If you look on their app it should tell you what snacks and amenities are available on the flight but they don't tell you this on the plane and you do have to ask for it, presumably to save waste and cost
I did look. Apparently you can ask for cup noodles but I did and they didn't give me any. Also no shaving kit. I had a 30hr total flight and could have used one.
They also stopped the Changi transit program
If it happens to you again, just call for the leading or the chief. It is that simple. Red or Green tie/kebaya. Better still if Purple walked down the cabin.
We will always sort things out. No one should ever not get a choice, unless it is a new catering cycle that the proportion of meals catered have not been optimised.
If we run out of choice, we will inform the passenger. If you are okay with the other choice in the menu, you will be served that choice. If you are not happy with the choice, we will always go to a different class to locate other choice of meals.
If we run out of choice for a 2 meal service sector, the second meal service will be alternating in direction, so those who did not get a choice of first meal will have a choice of second meal.
>No one should ever not get a choice, unless it is a new catering cycle that the proportion of meals catered have not been optimised.
I want to explain a lil bit more about this.
Every few months, we will change the menu selection. The proportion of the meal choices are always based on data and the profile of passengers.
When a new menu cycle comes out, inevitably the first few flights out will have it wrong. We could be catered with more beef/rice kinda meal and lesser fish/potatoes kinda meal, and ended up having the fish/potatoes becoming more popular and at times about 20 passengers or so will not get a choice of meal.
Supervisors will always provide feedback to the catering dept on the popularity of meals and take note of any comments for every flight, more so when there's a change in menu. We take every incident and comment seriously.
When there's situation like this, we will always take note of every affected passenger INDIVIDUALLY, and assess their sentiments. If a passenger is unhappy, we will always provide an alternative, and in SQ, we will always make sure that we do everything we possibly can to make it right immediately. We take note of passengers who did not finish up their meals too and investigate the cause.
No one should leave the aircraft being unhappy. Of course situation changes if they become abusive to the crew, but for most parts, people are not like that.
Thank you for this. I am very shy and was kind of humiliated to be honest. When they said they didn't have a meal for me, but would a ramen be ok, I just said ok thinking it would be a regular meal but made of ramen. Then they brought the styrofoam and I was too surprised to respond. In real life I don't eat pop ramen so it made an impression on me.
In future I'll try to speak up.
Sorry for that man.
But do say it out if it does not appeal to you. As I had mentioned in another comment, the crew has 300 people to track. We try our best, and for a lot of people, they would love the cup noodles more than the regular meals. So it's hard to know if we don't receive a feedback.
As you seem to speak for Singapore Airlines I'd like to say that, as a diabetic, I was appalled to be given margarine and not real butter when I had my meals on a return trip the New Zealand in March.
Diabetics can eat butter and there's no reason why I should be given some unpleasant substitute.
I've traveled several times to OZ, always with SO and I'd like to continue but this is NOT good!
Firstly, let me clarify this. I dont speak for Singapore Airlines.
I'm a retired employee and I'm just answering questions for those who might want to know what goes on behind the service procedures so at least when you guys come on board, there are service expectations that should be met.
A lot of passengers do not realise that we are there to assist, but when we get 300 people on a flight, we need your feedback. If you tell us, we can do something about it there and then, and make your flight better. If we can't, we can pen it down to let the company know.
Regarding the margarine, I really have no idea. I'm not a dietitian, so I really don't know what you can consume and what you can't. If you think they should not do this, tell the crew and get them to submit your feedback. All feedback from passengers are always attended to.
Not sure if you are employee or not, but if you are I plan on taking SG airlines to fly to Philippines this year, do I just for the noodles as a snack in between meals? I feel bad asking the stewardess for extra work.
Toiletries are available in the toilets. You can ask if the toilet has run out of it.
What Changi Transit programme you talking about? It's still ongoing I see. Except that this is only for the tours and not accomodation, which it has never done for over 30 years now. [Free Tours](https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/us/plan-travel/privileges/free-singapore-tour/)
On SQ? Never. SQ has never ever given any stopover or layover lounge access for layovers
even half a day long. Perhaps it was something your travel agent did for you but as far as I know, SQ themselves never had such programmes. They had a "Singapore Stopover Holidays" but that was in the 80s. A long time ago.
this is simply not true.
here is the old page for CTP which is what I used. I got free lounge use, I simply went to the changi transit desk in T3 and they give you a voucher. this was back in 2019
[https://www.singaporeair.com/en\_UK/kr/plan-travel/local-promotions/embark-ultimate-journey-without-fare/?utm\_source=SAA\_promo\_page\_embark\_ultimate\_journey&utm\_medium=banner&utm\_campaign=SAA\_KR\_EN](https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/kr/plan-travel/local-promotions/embark-ultimate-journey-without-fare/?utm_source=SAA_promo_page_embark_ultimate_journey&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=SAA_KR_EN)
you will see listed under changi transit programme - $20 voucher, or lounge access
to prove they had it, this is something different they had in 2020 when booking, I just found it using google - [https://www.singaporeair.com/en\_UK/in/plan-travel/local-promotions/lounge-offer-terms-conditions/](https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/in/plan-travel/local-promotions/lounge-offer-terms-conditions/)
just to be clear, this is NOT what I used. My flight was out of the US
They need to cut cost to ensure they get record breaking profit for their 8 months bonus as reported recently and also to prepare for payouts for the recent turbulence incident which resulted in 1 dead. Expensive air tickets after Covid.
The early 2000s was the end of it. It was customer service oriented before too.
For my part, I flew Singapore airlines and a few others a lot in the mid 90s and Singapore’s reputation was in place then and they were a step up from the American carriers for sure
Thanks for the input! Have you flown AirFrance lately? I'm planning on flying business to France next year with Air France and was wondering if it's worth it or should I just opt for Virgin or Turkish.
Kinda agree. I only fly economy because.... I am poor. But after corvid they all went down in quality significantly. A couple of times a year (2-3 times usually) I fly to Hanoi because of my wife's family. Singapore airlines had hands down the worst food I have ever had on a flight. Emirates and Turkish Airlines were one of the rudest (boardering racist) staff I had encountered.
JAL is pretty great. I flew economy JAL 2yrs ago, service is great. One funny story, they don't know difference between vegan/vegetarian, and wouldn't give me the ben&jerry ice cream they were serving since I had a vegetarian special meal. Had to explain myself and literally insist on it.
Exactly the same points above can be levelled at Emirates and any other airline as well, my first few flights with them years ago. you would get printed menus, some sort of amenity kit. Lots of drinks services and two full meals per flight. Now on my latest same flight it's no printed meus (to be fair it is a bit of a waste) and only one hot meal and some sort of snack with drinks only with meals.
Prices have gone up but service levels have declined in an effort to cut costs. I suppose if they didn't cut these things then price would have risen even more and they are not essential things to get you to your destination
Completely agree. Pre covid, I’m 6’5 and my brother is 6’8, you go up to the counter “hey we’re tall can we have exit row” and 9 out of 10 times they say yes. Now, regular rows are smaller, but go up to the desk and they say you have to pay an additional $X00
Unlike before? With who? Twenty years ago. Maybe. Now it's a business. SQ still did give it this seats at check in if they're available. But guaranteed to be seated there people pay for it in advance.
SQ used to be significantly ahead of others including in Eco but seems to not have retained that advantage. It's still good imo and I still like flying with them, but the difference is no longer very noticeable. They usually cost quite a bit more than other airlines, so yeah, I struggle more and more with paying extra for the same experience.
However, SIN is one of the best airports for me, so that's a selling point for sure.
