Two Flights on SIA's A350: Premium Economy (MEL-SIN) and Economy (SIN-BOM)

[yflyer]

Before resting, I asked for a G&T and this came along with 2 packets of nuts...



Waking up after a mid-flight nap, I checked out the IFE, which had a huge range of movies, TV and music...



This year's 2018 Academy Awards Best Picture, The Shape of Water, is on Krisworld...



...I watched part of it, saving the rest for another time...



Audio and video quality on the Krisworld IFE was superb.

[yflyer]

A hot refreshment was served prior to arrival...



I opted for the pork stroganoff with pasta... (The other choice was fried rice)...



A tasty and satisfying dish...

[yflyer]

A couple more shots of the A350 cabin after lights came on as the cabin crew prepared for arrival...





Good cabin ambience in the A350 PEY cabin, although one did not get the same sense of spaciousness as the A380 or 77WR PEY cabins, which have slightly larger seats in a wider fuselage. I personally prefer the added roominess of the PEY cabins in the A380 and 77WR to the A350.

[yflyer]

Descent and final approach into Singapore Changi Airport on a very clear, still, evening...





...a smooth on-time landing...



...and a final glimpse of the spacious, screen-filled A350 cockpit...

[yflyer]

LaManna is where I do my grocery shopping every week! In fact I'm eating a meal from there right now. It's pretty bizarre for me to see my supermarket on SQTalk I have to say!

Your regular supermarket? You lucky man!

[9V-SML]

The bullkhead calf rest, with an integrated footrest...



Seat recline is good -- a lot better than economy. Here is a picture of the seat fully reclined, with calf rest extended...



Footrest for the regular PEY seats...

I was never quite able utilise calf rest properly. I mean, my foot is on the foot rest, but the calf rest was basically supporting my leg nearer to my ankles rather than the calf muscle itself. I'm of average asian build and height too (175cm). Am I doing something wrong? On my first time, I was a little taken aback (and embarrased) when the calf rest unexpectedly sprung up when released. I had to do a leg curl to return it to its original position.

Edit: I was in seat 32C of the A350

[yflyer]

I was never quite able utilise calf rest properly. I mean, my foot is on the foot rest, but the calf rest was basically supporting my leg nearer to my ankles rather than the calf muscle itself. I'm of average asian build and height too (175cm). Am I doing something wrong? On my first time, I was a little taken aback (and embarrased) when the calf rest unexpectedly sprung up when released. I had to do a leg curl to return it to its original position.

Edit: I was in seat 32C of the A350

Hmm....I don't think there is a right or wrong way to use an airline seat or calf rest...given everyone has a different body shape, I think everyone has to find their own way to get comfortable.

Some people can sleep in almost any seat, whereas others cannot sleep even in business class...

Some amount of experimentation with seat and calf rest angle might help, as well as the use of any spare pillows and blankets to support your body/legs...

On lightly loaded flights, I personally tend to use any spare blankets or pillows around me to build a comfortable enough "nest", and just try different angles and positions until I finally fall asleep...

[yflyer]

Some overall reflections on SQ A350 PEY:

- Cabin crew were superb -- that is something you get in all classes of service on SQ, and PEY is no different.

- As a hard a product, the seats are clearly a step up from regular economy. They are comfortable seats, with good recline and superb IFE. For longer flights, these PEY seats would be quite desirable. That said, the smaller dimensions of the A350 cabin seem to have necessitated some compromises, compared to A380 or 77WR PEY.

- For catering, you are offered the option of champagne as part of initial drink service, and an additional choice of main course for meals, however apart from that you are essentially getting a Y meal (And the option to Book-the-cook). SQ Y meals are pretty good, however I would personally have preferred more differentiation from Y catering, which most other airlines' PEY offer.

Comparing A350 PEY with PEY on the A380, and also the 77WR, the A350 PEY seats are slightly narrower, and the overall cabin ambience a little less spacious than these other types.

