[PeterCoultas]

gerryhac +1
transit via the ME is a nonsense without the subsidies provided by unearned oil wealth….understandably these subsidies do give us non-ME passengers a plus on price (comfort?) though not generally on convenience but hopefully these “market distortions” will disappear before ME carriers dominate the market

[KSHaggag]

I really can t be happier to read this : history will always remain and nobody will eradicate it ,moreover those people at the helm of the ME3 did learn Airline Business in the legacy carriers school .
They just switched to the GCC for better prospects ,positions and especially money .
EK is being managed by Brits ,Etihad by Aussies ,and QR by a variety of cultures .This is not always healthy coz everyone wants his culture to prevail ;those who can’t stand it and cope with it just go .
There is no real fun in landing in the GCC in the middle of the night to walk in a crowded shopping boulevard looking like a big shopping mall in Asia selling Global brands ..at 2am !!!!! ..catching the onward red eye connex to sleep in a cocoon or plunge in a low ,isolated bed in the darkness to wake up in Asia half dizzy will not make it the best of experiences .I could blame European carriers for letting passengers leak through their fingers coz they have been stingy at serving food ( quality and quantity ) ,poor at offering a decent IFE ,and struggling with some angled flat seats ….wake up ,European carriers and take the bull by its horns .
I will definitely give SIA s PE a try soon .

[icenspice]

Love your style KSHaggag !!

[KSHaggag]

Thanks Icenspice for your compliment .

[Pies1311]

Agree with all the comments here. SIA is a great airline, particularly its new business class produce on the new 777-300s (can’t for the life of me figure out why they have not rolled out these seats on the aging 380s), however their product is most times 15-20% more expensive that the ME carriers. Our firm using a booking agent that is basically a sub of SIA, and they often are forced to match the price of the ME carriers when we show a price to them on other booking sites. So basically if you have a corporate account with SIA they will match any business class fare.
I have travelled economy with SIA a number of times and their service is definitely going downhill.

[AMcWhirter]

Pies1311

You have to remember that SIA’s 1-2-1 configured J class originally appeared on its older B777-300ERs and its A380s.

Its only the very new B777-300ERs which have the latest seats and the configuration stays the same. I am sure all suitable aircraft will be retrofitted but this can not be done overnight.

Remember that it took BA some six years to retrofit its entire fleet with fully flat Club World beds.

Your comments on economy class are interesting. It remains to be seen if or when any further cuts will be made now that SIA is rolling out premium economy.

[AMcWhirter]

All the publicity garnered by Emirates for (in months to come) operating “the world’s longest non-stop flight” must surely prompt SIA to step up its efforts to procure suitable aircraft to operate non-stop between S’pore and the US.

As readers will know, SIA and Thai Airways had the kudos of operating the world’s longest non-stop flights years ago.

But both lost that claim when services were scrapped owing to rising fuel costs.

Now SIA’s CEO is keen to resume non-stop flying as a means of boosting the carrier’s image.

Here’s the piece we published in 2013 which announced the ending of SIA’s longest flights.

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/sia-soon-to-end-non-stop-us-service

[KSHaggag]

Even the older 777-300ER biz class seats on SIA are awesome !!!!!!!….everytime I feel like crying when the pilot asks the crew to prepare the cabin for landing !!!!!

[flyingcanadian]

Hi KSHaggag
We agree. My son (13yrs) & I are both *A SE with AC, and he loves the 777-300ER. He loves the “D N D” switch on/off, the huge screen, the width of the seat and the space provided! ONLY 4 across the aisle, and look at BA etc with their 5 across in J!!
SIA has always been a leader/pioneer in air travel and I hope that they come back again, if they ever lost it! I have colleagues who are “Solitaire” with them, and they tell me they never travel “Y” or “J” if there is a Business or First on board, EVEN if they have booked Y! Permanently upgraded! My son was 3 when he became GOLD, and SQ could not do enough for him!
HAPPY FLYING!

[KSHaggag]

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeers FlyingCanadian !