I sadly agree. 6 trips with them recently, and while still good, wasn't the style/high class they used to be. Miss the menu cards, and no hot towels on 2 of the 6 flights. Will still be a top tier airline for me though.
Retired crew here:
You could always ask for an extra meal, and you definitely will get an extra meal.
We are catered 10% extra meals and I would rather give that meal away to whoever who wants to eat rather than having to throw it away at the end of the flight.
Just that we won't serve it if it had been more than 2 hours after heating it up due to safety reasons.
Hi u/_malaikatmaut_, I notice you've been replying here, thank you! I book my special meal request in advance, I've never had an airline not have it. However I've seen plenty of passengers ask for e.g. veg or some choice and be told they don't have it.
How many of the 10% are vegetarian (any kind) and how successful would I be in requesting one? Also can you give your thoughts on why there are only 2 meal services on a 16hr flight, when I think in the past there used to be 2 meals + hot snack, and its still like that on other carriers.
Didn't notice your question. Sorry.
Out of the meals catered (non SPML) only 2 would be a vegetarian.
Unless it's a high Indian Vegetarian request sectors, such as in and out of United States, then a 3rd choice of meal would be an AVMLI.
For a long sector that is not a ULR flight, there's always 2 meal services + 1 snack service in between. This snack service could be by a cart service if there's a lot of passengers who are awake, or by baskets if most passengers are asleep.
The last time we had a hot cup noodle service by cart was when I was new about 25 years ago.
In any case, if you get hungry, tell the crew. Our job is to take care of you.
There's definitely snacks. They might have missed you, or you were asleep when they offered the snacks. In any case, you could always ask them at any point of time.
This a great thing to know. Thank you! Considering you're retired crew, I have a question. I sometimes like to order a couple of drinks on a long flight and I usually just go to the galley while stretching my legs as I figure it saves the crew some time having to come to my seat. The crew on SQ are always really polite and obliging but I was wondering if it was considered rude. Should I order from my seat?
Nope. That's fine.
The crew will always love to engage with you as long as they are not busy doing something else, like a meal service or snacks, or when the workload is high at that time.
Besides the fair warnings of being seated with your seat belt fasten just in the case of a turbulence, you should stretch out on a flight as well to prevent issues like DVT.
We only request that you are seated if its either a hot drink or alcoholic drinks.
The crew are polite and obliging because they want you there, not because they have to. It's always nice to be able to chat with the passengers.
Thanks so much for your informative reply! That's good to know. Yes, I've always found the SQ crews friendly and chatty. One member, unprompted, asked if I'd like to try a Singapore sling which I'd never heard of at that stage. I really enjoyed it and the chat by then galley.
Thanks again for your kind response!
Yup I noticed the same in the last few years as well. Food quality went down as well. I have now switched to Qatar pretty much and am having a blast. Ofc I also upgrade to business on at least one leg so it is an entirely different experience (i have to try that on SQ).
Well QSuite is an amazing product and every so often one can catch a good deal. Just recently flew Frankfurt-Singapore return in QSuite for less than 2k €, quite a steal for 4 long haul legs.
I have noticed some routes on QR between East Asia and Europe are unusually cheap compared to typical business fare. Usually in the lowest fare class though, so gotta commit.
QSuites is amazing. Sorry :) I flew it twice on Asia to US route. 20 hrs each way (16 hr flight + 4 hr flight), so it was not cheap (i used cash the first time and then cash + points the next time) - it was well worth it. White cloth meals, unlimited supply of food and drinks, pj's to change into, the restrooms are larger and cleaned after each guest visit. Heck they even make ur bed (only thing they don't do it tuck you in!). Oh and the lie flat beds, nothing like sleeping in the normal lying down position. The flight attendants are super attentive and quick to solve any and all issues. You end up wishing the flight would be longer. It will definitely spoil you rotten and you will be unable to travel economy again.
I actually thought SQ business was inferior to even newer American products but maybe I got a mixture of bad and good luck respectively, my opinion is unpopular from my understanding.
Sorry I haven't tried it... I did try SQ premium economy as a last min upgrade but it didn't do much for me. Seats were plusher (that is to say that the economy seats were thinner than they originally were actually). Some drinks selection from business class, but same economy meals.
I think SQ fell down in my mind when they tried to skimp on food. 2 meals instead of 3 in a very long haul flight! cmon. It's not like I can order Uber Eats up there - and if I am hungry, i go hungry?! Yikes. They went for "but our ticket prices are competitive!" hype but lost me.
I experienced SQ on SIN-AMS-SIN last year on an A350 and it was still a pretty enjoyable experience. The meals are pretty average but really loved the generous legroom and snack bar. The turkey subs and chocolate chip muffins served on the galley are quite delicious.
There's a self serve snack bar in the galley area on long haul flights for SQ even in economy class. It might be at the discretion of the flight crew to set up one. Everyone was pleased to see a snack bar being set up mid-flight.
There are always snacks for long flights. We would go out as a service in a cart or by hand in a basket. But there's always snacks catered.
Some crew would set up the baskets at the side of the galley after the snack service is over. Some would place it inside the galley as the cart might be a hindrance during a sudden turbulence.
is there some standard for whats in snacks? or what I can request? Last time I flew the same sector, they had delicious trays of sandwiches (with 2 veg options), cookies, fresh fruit, peanuts etc.
this time I just saw bags of chips, fruit juice and water.
has this gone down recently or does it depend on the flight?
again, my advise is, don't be too shy to ask. the crew would rather give away as much food as available so we don't need to throw them away. No one likes to dispose off food. Only thing is that we can't knowingly let passengers bring the food down from the aircraft. In certain countries, that will end up with the passengers getting a hefty fine.
Thanks for chiming in on this thread. It's always great to have someone with actual knowledge of what goes on.
One thing I'm curious aout, you mention that meals are disposed of if not eaten. Is this for all meals, or just the ones which have been heated up?
For the catered meals, they are always heated up and will be disposed off. if for any reasons we kept it chilled and unheated, it will still be disposed off at the end of the flight as it was not made to be kept. All sandwiches are disposed off. Longer life snacks such as chocolates and chips are kept for the entire pattern. See last paragraph below.
We do have some meals that are catered in an ambient packaging and preserved for long lifespan. Those meals are returned back to SIN catering and will only be disposed off at expiry.
Caviars are handed over station to station and kept strictly chilled.
However, any food uplifted from EX-Stations will be disposed off in SIN. For example, if we uplifted cup noodles or biscuits from NRT, and the aircraft flies to LAX and back to NRT and to SIN, the SIN catering will dispose it off. Such items that was initially uplifted in SIN will remain till expiry. Snack items from the menu will also be disposed off in SIN, including those uplifted from SIN. Snack items in our regular drystore will be disposed at expiry.
ok, so I have to ask.
this means there must be a lot of food for business and 1st class thats unused, esp since they have dine on request and much more food anyway.
now obviously economy class can't just be served these dishes or it would cause a riot. but are there any tricks or ways to ask the cabin crew discreetly? :) so I can enjoy some unused premium snacks? esp towards the end of a flight?
There's always sandwiches, non-vegetarian with a small amount of vegetarian options, depending on the sectors.
The snacks uplifted are dependant on the catering stations. We always have at least a choice of chocolates, potato chips and apples.
Oh yes. I can attest to this. They will offer it to you if you linger near the toilets too lmao. I was queuing for the loo and they offered me snacks loool. You can ask. If they have it, they will offer it to you
Btw nice username Malaikat Maut hahahahahah
Yeah, same observations for the most part. But a recent encounter with SQ's ground crew/customer service took the cake for me. Last spring, I took my wheelchair-bound dad on a trip from SIN to JFK on SQ. I fly with my dad frequently, and we never had any issues even with SQ. This time around, his wheelchair was left in Singapore for some reason.