Here are pictures of A380 PEY:





SQ A380 PEY has the same 2-4-2 layout with slightly wider seats, and in a wider cabin.

This next picture is of an SQ 77WR PEY cabin, also laid out 2-4-2. This has the same seat frame as A380 PEY.



And for ease of comparison, here are pictures of SQ A350 PEY cabin:





Based on these pictures, and cabin dimensions, it is clear that A380 (And 77WR) PEY is more spacious than A350 PEY, with a larger/wider seat frame, and broader cabin overall as well.

Having flown several sectors in SQ A380 PEY (Including SIN-LHR and PEK-SIN), I can say that I did notice the difference. I found A380 PEY to be a slightly better hard product, both in terms of seat frame and overall cabin ambience.

On the topic of catering, I am more and more convinced that SQ should do more to improve PEY meals in order to make the overall PEY offering more attractive.

Most other airlines offer superior catering options in PEY:

- BA PEY offers a J class main course as part of the first meal service.
- LH PEY offers special PEY starters and desserts.
- QF PEY offers almost a business class style meal service. I have not flown QF PEY in a while, and don't know if there have been changes to PEY service format since my last flight, but now that the Qantas A380 has returned to Singapore on the SYD-SIN-LHR route, SQ faces some stiff competition in PEY if QF have maintained their PEY service levels.

Certainly, an enhanced catering format would make SQ's PEY a much more attractive proposition for me than it is today, where I am essentially just getting little more than additional seat recline and seat width.

And expanding the comparison beyond full service carriers, a more intriguing comparison would be to compare SQ's PEY with ScootBiz, which Scoot also operates on the SIN-MEL-SIN sector. ScootBiz on Scoot's 787's has a 2-3-2 layout. If I were on personal travel, I would also add ScootBiz to the list of travel options to consider.

Overall, I consider SQ's PEY on the A350 to be average...it's not bad, but it's not class leading either, which is an unusual position for SQ to be in, given the excellence of other cabin classes on the A350 and the other aircraft types in SQ's fleet.

All that said, the SQ A350 PEY hard product is a decent step up from Y, and I would still fly it if the price (In cash or points) was right.

Next up, SQ A350 Economy from Singapore to Mumbai.

To be continued!

[SQueeze]

Thanks for the comparison with other major carriers.

So far, I have hardly ever flown PEY except a single trip with (Aeroflot PEY). They sell at $800 o/w from Asia, comparable to Scootbiz and the likes and that’s the only price I would grab PEY for. They have poor catering although it seems better better out of the Moscow homebase. But the hardware is good and well-matching the price point.

My issue with the other PEY products is the price point. With similar pricing, I could have full fledged J with MH, VN, AI, SV, etc. Also there is Scootbiz and Norwegian Premium for much lower fares.

Not sure how I would want to fly PEy unless I am chasing miles, which in today’s scenario I no longer do because most of miles are earneable from credit cards.

[flyguy]

Agreed that SQ PEY meals need to be more differentiated somewhat from EY as basically its meals are still very much similiar to EY meals. I did SIN-MEL on the A350 PEY in Feb and it was ok and nothing much to shout about but to go to the toilet, we have to pass through a small section of EY. Just did a MEL-SIN on Qantas A330 PEY just a couple of weeks ago and I must say that Qantas have improved alot from my last flight with them over 6 years ago. The meals on Qantas PEY is ahead of what SQ offers and even for the PEY seat was just as good as SQ althought i feel the seat is more "softer".

[SQfanatic]

Great TR as always yflyer. I loved your analysis and comparison details as well. I am glad you got to enjoy it.

More than that, the only part of your TR that scared me a bit was the Panasonic Wifi which changed to a volume based plan. One of the users mentioned this when they flew the 78J.

[icn.sg]

Thanks for another detailed TR, yflyer

Have they now done away with the tablecloth that used to come with the PEY meal tray? Or is the tablecloth there only if the full sized meal tray is used?

