some Economy seats available.

[trooper]

MarkB... Whoops.... didn't realise the trip was done!!!

[kelvgoh]

and awful (SIN-LHR), the latter having (or so it seemed) no air-con; my wife and I were baking! Also, it seemed hours passed between drink offerings, so I made a trip or two to the galley to ask for some; the staff, as usual, were friendly and polite though

i've had this issue every time i'm LHR bound from SIN. it could possibly be more of a climate control issue rather than a case of airconditioning being in disrepair. if it did start to get colder once over the middle east, the airconditioning units are probably working fine.

out of curiousity, did you note the registration of the bird you were flying on the SIN-LHR sector?

[MarkB]

no I didn't, unfortunately I do have some photos of the plane (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark-in-oz/tags/a380/) but not sure if those capture the serial no or registration.

The flight was SQ317 if that helps

As for the aircon, the last leg certainly was suffering from a lack of it for the entire flight; I noticed some people had blankets on their laps, so perhaps it was just us.

[SQflyergirl]

no I didn't, unfortunately I do have some photos of the plane (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark-in-oz/tags/a380/) but not sure if those capture the serial no or registration.

The aircraft is indeed 9V-SKA as per one of your pictures (nosewheel gear door) - and the same plane little Leroy and Bubba have ridden on