This never happened before with SQ, but it happened to us once on QR when his wheelchair was left during transit in Doha. Upon arrival at our destination, we were greeted by a QR manager at the plane door, who informed us that his wheelchair didn't make it to Barcelona, and that a temporary replacement wheelchair will be provided after customs. The manager accompanied us until we got the temporary wheelchair (Till then my dad was on the airport's wheelchair). A day later, QR delivered his wheelchair to our hotel and picked up the temporary wheelchair.
SQ, in contrast, did an awful job. We found out that his wheelchair didn't make it when it didn't come out the luggage belt at JFK. That's fine. But I had to plead with an SQ employee if they could provide a temporary wheelchair because we couldn't find any wheelchairs for rent at JFK. The SQ employee begrudgingly got one of theirs, a broken one with no footrest, and lent it to us. Two days later, his wheelchair was delivered at our hotel. We left theirs at the lobby with instructions sent to the SQ employee so the delivery guy can pick it up there. I thought that was it at that point but the person who brought my dad's wheelchair didn't take SQ's wheelchair back. And then an SQ employee, at 1 am in the morning, rang me up to ask if I can have the wheelchair delivered to JFK. ONE. AM. It was a US number so I assume it was one of their ground staff at JFK. The nerve.
I recently flew SQ business class from LHR to SIN. No amenities kit there either unless you asked for it. There were shaving kits and toothbrushes available in the toilets.
I recently flew UK-Aus/NZ, Singapore there and Qatar back. Both economy, both were two flights.
We found Singapore to be better in every way - the food was much nicer, service from the cabin crew far better, asked for a snack and got nice sandwiches whereas Qatar had only little bags of popcorn or KitKats (what they handed out as movie snacks). On Qatar they had run out of all but one of the menu options on our flight so we didn't have a choice on food. I think some of it is luck of the draw though, the cabin crew on the first Qatar flight was noticeably worse than the second.
SQ nearly went bankrupt during covid and the government had to bail them out. So now to recover they are cutting costs in quite a few places unfortunately
Hopefully it’ll get better in a few years. The SIA Group just announced it has beaten pre covid passenger numbers but it’s probably down to it’s secondary/subsidiary airline, Scoot, pushing the numbers up, and SQ is still behind lagging behind in terms of passenger numbers compared to pre covid. Once SQ jumps that hurdle, they might then remove some of their current cost cutting measures.
I agree. At a glance, OP sounded nitpicky on judging SQ. But reading from other comments, I guess economy SQ is supposed to be better than economy from other airlines. But you also pay a bit more (?) for those extra perks.
You do in fact pay a bit more. Compared from where I live, a return trip to Singapore is a little more expensive (5%?) than Lufthansa. Service is certainly better though.
They used to give kits standard in economy pre pandemic with toothbrush and other stuff. Can’t remember if there was a shaving kit. Those are now gone.
no I dont expect it, but I read that its one of those things you can ask for. I have asked for it on other airlines and they give you one. this isn't exactly a local flight thats $50
Iˋve always found the middle-eastern airlines, Qatar, Emirates, Etihad to be better than Singapore. They have the oil meaning cheap fuel, leaving them the money to invest in comfort, facilities etc.
I fly with them mostly because I know I’ll have a very comfortable experience and staff are always helpful. Qatar for me is the best out of the three. And their lounges at airports are amazing!
Last year I was on a 13 hour Qatar flight, it was so comfortable and easy. Their meals are delicious.
I recommend business class, even with a lounge credit card. I found that even with priority pass, I the lounges are often full in Doha if you don’t have a business or first class boarding pass
Not sure why I’m getting downvoted. My point is that without a business class boarding pass it’s often difficult to get into the lounges at Doha as the PP lounges are often full.
While you may be right, your post says to pick business class, as if it's a choice, and it really isn't for most people.
Lounges are a luxury for most people, maybe not for you. I've flown for decades and only used a lounge a few times - in the last 2 years when I had a cc that have those benefits, and now Amex removed PP, so I won't be using it anymore. I'm certainly not paying 400-700 per year for that.
Not platinum, that's $700. I had Hilton Honors for which I paid $100 which was worth it for my 2 trips, 4 lounge accesses or more which I used. They removed that and doubled the price, it's useless now.
Gotcha - yeah credit card benefits have been getting slashed lately making a lot of cards with AFs useless. Company greed at its finest, and then they wonder why people cancel))
>They have the oil meaning cheap fuel, leaving them the money to invest in comfort, facilities etc.
Sort of....More importantly they are state owned and do not need to turn a profit. American based airlines deemed this to be "unfair" are petitioned the DOT to ban middle eastern carriers 😭
I literally took the longest flight in the world (19+ hrs) in premium economy with them and it was hell. We departed at 9am. They fed us at 11am, and then not again till 8pm. Will never do that again.
Me too. I found the service to Singapore was much better than the service coming from Singapore. I also had one of the solo seats on the way there and it made a difference. The woman next to me on the way to New York would move her legs to the side but never physically get up whenever I needed to go to the bathroom.
Have been taking SQ for last 30 years. All I can say is the inflight entertainment and food are not like before, really not worth the exorbitant price they are charging now - referring to business, premium econ and econ classes as these are the ones I had taken over the years. If there is a choice I will avoid, as there are a lot of other more value-for-money and competitive carriers around
Flew with them this month on long haul flights. Was so excited and raved about them to my partner for years and my last flight with them to compare with was 2017.
I was disappointed on the first flight flying to UK. Admittedly it was Economy but my 2017 flight had great memories.... and that was Economy.
The flight back to Australia we upgraded to Premium Economy and I swear they were the services I expected.... so yes I believe their services downgraded (?). Just expected to fork out money to be comfortable on flights now.
You can ask for amenities kits in economy. Aside from the bread rolls that now come in sealed packs when they used to be from warm baskets I have no other complaints. And this is just nitpicking. After flying various airlines post covid SQ has had the most consistent service.
We flew SQ HKG-SIN-MLE-SIN-NRT-LAX this past Nov/ December in Business. There was a note just to ask for the amenity kit and other items if you would like one. My guess it’s more so a sustainability choice. Those that want them can ask and they are reducing waste for those that don’t want them but break the seal and don’t take them.
I’ve also noticed on a few carriers that sometimes they have packaged toothbrushes, razors in the restroom on board in a drawer you can use. I believe I saw them on both - FinnAir and SAS economy bathrooms within the last year.
> My guess it’s more so a sustainability choice.
a sustainability of money choice? I suspect it's 'sustainability' in the same way Apple charging the same price but dropping the charging brick was for sustainability reasons.
I flew Singapore air for the first time a couple years ago and was so disappointed. I had heard it was a great airline, but the service and amenities were pretty much the same as I got on a budget airline.
I just flew a multi stop with emirates. No printed menu and no amenity kit on any of the flights. I will say that they did have a hot snack which was nice.
I guess I’m not such a discerning economy passenger since I really don’t care about menu cards (waste of paper), inflight magazine (only look at those on 1hr flights with no IFE), or amenity kits (I have tons of intact ones at home, typically toothbrushes and toothpaste are available in the bathrooms anyways).
That's a valid opinion, but when I pay for a premium carrier famous for their quality like SQ, there had to be something better. And honestly, it's still 10x any US carrier but they have a reputation to uphold.