Are the amenity kits provided to every PEY passenger regardless of departure time and flight duration?

[yflyer]

Thanks for the comparison with other major carriers.

...snip...
My issue with the other PEY products is the price point. With similar pricing, I could have full fledged J with MH, VN, AI, SV, etc. Also there is Scootbiz and Norwegian Premium for much lower fares.

Thanks for reading, SQueeze!

Yes I think it may all boil down to price point. I used to jump at any opportunity to fly QF PEY, and I am still fairly enthusiastic about BA PEY and LH PEY, because all these products were, to me, a sufficient step up from Y to drum up some enthusiasm.

But based on several flights on SQ PEY, I now feel a little underwhelmed with the product, and will only bid for, upgrade to, or buy SQ PEY after thinking very carefully about how much it costs, and what added benefit I would get. And often, the only benefit would be better rest because of the slightly bigger seat, since the food is Y food.

Agreed that SQ PEY meals need to be more differentiated somewhat from EY as basically its meals are still very much similiar to EY meals. I did SIN-MEL on the A350 PEY in Feb and it was ok and nothing much to shout about but to go to the toilet, we have to pass through a small section of EY. Just did a MEL-SIN on Qantas A330 PEY just a couple of weeks ago and I must say that Qantas have improved alot from my last flight with them over 6 years ago. The meals on Qantas PEY is ahead of what SQ offers and even for the PEY seat was just as good as SQ althought i feel the seat is more "softer".

Thanks for your update on QF PEY, flyguy! Glad to know the PEY catering on Qantas is still good (It was superb the last time I flew Qantas A380 PEY).

Regarding having to cross Y to reach the bathrooms, at least on SQ's new A380 they have solved that issue by putting PEY in front of the main deck, with the bathrooms just behind.

Great TR as always yflyer. I loved your analysis and comparison details as well. I am glad you got to enjoy it.

More than that, the only part of your TR that scared me a bit was the Panasonic Wifi which changed to a volume based plan. One of the users mentioned this when they flew the 78J.

Thanks, SQfanatic! It seems that most of the plans on flights these days are volume based. Don't like them either.

Thanks for another detailed TR, yflyer

Have they now done away with the tablecloth that used to come with the PEY meal tray? Or is the tablecloth there only if the full sized meal tray is used?

Are the amenity kits provided to every PEY passenger regardless of departure time and flight duration?

Thanks for reading, icn.sg! I haven't seen a tablecloth in PEY in a while, although I did get one on my A380 PEK-SIN PEY flight last year. Not sure about the amenity kits, though.

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

Not long after my MEL trip, I headed to BOM in Y on SQ's A350, and spent a few days in Mumbai, as well as Navi Mumbai ("New Mumbai"), before flying home on SQ423 in A380 Y.

Some coverage of the ITC Maratha, a Luxury Collection hotel next to Mumbai Airport, as well as the Four Points Sheraton in Navi Mumbai.

My outbound flight was a 7.40am departure out of T3, which meant a very early start to the day.



T3 was surprisingly busy early in the morning...



A look at the Flight Displays (Unfortunately no retro flight board with flipping letters in T3) showed departures to a whole slew of destinations in the morning...

[yflyer]

9V-SMG operating today's flight...a 1+ year old plane first delivered in December 2016...



Newspapers and Y earphones at the aerobridge...



The economy cabin was laid out in a spacious 3-3-3, with a version of the 2013 Y product, fairly similar to, but not identical to those on the 77WR / 77WN.



Decent seat pitch in Y...



Oval adjustable footrests...



I found seat recline to be very good...here is a seat in upright position...



...and fully reclined (The seat base slides forward)...



Subjectively, recline was as good as any I have encountered in Y, and felt very comfortable.

The row 47 emex seats...



...and row 48 ("Window" seat, with no seat in front)...




These are very desirable seats.