SQ A380 Economy to Shanghai

[yflyer]

Earlier this year, in May, Mrs yflyer and I headed to Shanghai to attend the wedding of a close friend. We flew SQ Economy on the A380 both ways, and stayed at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai.

As you would guess from previous TR’s, we also ate a few interesting things…

While we’ve got lots of TR’s on SQ Economy here, it has been a while since someone has posted one, so here goes…

T3 was fairly quiet on the day of our departure. We used the Krisflyer Gold check-in counters to check in without having to wait.



Rather than head to the Krisflyer Gold Lounge in T3, which is decent but unexceptional, we decided to check out the new Ippudo Ramen outlet in the T3 airside area.

Mrs yflyer and I are big fans of Ippudo at the Mandarin Shopping Gallery along Orchard Road, some of the best ramen in Singapore, and we were quite excited to hear that they had opened at Changi Airport.



This is a fast food edition of the Ippudo restaurant, with a simplified menu and correspondingly lower prices, however the quality of the ramen and the stock were still very good.

I ordered a bowl of ramen, which hit the spot as a breakfast dish…



…while Mrs yflyer opted for a beef sandwich and accompanying dipping broth, which was a novel, and delicious, way to eat: you dipped the soft bun filled with tender marinated beef slices in the broth before taking a bite.

[yflyer]

Today’s flight to Shanghai was operated by 9V-SKB (MSN 5), first delivered to SQ in early 2008.



While this was, relatively speaking, one of the oldest A380's in the SIA fleet, it was in great shape. Interiors were spotless and the seats and cabin looked very new.

We boarded on time through the upper deck door, first passing through Business Class…



…before arriving at the Y mini-cabin on the upper deck – my favourite place to be when travelling Y on the A380.



There are two rows of extra-legroom emex seats in the Y mini-cabin.

Row 71, in the front of the Y cabin…



…and rows 80 and 81, which include both the window seats, and the row of 4 middle seats with a passageway in-between…



The armrest in the middle of the two window seats can be raised.

However, note the position of the fixed armrests in the bank of 4 middle seats. Only the centre armrest between the E,F seats can be raised, so you can forget about sleeping across 4 seats in row 80.



The fabric covered Y seats are comfortable, with decent recline. The leather headrest has wings which are adjustable. Each Y seat came with a pillow and blanket.

My favourite seats are the row 83 middle seats. They have full recline, and empty space on either side. They are close to the toilets in the rear, but I find that a plus, rather than a negative. So while SeatGuru marks them as “Red” seats (i.e. to be avoided), I find them very desirable seats.



The last row window seats, in row 82, are fine too. They are missing one window, but have full recline.

[yflyer]

In-seat A/C power. Note that UK plugs are not supported on this particular aircraft type.



IFE in the emex rows was a large fold-out widescreen…



I was seated at the row 81 emex row. I have mixed feelings about these seats.



While legroom is very good, the curvature of the fuselage, and the slightly protruding emex door some distance forward, do detract from the ambience.





No extra side storage compartment for the emex seat.



Here is a view of the row 71 emex seats…



For me, I would not pay extra to sit on these emex seats, as the regular window seats on the upper deck (with the additional storage compartment side) already feel quite roomy.

The curvature of the fuselage means that the regular window seats on the upper deck have added space by the side of the seats. There is a small storage compartment on the side, and it makes the window seats feel very roomy.







No obstruction under the seats…



Seat fully reclined…

[yflyer]

Cabin service began with fluffy hot towels…



They now have earbud headphones in Y. While these look nice, the sound quality from these headphones was terrible. While no-one expects top sound quality from Y headphones, I think the sound quality through these is so bad that they have crossed the line to become unacceptably bad. Dialog on at least one movie was almost unintelligible, and music and sounds seemed as if they were coming through a tunnel. Almost like the old acoustic stethoscope style headsets airlines in the 70’s used to give out.



I had my own Shure earbud headphones, which were far superior. While many frequent travellers bring their own headphones, I think the SQ headphones are now so bad that I would recommend that all travellers buy a headphone adapter and bring their own headphones on all flights.

A round of drinks, followed by lunch…



Each passenger got two packs of mixed nuts…





Today’s menu…





Two choices of main course, an international selection, and an oriental selection, with different starters to match your choice of main…

[yflyer]

Two French wines were on offer today: A Chardonnay…



…and a Cabernet…



The Oriental selection was steamed, ginger marinated chicken with rice…



A delicious and attractively presented starter…



The chicken was good too…



Mrs yflyer ordered the international selection…

Starter…



Pan-fried fish with lemon butter sauce, which tasted very good too…



Dessert was chocolate covered ice-cream…can’t go wrong with that!