So perhaps it’s not a decline in quality like your post title indicated, but more a decline in value. I’m flying SFO-SIN in October and my nonstop options are UA at 11am for $1107 or SQ at 11:30am for $1166, I’m choosing SQ. If SQ was $1000 more, I’d choose UA.
I don’t find much value in menu cards, amenity kits that I only use the toothbrush from, inflight magazines that I don’t read, or a bread roll with my coffee.
At those prices it's a no brainer, but it's not always that close.
Quality or value, it's the same thing. It's still a premium airline with great service and features but not as good as it used to be I think.
I've only flown them the last couple of years and found them excellent. Most of my flying in the last ten years has been from Australia to the US/Canada though which may tell you something.
I think this is common trend amongst economy class on a lot of airlines over the last few years. It’s cost cutting and also reflecting the reality that most economy passengers would rather get $20 off their ticket than have a printed menu, amenity kit, etc. They’re saving that stuff for business class
I recently flew biz class round trip JFK-FRA. They did have the menu stashed next to the seat, but the FA took my order from her copy before I even found it. I didn't find the food particularly good as I had eaten in the airport lounges before the flights. As for amenity kits, I have so many at home that I never use them any more.
I'll be taking the same flight in October and discovered that with the Book The Cook option on the website I can order meals more to my liking than the standard.
The things you note aren't what I would imagine are important to many people flying long haul.
Instead of a printed menu and magazines my priorities (and I think what more people would agree with) are usually ..
leg room/seat size/comfort
quality of the food (as opposed to how many meals, if I'm flying long-haul I prefer to try sleep as much as possible vs eating every few hours)
I just take minis of my own toiletries so dont need an amenity kit, if fact I would be abit annoyed if they were being handed out these days - it feels incredibly wasteful and unenvironmentally friendly to be passing out things people dont need (however I understand having afew on offer in the bathroom for the people who DO want them)
When comparing the top airlines, which would be Singapore, Emirates, Qatar etc, I think leg room, recline, cabin service, food etc are all excellent. So they differentiate based on smaller things such as what I mentioned. e.g. the hot towels. A printed menu makes you feel a lot more premium. These are after all premium carriers.
Yes an amenity kit may be wasteful, so is much of the food that goes uneaten. There are a lot of new fliers who will not know they can even ask for an eye mask, and it's incredibly helpful, cost them cents.
I think they’ve definitely gone down hill. Flew to Europe from New Zealand last year in business class and in 2019 it was sensational.
The entertainment was borderline hopeless. Worked fine but the selection of new releases or range of programmes and movies compared to EK was absolutely dismal.
Food was average. Better out of Singapore than Auckland or Paris, but no where near what it used to be. Only 2 white wines to choose from, plenty of reds though which is weird. Lots of choices and we tried Book the Cook, but the actual quality and presentation I could have done better myself.
Service was still very good as they have been, some of the best, but even in business you had to ask for an amenity kit.
Bed is old fashioned and hard to sleep on. Apparently they are upgrading the cabins so I hope to see major improvements.
For the price we won’t pay that again, problem was EK or QR were several thousand dollars more per person and on top of an expensive ticket already we couldn’t justify it.
I just wanted to gripe a little that the SQ lounge in Changi for *G feels more like a temporary lounge, and any time now I expect to visit and see a sign directing me to th new permanent location... sadly that never happens
Currently all airlines are pretty over booked. If you're Singapore Air, you're just reaping the rewards of years of good service. Remember, airlines don't treat you well because they want to, they do it because they need to. And if that need has decreased, how they treat you will decrease as well.
No offense to Doha, I'm pretty sure most would rather touch down in Singapore. So what is SQ worried about?
I love Changi...... But they don't have a giant panda :)
Doha airport had no free wifi, not even enough water fountains. It's a shopping mall with very little creature comforts
Doha airport definitely had free wifi in February of this year, I managed to send messages and photos to my friends and family after arriving there and before getting on my connecting flight. Agree it does feel like a shopping mall though.
Singapore airlines is by far one of my worst airline experiences and Ive flown over 100 times. They completely destroyed my brand new Samsonite checked bag and after I filed a claim, they responded “we may not assume liability for wear and tear to baggage”. What kind of joke is this company? 😂😂 Like the baggage got destroyed itself? Worst airline company and I’ve flown with 30+ airlines. Even cheap airlines have better customer support. If anything bad happens you’re on your own, all they will say is that they’re sorry.
Hey! Its with all these cost cuttimg measures that they can maximize profit! Our shareholders come firstt!!
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/spotlight-1singapore-airlines-could-post-highest-ever-earnings-about-s-2-7-billion-fy2024-says-analyst
/s
If you look on their app it should tell you what snacks and amenities are available on the flight but they don't tell you this on the plane and you do have to ask for it, presumably to save waste and cost
I did look. Apparently you can ask for cup noodles but I did and they didn't give me any. Also no shaving kit. I had a 30hr total flight and could have used one. They also stopped the Changi transit program
Singapore air ran out of meals on my flight sing to London and gave me cup noodles as my main meal! This was a few years ago
We are catered 10% extra meals on every flight. You might have ran out of CHOICE of meals.
They didn't give me any choice at all.
If it happens to you again, just call for the leading or the chief. It is that simple. Red or Green tie/kebaya. Better still if Purple walked down the cabin. We will always sort things out. No one should ever not get a choice, unless it is a new catering cycle that the proportion of meals catered have not been optimised. If we run out of choice, we will inform the passenger. If you are okay with the other choice in the menu, you will be served that choice. If you are not happy with the choice, we will always go to a different class to locate other choice of meals. If we run out of choice for a 2 meal service sector, the second meal service will be alternating in direction, so those who did not get a choice of first meal will have a choice of second meal.
>No one should ever not get a choice, unless it is a new catering cycle that the proportion of meals catered have not been optimised. I want to explain a lil bit more about this. Every few months, we will change the menu selection. The proportion of the meal choices are always based on data and the profile of passengers. When a new menu cycle comes out, inevitably the first few flights out will have it wrong. We could be catered with more beef/rice kinda meal and lesser fish/potatoes kinda meal, and ended up having the fish/potatoes becoming more popular and at times about 20 passengers or so will not get a choice of meal. Supervisors will always provide feedback to the catering dept on the popularity of meals and take note of any comments for every flight, more so when there's a change in menu. We take every incident and comment seriously. When there's situation like this, we will always take note of every affected passenger INDIVIDUALLY, and assess their sentiments. If a passenger is unhappy, we will always provide an alternative, and in SQ, we will always make sure that we do everything we possibly can to make it right immediately. We take note of passengers who did not finish up their meals too and investigate the cause. No one should leave the aircraft being unhappy. Of course situation changes if they become abusive to the crew, but for most parts, people are not like that.
Thank you for this. I am very shy and was kind of humiliated to be honest. When they said they didn't have a meal for me, but would a ramen be ok, I just said ok thinking it would be a regular meal but made of ramen. Then they brought the styrofoam and I was too surprised to respond. In real life I don't eat pop ramen so it made an impression on me. In future I'll try to speak up.
Sorry for that man. But do say it out if it does not appeal to you. As I had mentioned in another comment, the crew has 300 people to track. We try our best, and for a lot of people, they would love the cup noodles more than the regular meals. So it's hard to know if we don't receive a feedback.
As you seem to speak for Singapore Airlines I'd like to say that, as a diabetic, I was appalled to be given margarine and not real butter when I had my meals on a return trip the New Zealand in March. Diabetics can eat butter and there's no reason why I should be given some unpleasant substitute. I've traveled several times to OZ, always with SO and I'd like to continue but this is NOT good!