I am thrilled to hear this !
They have not lost out to ME3 and they WONT COZ THEIR CULTURE IS clear and identifiable ,moreover their service is legendary .Some ME3 have managed to win by selling on price like QR ,but SQ with a Premium Eco will putthe ME3 Eco products to shame .
I have already booked my next PE from SIN to HKG just to give it a try and hey will use the book the cook service available for PE pax .
Please back them as much as you can !
It is a fantastic institution that made millions of travellers happy and will always continue to do so .

[IanFromHKG]

PeterCoultas – 12/08/2015 19:41 BST : transit via the ME is a nonsense without the subsidies provided by unearned oil wealth….

Really?

Oil accounts for less than 2% of Dubai’s GDP.

And have you forgotten the windfall tax levied by the UK government on North Sea oil ??

I don’t think it is appropriate to point fingers exclusively at the ME3, pretty much every major legacy carrier has at some time been (a) nationalised, (b) had state bail-outs, (c) been funded by the state, (d) been allowed to write off huge chunks of debt by going through some form of bankruptcy process, or (e) been protected from competition by engaging in government-condoned market-rigging (IATA rules, anti-trust exemptions.

[ghlotus]

Am I the only traveler (100+ flight per year) who is not a great fan of SQ? Granted their seats are comfortable, and their service is highly efficient, but is there such a thing as being too efficient?

My complaint is with the cabin crews, and the ambiance they create. I find the onboard service on SQ highly robotic and insincere. Smiles and speeches come on cue, as if scripted and rehearsed to death; every cabin attendant will answer every question or request in exactly the same way. Same words, same expression. The service – even in Business Class – seems stressed and rushed rather than gracious and relaxed. I always have the feeling that these poor servants are over-trained, over-disciplined, over-fearful of exposing a bit of personal warmth or individual character.

Maybe just a symptom of Singapore culture in general. Perfect, maybe, but I prefer the friendlier cabin ambience of the other Asian and Middle East airlines.

[AsiaFrequentFlyer]

FlyingCanadian I agree SIA are fantastic and I’m glad to hear that your friends reported on many upgrade experiences with them. I didn’t have the same experience even holding a Solitaire Card for about 2 years. Think I was upgraded once on SIN to BKK! But maybe times are changing for SIA and they are not so protective about their premium cabins these days. It wasn’t that long ago you couldn’t even use miles to purchase a Suite.

Haven’t followed the entire thread but not much mention about CX. Residing now in Shanghai I find CX as good as SIA in their in-flight product and some of the most competitive fares to Europe. Of course you run the risk of being delayed on PVG to HKK and missing the connection.

[IanFromHKG]

No, ghlotus, you are not alone – I don’t like SQ either. My complaint, however, is not with the service but with the J seat, which I find very uncomfortable. Hard as a rock, far too wide (so you can’t rest both arms while sitting) and an offset cubbyhole so it isn’t possible to sit directly in front of the IFE with legs raised without twisting.

[flyingcanadian]

AsiaFrequentFlyer,
Thank you for your feedback. I really guess it depends where your loyalty lies! Initially, I was with CP, and they were linked to BOAC! Then AC took over CP, and we joined *A compared to ONE WORLD. Before there were any alliances, my Late wife and I flew CX FC from YVR-Bali return, and one could not fault the service, seat, meal etc, CX was ALWAYS UP THERE among the top 5(??) and the Asian Carriers were thought to be the best. If you read through these forums, you will see that many Loyal BA Plat/\Gold card holders swear by CX, and with the demise of BA, and even Qantas and Virgin on the Australian route, they switch their loyalty to CX on the Antipodean routes and still benefit from miles etc. There are many comments on the ME3 in this thread, but I agree that I really do not like changing in DXB in the middle of the night, even if you are going from FC TO FC on a A380 and just go direct to the Lounge on the Uppper Level.
No AsiaFrequentFlyer, you are correct, and CX is fantastic(Look at their HKG Lounges!), but at my age I fly for miles and points, and I have built up too much loyalty to *A to let it go! Perhaps CX will join *A, and then I can have the best of both worlds!! (Start dreaming!)
Happy Flying to you, and may all your travels bring you success1

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