[yflyer]

The Krisworld IFE was full AVOD…not a fancy system by today’s standards but delivers a huge variety of solid entertainment. Great video and audio quality, and a massive selection of Hollywood and International movies and TV, not to mention audio selections.



Great movie selection in the month of May…



Notable movies were Kingsman: The Secret Service…



…and Ex Machina…



…both of which I would consider to be must-watch movies.

Inflight wifi was available, but at ridiculous prices.



Impressions of this flight? Vintage SQ...great hard product, delicious catering, not to mention warm, flawless service that one is almost tempted to take for granted on SQ as it is so consistently delivered. Too bad about the headphones and the overpriced wifi...

In terms of seating, if flying Y on the A380, the upper deck mini Y cabin would be the place to be, especially if the flight is fairly full. Apart from the great cabin ambience, you are served your meals fairly quickly as the cabin is not large, and you also get to board and deplane quite quickly.

That said, if you are certain the load on the A380 is very light (Say if you are travelling mid-week), then a seat on the lower deck may be a better option as the upper deck tends to fill up first, and you are more likely to get empty seats next to you on the lower deck. I've been on an A380 with just a handful of people in Y on the lower deck, and it is an amazing experience wandering around a near-empty A380 Y cabin while inflight.

[yflyer]

We landed in Shanghai on time…



…and caught the Maglev train to the city, or at least somewhere closer to the city, where we had to then find a taxi to bring us to our hotel. Not a straightforward process, as there was no proper taxi queue, and many taxi touts and possibly even unlicensed taxi operators vying for your business, few of which seemed to want to use the taxi meter.

The train ride itself was short, and fast. Quite impressive technology, even if the trains themselves were showing their age.





We reached a top speed of 301 km/h during the short ride to Longyang station…





And from there, a short taxi ride to Pudong.

[yflyer]

Our hotel was the Grand Hyatt Shanghai…



This hotel occupies the top floors of the Jinmao Tower…



You enter at the ground floor…



…and catch the elevator to the lobby on the 54th floor…







The hotel rooms are arranged around circular balconies overlooking a stunning atrium…



The rooms are large, with floor to ceiling windows, and décor which has been updated over the years.

[yflyer]

In-room Nespresso machine…



…with capsules topped up daily…



…flat screen TV and a large work area…





Great views of the surrounding area from the bedroom…



…and the bathroom too.

[yflyer]

There is a gym, as well as jacuzzi and indoor pool, all with stunning views as well…

[yflyer]

The views become even more magical in the evening…



Right in the vicinity of the hotel, you had the iconic Oriental Pearl Tower (pictured above), and right next door to the Jinmao Tower, you had the Shanghai World Financial Center, where another Hyatt, the Park Hyatt, is located.

Some distance away is the newly constructed the Shanghai Tower, which towers over the other 2 buildings. This is the tallest building in China, and 2nd tallest in the world.

Taking a stroll outside the hotel on a cool evening, I looked up into the black sky and saw these three massive illuminated structures piercing the darkness…



The next day, we headed out to find something to eat.

To be continued!

[Hajimbo]

Nice TR Yflyer! Very lavish if I say so myself. I was on the SQ's A380 to Paris CDG in June - was hoping that I could get a seat at the top deck on the Economy class but unfortunately, it was an All business upper deck A380. I wish to share my TR once I get some time to do it hehe. Anyways keep it up!!

[yflyer]

Nice TR Yflyer! Very lavish if I say so myself. I was on the SQ's A380 to Paris CDG in June - was hoping that I could get a seat at the top deck on the Economy class but unfortunately, it was an All business upper deck A380. I wish to share my TR once I get some time to do it hehe. Anyways keep it up!!

Thanks, Hajimbo!

Yes, the hotel stay was quite a treat. Pretty much zero'ed out my Hyatt Gold Passport account redeeming points for this hotel stay.

I would probably also consider SQ Y to be lavish by airline standards...

Look forward to reading about your impressions of your SIN-CDG flight!

[rao67]

Thanks yflyer for the very detailed and informative writeup! Excellent seats and space, great for a day flight. I'll probably fly Y instead of J if economy class is available on the upper deck. Thanks once again

[SQueeze]

Always enjoy your reports.

I heard a lot of complaints about the earphones too.
I hope they will phase it back.