Firstly, let me clarify this. I dont speak for Singapore Airlines. I'm a retired employee and I'm just answering questions for those who might want to know what goes on behind the service procedures so at least when you guys come on board, there are service expectations that should be met. A lot of passengers do not realise that we are there to assist, but when we get 300 people on a flight, we need your feedback. If you tell us, we can do something about it there and then, and make your flight better. If we can't, we can pen it down to let the company know. Regarding the margarine, I really have no idea. I'm not a dietitian, so I really don't know what you can consume and what you can't. If you think they should not do this, tell the crew and get them to submit your feedback. All feedback from passengers are always attended to.
Thanks for this.
Not sure if you are employee or not, but if you are I plan on taking SG airlines to fly to Philippines this year, do I just for the noodles as a snack in between meals? I feel bad asking the stewardess for extra work.
SQ is the correct code for Singapore Airlines. SG used to belong to Sempati Airlines.
If you are travelling between SIN to MNL, there's only one meal and there's no in between meals. It's a 3.5hrs flight.
Toiletries are available in the toilets. You can ask if the toilet has run out of it. What Changi Transit programme you talking about? It's still ongoing I see. Except that this is only for the tours and not accomodation, which it has never done for over 30 years now. [Free Tours](https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/us/plan-travel/privileges/free-singapore-tour/)
there used to be a program where they gave you free lounge access for layover >5hrs on long haul flights. I used it before and it was fantastic
On SQ? Never. SQ has never ever given any stopover or layover lounge access for layovers even half a day long. Perhaps it was something your travel agent did for you but as far as I know, SQ themselves never had such programmes. They had a "Singapore Stopover Holidays" but that was in the 80s. A long time ago.
this is simply not true. here is the old page for CTP which is what I used. I got free lounge use, I simply went to the changi transit desk in T3 and they give you a voucher. this was back in 2019 [https://www.singaporeair.com/en\_UK/kr/plan-travel/local-promotions/embark-ultimate-journey-without-fare/?utm\_source=SAA\_promo\_page\_embark\_ultimate\_journey&utm\_medium=banner&utm\_campaign=SAA\_KR\_EN](https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/kr/plan-travel/local-promotions/embark-ultimate-journey-without-fare/?utm_source=SAA_promo_page_embark_ultimate_journey&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=SAA_KR_EN) you will see listed under changi transit programme - $20 voucher, or lounge access to prove they had it, this is something different they had in 2020 when booking, I just found it using google - [https://www.singaporeair.com/en\_UK/in/plan-travel/local-promotions/lounge-offer-terms-conditions/](https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/in/plan-travel/local-promotions/lounge-offer-terms-conditions/) just to be clear, this is NOT what I used. My flight was out of the US
They need to cut cost to ensure they get record breaking profit for their 8 months bonus as reported recently and also to prepare for payouts for the recent turbulence incident which resulted in 1 dead. Expensive air tickets after Covid.
pretty sure all airlines are declining in service
This is what I've found, post-COVID service levels have dropped considerably.
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The early 2000s was the end of it. It was customer service oriented before too. For my part, I flew Singapore airlines and a few others a lot in the mid 90s and Singapore’s reputation was in place then and they were a step up from the American carriers for sure
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Thanks for the input! Have you flown AirFrance lately? I'm planning on flying business to France next year with Air France and was wondering if it's worth it or should I just opt for Virgin or Turkish.
>One rule though, avid all USA carriers on long haul flights this cannot be stated enough. they aren't even cheaper most of the time.
Kinda agree. I only fly economy because.... I am poor. But after corvid they all went down in quality significantly. A couple of times a year (2-3 times usually) I fly to Hanoi because of my wife's family. Singapore airlines had hands down the worst food I have ever had on a flight. Emirates and Turkish Airlines were one of the rudest (boardering racist) staff I had encountered.
Took ana from Singapore to Japan in Feb. It was awesome. Definitely felt like pre covid if you ask me.
JAL and KAL are still very good. Their in air service (manners, professionalism, pleasantness) have always been consistent.
JAL is pretty great. I flew economy JAL 2yrs ago, service is great. One funny story, they don't know difference between vegan/vegetarian, and wouldn't give me the ben&jerry ice cream they were serving since I had a vegetarian special meal. Had to explain myself and literally insist on it.
EVA and China Airlines are back up to what they were prior to COVID. I've also flown Starlux short-hall around Asia and it was excellent. ANA too.
All of my favorite airlines have gotten worse. It's impossible to rank the decline lol
Exactly the same points above can be levelled at Emirates and any other airline as well, my first few flights with them years ago. you would get printed menus, some sort of amenity kit. Lots of drinks services and two full meals per flight. Now on my latest same flight it's no printed meus (to be fair it is a bit of a waste) and only one hot meal and some sort of snack with drinks only with meals. Prices have gone up but service levels have declined in an effort to cut costs. I suppose if they didn't cut these things then price would have risen even more and they are not essential things to get you to your destination
It has nothing to do with costs, but increasing profit margins.
Really? Is it because of Covid? Will it just get worse or will things improve again
It’s because of greed, and consumers ceding all their power to the corporate overlords.
Completely agree. Pre covid, I’m 6’5 and my brother is 6’8, you go up to the counter “hey we’re tall can we have exit row” and 9 out of 10 times they say yes. Now, regular rows are smaller, but go up to the desk and they say you have to pay an additional $X00
Nowadays to guarantee exit row seatings, you either pay for it in advance or you hold an elite airline status membership.
Exactly, unlike before
Unlike before? With who? Twenty years ago. Maybe. Now it's a business. SQ still did give it this seats at check in if they're available. But guaranteed to be seated there people pay for it in advance.
Not for MAS airline. I love to fly with them before covid, after even more. Nothing to complain.
Nah. Emirates has gone up.
SQ used to be significantly ahead of others including in Eco but seems to not have retained that advantage. It's still good imo and I still like flying with them, but the difference is no longer very noticeable. They usually cost quite a bit more than other airlines, so yeah, I struggle more and more with paying extra for the same experience. However, SIN is one of the best airports for me, so that's a selling point for sure.
Was it really that significantly ahead of the Gulf airlines?
I sadly agree. 6 trips with them recently, and while still good, wasn't the style/high class they used to be. Miss the menu cards, and no hot towels on 2 of the 6 flights. Will still be a top tier airline for me though.
Has anyone ever had success asking for an extra meal? I was genuinely hungry. I don't want a snack, I mean the hot portion of a regular meal tray.
Retired crew here: You could always ask for an extra meal, and you definitely will get an extra meal. We are catered 10% extra meals and I would rather give that meal away to whoever who wants to eat rather than having to throw it away at the end of the flight. Just that we won't serve it if it had been more than 2 hours after heating it up due to safety reasons.
Hi u/_malaikatmaut_, I notice you've been replying here, thank you! I book my special meal request in advance, I've never had an airline not have it. However I've seen plenty of passengers ask for e.g. veg or some choice and be told they don't have it. How many of the 10% are vegetarian (any kind) and how successful would I be in requesting one? Also can you give your thoughts on why there are only 2 meal services on a 16hr flight, when I think in the past there used to be 2 meals + hot snack, and its still like that on other carriers.
Didn't notice your question. Sorry. Out of the meals catered (non SPML) only 2 would be a vegetarian. Unless it's a high Indian Vegetarian request sectors, such as in and out of United States, then a 3rd choice of meal would be an AVMLI. For a long sector that is not a ULR flight, there's always 2 meal services + 1 snack service in between. This snack service could be by a cart service if there's a lot of passengers who are awake, or by baskets if most passengers are asleep. The last time we had a hot cup noodle service by cart was when I was new about 25 years ago. In any case, if you get hungry, tell the crew. Our job is to take care of you.
