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[icn.sg]

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It’s been another long hiatus since my last trip report here.  I’m taking a short break from work this month, and decided to keep myself busy by writing on my past travels.  I do apologize for the poor quality photos posted.  I have been using my mobile phone camera on all my trips as it was a chore to carry a separate digital camera.

 

First up, is my most recent trip to China. I decided to catch up with my buddies working there, and spent a wonderful 2 weeks in Shanghai and Beijing.  I wanted to experience the countdown celebrations in Shanghai, and thus flew to Shanghai on new years’ eve.

 

I redeemed my Krisflyer miles for this flight, and booked myself on the morning flight to PVG.

 

SQ830 SIN-PVG: A380 9VSKA.

 

It was a cool morning as my taxi ride sped along the expressway and headed east to Changi Airport. 

 

 

I arrived at Changi Airport T3 two hours before my flight and proceeded to the busy check-in hall.  It took less than 5 min for my boarding pass to be issued.

 

 

 

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First stop, the SATS Premium Lounge, which I was able to use thanks to free vouchers issued by American Express.   This lounge is used by airlines that are handled by SATS ground handling.  It is situated next to the Krisflyer Gold lounge.  The lounge was small, and was showing its age. Food selection was disappointing as there was a very limited selection.  Perhaps it was early in the morning, so only breakfast was served.

 

 

 

 

The lounge offered obstructed views of the tarmac (similar to every other lounge at Changi).

 

 

After spending an hour in the SATS lounge, I decided to head to the Krisflyer Gold lounge which I was entitled to as a Star Alliance Gold member.  The décor in this lounge was a little better, and had a larger seating capacity than SATS Premium Lounge.  Unfortunately, the breakfast selection was even more limited than what SATS lounge offered that morning.

 

 

 

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20 minutes in the KF Gold lounge and I was already bored.  I headed out to purchase some duty free cigarettes and a quick puff before heading to my gate.  9V-SKA would take me to PVG this morning.  This was the first A380 delivered to SQ back in 2007 (and the first A380 in the world to ever operate a commercial flight).  It is hard to believe that 9V-SKA is close to 10 years old since it first landed in Singapore in October 2007!

 

 

Economy class was only 30% filled this morning, offering every passenger an empty seat next to them!

This aircraft had been refitted with the updated Y seats, which had thicker, more comfortable head rests and back support (not the same as those new Y seats in the latest 777-300ERs).  Some of the newer A380s and older A330s in the fleet still have the thinner head rests. 

 

 

 

 

 

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We pushed back 10 minutes ahead of schedule and were soon on our way to PVG!

 

 

 

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The usual drink service was offered from the trolley soon after take-off.  This was followed by lunch.  Two choices were offered to all passengers – International and Oriental selection.  SQ introduced new service ware in Y class in November 2014.   I can’t say that I like the new service ware.  The major change is the wine glass.  It is now made of plastic!  It looks fine, but it feels cheap.  Gone also are the cheese and crackers that used to be served together with your meal on flights to China.  Even the Chinese snack has been removed from the Oriental choice meal trays! 

 

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 International Choice

 

 

 

 

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Oriental Choice

 

 

 

 

Plastic wine ‘glass’

 

 

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New Service ware

 

 

 

 

 

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The rest of the flight was uneventful and smooth.  Service on board was attentive, but not proactive despite this being an almost empty flight.

 

 

 

 

 

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Usual amenities in the lavatory.

 

 

Got myself some SK II from the inflight duty free shop.  Well worth it since there was an additional 10% discount for purchases made onboard.

 

 

Descent and arrival in PVG…

 

 

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New Year’s Eve in Shanghai… we avoided the Bund as it was too crowded that night.  We learnt the next morning that more than 30 people had died in the stampede there! May their souls rest in peace….

 

 

We spent the next few days in Shanghai stuffing ourselves with FOOD…LOTS OF FOOD!!! I gained 3kg after this trip!!!

 

 

 

 

 

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SHANGHAI-BEIJING

 

We made a short trip to Beijing a few days later and opted for the Shanghai-Beijing High Speed Rail.  The journey took just 4.5 hours at 350 km/hr at certain stretches.  We travelled in first class as we were concerned that it might be cramped and uncomfortable in the second class cabin.  Business Class is two times more expensive than first class. The seating configurations of the various classes are as follow:

 

Business Class : 1 x 2 (full flat recline and a hot meal)

First Class: 2 x 2 (seat back reclines, includes foot rest and snacks)

Second Class: 3 x 2 (seat back reclines)

 

We started our journey from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway station just next to Hongqiao Airport. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Onboard Entertainment - Free tablet for use. This is only available in some trains. I did not have this on my Beijing - Shanghai sector.

 

 

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Lavatory in the High Speed Rail - Clean and very well maintained.

 

 

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BEIJING SIGHTS AND MORE FOOD!

 

 

 

 

 

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To be continued in Part 2....

 

Thanks for reading. Please do feel free to ask me questions if you would like to know more about the transportation between Shanghai and Beijing or places to stay or visit.

 

Your feedback and comments will be appreciated.

[ktheerasuk]

Thank you very much for the excellent review. I used SIA or SQ flying from BKK to DPS last month. The material used in ware for meal did not look like this. I love SIA or SQ service due to their quality is so consistent in comparison with some carriage. However, down grading of the product in catering may be due to speficic reason.