Upstairs, Downstairs! First Trip on SIA's New A380 to Sydney: SQ221/232 SIN-SYD-SIN

[yflyer]

And then it was time for my flight home on SQ232...

My seat: 1F in Suites.



As regulars on SQTalk will know, I usually fly in Economy. While the occasional Business Class flight does happen, I have never flown Suites. Depending on your point of view, that would make me either the least qualified, or the most qualified person to do a TR on SQ's new Suites: Would you rather hear from someone who flies F on every occasion till it has become ho-hum, or somebody experiencing Suites for the first time. (Maybe only time!)

In any case, for a flight in SQ Suites, mere mortals like myself do not simply click-to-purchase, or announce to a hovering PA: "Suites tomorrow to Singapore. Make it so"...

No, I had to plan this with the precision of a NASA three-stage rocket moon shot:

- Stage 1: Buy an Economy class round trip ticket.
- Stage 2: Upgrade with cash (One way only) to a Business Class ticket (Since Economy tickets can only be upgraded to Premium Economy. )
- Stage 3: Use Krisflyer points to waitlist myself for an upgrade from Business to Suites. Then wait till it cleared.

The waitlist did clear, and I found myself on the way to Sydney airport last Friday morning for my appointment with 9V-SKV.

[yflyer]

A large check-in area at the far end of the International Terminal for SQ...

[yflyer]

A rare walk on the red carpet...



...to pick up that distinctive Gold boarding pass...

[yflyer]

There is an Express Path security lane for premium pax...



Security was reassuringly tight at the X-ray and body scan machines.

At immigration, it was just an automated scan of the passport and a photo, and I was through without ever speaking to an immigration officer. What a cool system.

I was in the airside area in minutes, where there were many shopping and eating options, not to mention a surprising amount of Chinese New Year decor.

[yflyer]

The SQ Lounge in SYD is in the same location it has always been in, but has been upgraded to the new Home Away from Home decor, and it is very nice.



"Good morning, Mr yflyer, this way please!", the young receptionist smiled sweetly, and then led me to an unmarked glass sliding door that I never even knew existed...



...into the Suites / First section of the lounge.



This is an intimate and cosy lounge, beautifully done up.

There is a dedicated dining area with a buffet food and beverage selection...





Further into the lounge, there are several workstations...





...and another seating area by the window, overlooking the tarmac.



What a wonderfully serene and peaceful place to spend time before a flight...

[yflyer]

I was warmly welcomed by the staff member in the lounge, who gave me a hot towel and an à la carte menu, once I had figured where I wanted to sit -- which was anywhere, since there was no other pax in the lounge at the time.



The a la carte menu...



I started with a glass of Veuve Clicquot, and the duck pancakes...



The duck pancakes were delicious...

I headed to the buffet to check out the selections...

A decent spread...

Appetisers...



Beef vindaloo, and basmati rice...



Chicken thigh with honey sriracha...



Roasted chickpeas and pumpkin...



Dim sum...



...and traditional condiments and red chilli...



A small dessert selection under the heaviest glass dome I have ever lifted...

[yflyer]

An impressive beverage selection was available too...

Champagne and white wine...



A very nice selection of 3 red wines (I tasted all three)...



The liquor selection...



Beer and juices...

[yflyer]

The lounge had toilets as well as two separate bathrooms equipped with showers.

[yflyer]

I left the F section and headed to the J section of the lounge for a look around.



The decor theme in the main section of the J lounge was similar to the F section, however it was larger in scale, and a lot busier.







A different selection of F&B here, and a different champagne and wine selection too.



On any other day, I would have found this lounge ok, but not today -- not after experiencing the delights of the F section.

Apart from the SQ Lounge (Which is a designated Star Gold Lounge), the Air New Zealand lounge was right next door, and this is also a Star Gold Lounge.



I did not visit it on this occasion, but if the SQ J section of the lounge is busy, then Star Gold have the option to head to the spacious and pleasant ANZ lounge.

[yflyer]

When I arrived in the SQ Lounge, I spied an A380 parked at a remote stand. Could that be 9V-SKV?

It was, and she was towed to the gate prior to boarding time for SQ232.





A fairly congested gate area, although lines were orderly.



Separate lane for R/F/J and PPS pax...



Finally it was time to board...

[banoffi]

oh wow! Can't wait to see the rest of your TR!

[yflyer]

oh wow! Can't wait to see the rest of your TR!

More coming up, banoffi!

[yflyer]

I stepped into that rarified space in the front of the upper deck...



What an beautiful space...just six suites, laid out 3 on each side...

"Welcome onboard, Mr yflyer!"...I was warmly greeted, and introduced to the Inflight Manager Mr Seet and Chief Stewardess Ms Phoong, as I was shown to my Suite. They, together with their colleagues LSS Eileen and LS Philip, would be taking care of this section of the cabin today...

Initial impressions of the suite...stunning. A very elegant and beautiful design, with much attention to detail. And impossibly spacious.

[yflyer]

There is a cabinet by the door to stow hand luggage, and hang a jacket.



Amenities like slippers and eye shades are in a pocket on the door...



The cabinet is quite large, and can fit your typical rollerboard, but it is not particularly wide. If you need to remove the contents from a bulging bag for it to fit, the cabin crew have a soft fabric bag for you to stow the other contents.

The comfortable leather seat faces forward for take-off, but can rotate a full 360 degrees.





The quality of the fittings, from the leather to the carpeting, is exceptionally fine.



Dual reading lights located at two corners of the Suite.





Leather-lined compartments to store small items...



Bose noise cancelling headphones...





A/C power and USB...

[yflyer]

The chair controls are powered, and located under the armrest...



...along with an IFE remote.

The controls are simple, but do take a little time to figure out -- of course the cabin crew are happy to give you a quick tutorial. One thing to note is that the recline functions are only enabled at specific angles of rotation.

The seat reclines fully to a very comfortable angle...



You can rotate the seat to face the windows...



Each pax has two full windows...



The IFE screen is a huge wall mounted screen that can be swivelled outwards.



When not in use, the bed is folded up into the wall of the Suite.