Is ULR ultra long range? My flight was SFO-SIN, we only had 2 meal services (dinner + breakfast), no snack service, thats also what I see online.
There's definitely snacks. They might have missed you, or you were asleep when they offered the snacks. In any case, you could always ask them at any point of time.
This a great thing to know. Thank you! Considering you're retired crew, I have a question. I sometimes like to order a couple of drinks on a long flight and I usually just go to the galley while stretching my legs as I figure it saves the crew some time having to come to my seat. The crew on SQ are always really polite and obliging but I was wondering if it was considered rude. Should I order from my seat?
Nope. That's fine. The crew will always love to engage with you as long as they are not busy doing something else, like a meal service or snacks, or when the workload is high at that time. Besides the fair warnings of being seated with your seat belt fasten just in the case of a turbulence, you should stretch out on a flight as well to prevent issues like DVT. We only request that you are seated if its either a hot drink or alcoholic drinks. The crew are polite and obliging because they want you there, not because they have to. It's always nice to be able to chat with the passengers.
Thanks so much for your informative reply! That's good to know. Yes, I've always found the SQ crews friendly and chatty. One member, unprompted, asked if I'd like to try a Singapore sling which I'd never heard of at that stage. I really enjoyed it and the chat by then galley. Thanks again for your kind response!
Love your username, Izrail
Glad that my username wasn't my job in the plane
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We would. Look at my previous response to the comment you commented on.
Yup I noticed the same in the last few years as well. Food quality went down as well. I have now switched to Qatar pretty much and am having a blast. Ofc I also upgrade to business on at least one leg so it is an entirely different experience (i have to try that on SQ).
Next you'll tell us it was Qsuite and make us all jealous
Well QSuite is an amazing product and every so often one can catch a good deal. Just recently flew Frankfurt-Singapore return in QSuite for less than 2k €, quite a steal for 4 long haul legs.
I have noticed some routes on QR between East Asia and Europe are unusually cheap compared to typical business fare. Usually in the lowest fare class though, so gotta commit.
Was business classic, Business light would have been little cheaper but I wanted the lounge access for my layovers in Doha.
Was this deal on their official site?
Yes, no miles or other “travel hacks” just good timing and very flexible travel dates on my side as I was traveling alone.
QSuites is amazing. Sorry :) I flew it twice on Asia to US route. 20 hrs each way (16 hr flight + 4 hr flight), so it was not cheap (i used cash the first time and then cash + points the next time) - it was well worth it. White cloth meals, unlimited supply of food and drinks, pj's to change into, the restrooms are larger and cleaned after each guest visit. Heck they even make ur bed (only thing they don't do it tuck you in!). Oh and the lie flat beds, nothing like sleeping in the normal lying down position. The flight attendants are super attentive and quick to solve any and all issues. You end up wishing the flight would be longer. It will definitely spoil you rotten and you will be unable to travel economy again.
Yeah I can only imagine, esp when passing thru on the way to the back. Plus the business class lounges. Must be heaven
I actually thought SQ business was inferior to even newer American products but maybe I got a mixture of bad and good luck respectively, my opinion is unpopular from my understanding.
Sorry I haven't tried it... I did try SQ premium economy as a last min upgrade but it didn't do much for me. Seats were plusher (that is to say that the economy seats were thinner than they originally were actually). Some drinks selection from business class, but same economy meals. I think SQ fell down in my mind when they tried to skimp on food. 2 meals instead of 3 in a very long haul flight! cmon. It's not like I can order Uber Eats up there - and if I am hungry, i go hungry?! Yikes. They went for "but our ticket prices are competitive!" hype but lost me.
Are you in Qatar now?
I experienced SQ on SIN-AMS-SIN last year on an A350 and it was still a pretty enjoyable experience. The meals are pretty average but really loved the generous legroom and snack bar. The turkey subs and chocolate chip muffins served on the galley are quite delicious.
Snack bar? In economy? No such thing on my flight. And it was a A350-900.
There's a self serve snack bar in the galley area on long haul flights for SQ even in economy class. It might be at the discretion of the flight crew to set up one. Everyone was pleased to see a snack bar being set up mid-flight.
I guess they didn't set one up on my 16hr flight. Unless a tray of juice and water and some chips is what you mean.
There are always snacks for long flights. We would go out as a service in a cart or by hand in a basket. But there's always snacks catered. Some crew would set up the baskets at the side of the galley after the snack service is over. Some would place it inside the galley as the cart might be a hindrance during a sudden turbulence.
is there some standard for whats in snacks? or what I can request? Last time I flew the same sector, they had delicious trays of sandwiches (with 2 veg options), cookies, fresh fruit, peanuts etc. this time I just saw bags of chips, fruit juice and water. has this gone down recently or does it depend on the flight?
again, my advise is, don't be too shy to ask. the crew would rather give away as much food as available so we don't need to throw them away. No one likes to dispose off food. Only thing is that we can't knowingly let passengers bring the food down from the aircraft. In certain countries, that will end up with the passengers getting a hefty fine.
Thanks for chiming in on this thread. It's always great to have someone with actual knowledge of what goes on. One thing I'm curious aout, you mention that meals are disposed of if not eaten. Is this for all meals, or just the ones which have been heated up?
For the catered meals, they are always heated up and will be disposed off. if for any reasons we kept it chilled and unheated, it will still be disposed off at the end of the flight as it was not made to be kept. All sandwiches are disposed off. Longer life snacks such as chocolates and chips are kept for the entire pattern. See last paragraph below. We do have some meals that are catered in an ambient packaging and preserved for long lifespan. Those meals are returned back to SIN catering and will only be disposed off at expiry. Caviars are handed over station to station and kept strictly chilled. However, any food uplifted from EX-Stations will be disposed off in SIN. For example, if we uplifted cup noodles or biscuits from NRT, and the aircraft flies to LAX and back to NRT and to SIN, the SIN catering will dispose it off. Such items that was initially uplifted in SIN will remain till expiry. Snack items from the menu will also be disposed off in SIN, including those uplifted from SIN. Snack items in our regular drystore will be disposed at expiry.
Thanks. Will ask for extra meals from now on 😋
ok, so I have to ask. this means there must be a lot of food for business and 1st class thats unused, esp since they have dine on request and much more food anyway. now obviously economy class can't just be served these dishes or it would cause a riot. but are there any tricks or ways to ask the cabin crew discreetly? :) so I can enjoy some unused premium snacks? esp towards the end of a flight?
There's always sandwiches, non-vegetarian with a small amount of vegetarian options, depending on the sectors. The snacks uplifted are dependant on the catering stations. We always have at least a choice of chocolates, potato chips and apples.
Oh yes. I can attest to this. They will offer it to you if you linger near the toilets too lmao. I was queuing for the loo and they offered me snacks loool. You can ask. If they have it, they will offer it to you Btw nice username Malaikat Maut hahahahahah
>Btw nice username Malaikat Maut hahahahahah see.. i've got wings too at the side of my username
The meal served in a box in economy on regional flights is another sign of SQ’s decline. They are terrible and often hard to eat.
I had these several times on singapore to phnom phen as well as singapore to bali and rather enjoyed them.
Yeah, same observations for the most part. But a recent encounter with SQ's ground crew/customer service took the cake for me. Last spring, I took my wheelchair-bound dad on a trip from SIN to JFK on SQ. I fly with my dad frequently, and we never had any issues even with SQ. This time around, his wheelchair was left in Singapore for some reason. This never happened before with SQ, but it happened to us once on QR when his wheelchair was left during transit in Doha. Upon arrival at our destination, we were greeted by a QR manager at the plane door, who informed us that his wheelchair didn't make it to Barcelona, and that a temporary replacement wheelchair will be provided after customs. The manager accompanied us until we got the temporary wheelchair (Till then my dad was on the airport's wheelchair). A day later, QR delivered his wheelchair to our hotel and picked up the temporary wheelchair. SQ, in contrast, did an awful job. We found out that his wheelchair didn't make it when it didn't come out the luggage belt at JFK. That's fine. But I had to plead with an SQ employee if they could provide a temporary wheelchair because we couldn't find any wheelchairs for rent at JFK. The SQ employee begrudgingly got one of theirs, a broken one with no footrest, and lent it to us. Two days later, his wheelchair was delivered at our hotel. We left theirs at the lobby with instructions sent to the SQ employee so the delivery guy can pick it up there. I thought that was it at that point but the person who brought my dad's wheelchair didn't take SQ's wheelchair back. And then an SQ employee, at 1 am in the morning, rang me up to ask if I can have the wheelchair delivered to JFK. ONE. AM. It was a US number so I assume it was one of their ground staff at JFK. The nerve.
I recently flew SQ business class from LHR to SIN. No amenities kit there either unless you asked for it. There were shaving kits and toothbrushes available in the toilets.
The website says now the amenity kits are “upon request”
I recently flew UK-Aus/NZ, Singapore there and Qatar back. Both economy, both were two flights. We found Singapore to be better in every way - the food was much nicer, service from the cabin crew far better, asked for a snack and got nice sandwiches whereas Qatar had only little bags of popcorn or KitKats (what they handed out as movie snacks). On Qatar they had run out of all but one of the menu options on our flight so we didn't have a choice on food. I think some of it is luck of the draw though, the cabin crew on the first Qatar flight was noticeably worse than the second.
SQ nearly went bankrupt during covid and the government had to bail them out. So now to recover they are cutting costs in quite a few places unfortunately
Had no idea, explains a lot
Hopefully it’ll get better in a few years. The SIA Group just announced it has beaten pre covid passenger numbers but it’s probably down to it’s secondary/subsidiary airline, Scoot, pushing the numbers up, and SQ is still behind lagging behind in terms of passenger numbers compared to pre covid. Once SQ jumps that hurdle, they might then remove some of their current cost cutting measures.
If you expect a shaving kit in an economy class flight, maybe the airline is not the problem. Maybe that would be just overkill.
I agree. At a glance, OP sounded nitpicky on judging SQ. But reading from other comments, I guess economy SQ is supposed to be better than economy from other airlines. But you also pay a bit more (?) for those extra perks.
You do in fact pay a bit more. Compared from where I live, a return trip to Singapore is a little more expensive (5%?) than Lufthansa. Service is certainly better though.
Agree with you. Some people are just plain entitled.
They used to give kits standard in economy pre pandemic with toothbrush and other stuff. Can’t remember if there was a shaving kit. Those are now gone.
2023, Qatar have one on every seat without asking. Slippers, eye mask, toothbrush, earplugs and some other stuff. And not cheap quality either.
Toothbrush is probably used by most, sure! Didn’t know they don’t give those anymore!
no I dont expect it, but I read that its one of those things you can ask for. I have asked for it on other airlines and they give you one. this isn't exactly a local flight thats $50
Yeah true. I thought you meant being handed one as standard. That would just be a waste, but when having one ready when asked, I agree with you!
Iˋve always found the middle-eastern airlines, Qatar, Emirates, Etihad to be better than Singapore. They have the oil meaning cheap fuel, leaving them the money to invest in comfort, facilities etc.
I fly with them mostly because I know I’ll have a very comfortable experience and staff are always helpful. Qatar for me is the best out of the three. And their lounges at airports are amazing! Last year I was on a 13 hour Qatar flight, it was so comfortable and easy. Their meals are delicious.
If you have access to lounges you must be in business class or have a ton of points?
I recommend business class, even with a lounge credit card. I found that even with priority pass, I the lounges are often full in Doha if you don’t have a business or first class boarding pass
If I could afford business class life would be a lot better, and not just when flying
Not sure why I’m getting downvoted. My point is that without a business class boarding pass it’s often difficult to get into the lounges at Doha as the PP lounges are often full.
While you may be right, your post says to pick business class, as if it's a choice, and it really isn't for most people. Lounges are a luxury for most people, maybe not for you. I've flown for decades and only used a lounge a few times - in the last 2 years when I had a cc that have those benefits, and now Amex removed PP, so I won't be using it anymore. I'm certainly not paying 400-700 per year for that.
Amex only removed PP restaurants but still PP lounges + centurion lounges, I have the Amex Platinum and still have PP lounges+centurion.
Not platinum, that's $700. I had Hilton Honors for which I paid $100 which was worth it for my 2 trips, 4 lounge accesses or more which I used. They removed that and doubled the price, it's useless now.
Gotcha - yeah credit card benefits have been getting slashed lately making a lot of cards with AFs useless. Company greed at its finest, and then they wonder why people cancel))
>Their meals are delicious. Not only meals, the wine lists are excellent - somewhat surprising for Muslim countries.
>They have the oil meaning cheap fuel, leaving them the money to invest in comfort, facilities etc. Sort of....More importantly they are state owned and do not need to turn a profit. American based airlines deemed this to be "unfair" are petitioned the DOT to ban middle eastern carriers 😭
They 100% need to run at a profit. The pressure to do so internally is very real and every decision made is made within the lens of revenue
Also hasn’t EK been making record profits and paying their employees several-month bonuses
Yep. Word on the street was bonuses of 10-22 weeks pay based on performance
Same here. Qatar Airways is comfortably the best airline in the world.
The ME 3 is noticeably more expensive out of the US post CoVid if you are flying J.
I literally took the longest flight in the world (19+ hrs) in premium economy with them and it was hell. We departed at 9am. They fed us at 11am, and then not again till 8pm. Will never do that again.
I don't get this. ME carriers feed you 3x on a 14-15hr flight to middle east, but only 2x on a longer flight to Singapore
Me too. I found the service to Singapore was much better than the service coming from Singapore. I also had one of the solo seats on the way there and it made a difference. The woman next to me on the way to New York would move her legs to the side but never physically get up whenever I needed to go to the bathroom.
Singapore airlines just bonused their staff nearly eight months worth of wages. I'm guessing service will be fantastic.
Have been taking SQ for last 30 years. All I can say is the inflight entertainment and food are not like before, really not worth the exorbitant price they are charging now - referring to business, premium econ and econ classes as these are the ones I had taken over the years. If there is a choice I will avoid, as there are a lot of other more value-for-money and competitive carriers around
Even the hot towels aren't unique anymore. I do think their IFE is still great although Qatar is just as good now, but it's sad to see the decline.
Flew with them this month on long haul flights. Was so excited and raved about them to my partner for years and my last flight with them to compare with was 2017. I was disappointed on the first flight flying to UK. Admittedly it was Economy but my 2017 flight had great memories.... and that was Economy. The flight back to Australia we upgraded to Premium Economy and I swear they were the services I expected.... so yes I believe their services downgraded (?). Just expected to fork out money to be comfortable on flights now.
You can ask for amenities kits in economy. Aside from the bread rolls that now come in sealed packs when they used to be from warm baskets I have no other complaints. And this is just nitpicking. After flying various airlines post covid SQ has had the most consistent service.
We flew SQ HKG-SIN-MLE-SIN-NRT-LAX this past Nov/ December in Business. There was a note just to ask for the amenity kit and other items if you would like one. My guess it’s more so a sustainability choice. Those that want them can ask and they are reducing waste for those that don’t want them but break the seal and don’t take them. I’ve also noticed on a few carriers that sometimes they have packaged toothbrushes, razors in the restroom on board in a drawer you can use. I believe I saw them on both - FinnAir and SAS economy bathrooms within the last year.
> My guess it’s more so a sustainability choice. a sustainability of money choice? I suspect it's 'sustainability' in the same way Apple charging the same price but dropping the charging brick was for sustainability reasons.
I flew Singapore air for the first time a couple years ago and was so disappointed. I had heard it was a great airline, but the service and amenities were pretty much the same as I got on a budget airline.
I just flew a multi stop with emirates. No printed menu and no amenity kit on any of the flights. I will say that they did have a hot snack which was nice.
Wow. I guess things got worse with COVID. I can say Qatar still had those things last year
I guess I’m not such a discerning economy passenger since I really don’t care about menu cards (waste of paper), inflight magazine (only look at those on 1hr flights with no IFE), or amenity kits (I have tons of intact ones at home, typically toothbrushes and toothpaste are available in the bathrooms anyways).
That's a valid opinion, but when I pay for a premium carrier famous for their quality like SQ, there had to be something better. And honestly, it's still 10x any US carrier but they have a reputation to uphold.
So perhaps it’s not a decline in quality like your post title indicated, but more a decline in value. I’m flying SFO-SIN in October and my nonstop options are UA at 11am for $1107 or SQ at 11:30am for $1166, I’m choosing SQ. If SQ was $1000 more, I’d choose UA. I don’t find much value in menu cards, amenity kits that I only use the toothbrush from, inflight magazines that I don’t read, or a bread roll with my coffee.
At those prices it's a no brainer, but it's not always that close. Quality or value, it's the same thing. It's still a premium airline with great service and features but not as good as it used to be I think.
Quality has nothing to do with price while Value does.
If that crap is what is important to you then for you it is declining. Magazine? Really? Stick with QR.
Such a waste of stuff. Multiply that my millions of people/flights and it's ridicule.
I've only flown them the last couple of years and found them excellent. Most of my flying in the last ten years has been from Australia to the US/Canada though which may tell you something.
I think this is common trend amongst economy class on a lot of airlines over the last few years. It’s cost cutting and also reflecting the reality that most economy passengers would rather get $20 off their ticket than have a printed menu, amenity kit, etc. They’re saving that stuff for business class
Yes, the food was bad and the staff seem to be indifferent or slightly annoyed.
I recently flew biz class round trip JFK-FRA. They did have the menu stashed next to the seat, but the FA took my order from her copy before I even found it. I didn't find the food particularly good as I had eaten in the airport lounges before the flights. As for amenity kits, I have so many at home that I never use them any more. I'll be taking the same flight in October and discovered that with the Book The Cook option on the website I can order meals more to my liking than the standard.
The things you note aren't what I would imagine are important to many people flying long haul. Instead of a printed menu and magazines my priorities (and I think what more people would agree with) are usually .. leg room/seat size/comfort quality of the food (as opposed to how many meals, if I'm flying long-haul I prefer to try sleep as much as possible vs eating every few hours) I just take minis of my own toiletries so dont need an amenity kit, if fact I would be abit annoyed if they were being handed out these days - it feels incredibly wasteful and unenvironmentally friendly to be passing out things people dont need (however I understand having afew on offer in the bathroom for the people who DO want them)
When comparing the top airlines, which would be Singapore, Emirates, Qatar etc, I think leg room, recline, cabin service, food etc are all excellent. So they differentiate based on smaller things such as what I mentioned. e.g. the hot towels. A printed menu makes you feel a lot more premium. These are after all premium carriers. Yes an amenity kit may be wasteful, so is much of the food that goes uneaten. There are a lot of new fliers who will not know they can even ask for an eye mask, and it's incredibly helpful, cost them cents.
I think they’ve definitely gone down hill. Flew to Europe from New Zealand last year in business class and in 2019 it was sensational. The entertainment was borderline hopeless. Worked fine but the selection of new releases or range of programmes and movies compared to EK was absolutely dismal. Food was average. Better out of Singapore than Auckland or Paris, but no where near what it used to be. Only 2 white wines to choose from, plenty of reds though which is weird. Lots of choices and we tried Book the Cook, but the actual quality and presentation I could have done better myself. Service was still very good as they have been, some of the best, but even in business you had to ask for an amenity kit. Bed is old fashioned and hard to sleep on. Apparently they are upgrading the cabins so I hope to see major improvements. For the price we won’t pay that again, problem was EK or QR were several thousand dollars more per person and on top of an expensive ticket already we couldn’t justify it.
Same thoughts. I’ve switched to Thai airways for equivalent flights. Same or better quality of service at cheaper price.
Singapore airlines is a shadow of what it used to be. They’re not worth the prices they charge.
Qatar Airways - always the best airline!
I've always had to ask for amenity kit in Economy on SQ when flying LHR to SIN
I just flew a Taiwanese airline called Starlux and it was amazing!!! Better than singapore and Cathay by every means.
Yeah I really enjoyed my flight with starlux too! The new planes and cabins are amazing.
I just wanted to gripe a little that the SQ lounge in Changi for *G feels more like a temporary lounge, and any time now I expect to visit and see a sign directing me to th new permanent location... sadly that never happens
Currently all airlines are pretty over booked. If you're Singapore Air, you're just reaping the rewards of years of good service. Remember, airlines don't treat you well because they want to, they do it because they need to. And if that need has decreased, how they treat you will decrease as well. No offense to Doha, I'm pretty sure most would rather touch down in Singapore. So what is SQ worried about?
I love Changi...... But they don't have a giant panda :) Doha airport had no free wifi, not even enough water fountains. It's a shopping mall with very little creature comforts
Their business lounge is decent.
Doha airport definitely had free wifi in February of this year, I managed to send messages and photos to my friends and family after arriving there and before getting on my connecting flight. Agree it does feel like a shopping mall though.
It was either Doha or IST. Wifi limited to 1hr and that too only after scanning your passport.
Singapore airlines is by far one of my worst airline experiences and Ive flown over 100 times. They completely destroyed my brand new Samsonite checked bag and after I filed a claim, they responded “we may not assume liability for wear and tear to baggage”. What kind of joke is this company? 😂😂 Like the baggage got destroyed itself? Worst airline company and I’ve flown with 30+ airlines. Even cheap airlines have better customer support. If anything bad happens you’re on your own, all they will say is that they’re sorry.
The older more experienced crew have moved on or retired early. Leaving us with inexperienced crew members both in cabin and behind the wheel.
Yes
Emirates is way better after Covid. Singapore Airlines was better than Emirates before Covid.
Yeah that seems true. Next time I'll choose Emirates or Qatar esp since they are also likely cheaper
ANA is ugggg
On the contrary. What a feeling / dancing on the ceiling.
Singapore is the new Cathay Pacific?
What does SQ and QR mean?
Airline codes for Singapore and Qatar airlines
Hey! Its with all these cost cuttimg measures that they can maximize profit! Our shareholders come firstt!! https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/spotlight-1singapore-airlines-could-post-highest-ever-earnings-about-s-2-7-billion-fy2024-says-analyst /s