SIA A330, B77W, A380 Business class review '17

Recently I chanced upon affordable business class tickets on SIA to Beijing, so booked it almost immediately while my schedule allows and before the fares are gone. SIA is a famed five star airline, one of the top in the world, and with very impressive service.

The itinerary that I booked allowed me to experience business class in the SIA fleet of A330, B77W and A380. Different aircrafts feature different types of seats. There are many online reviews of each type of SIA business class seat already so I won't go into details. I just want to share my wonderful flight experience here.

For a short introduction, A330 plane feature a regional business class seat in a 2-2-2 configuration, so not as wide. While the seat don't go fully flat, the recline is still perfectly comfortable to me.

On the B77W and A380, the seats go fully flat in a 1-2-1 configuration, the widest in the sky. More comfortable than the A330 seats.

On some routes, a mix of different aircrafts are used. SQ usually sends its A330 within Asia, Australia and India. So when choosing business class flights, if possible, choose those planes fitted with long haul seats rather than regional seats for a more comfortable flight.  

Business class on any airline usually comes with lounge access at the airport. I find it to be great to relax before a flight. The lounge varies greatly across airports and airlines.

My trip started in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and travelling on SQ business class comes with access to the Araliya lounge:

The lounge is small and with limited seating.  The window seats offer views of the airplanes. The lounge filled up close to departure time but it doesn't feel overcrowded. Food variety is limited as well with a couple of hot dishes and beverages. I didn't eat much as I would be eating on the flight soon. Business class meal is always a great experience. 😊

In flight meal: Garlic bread, my favourite !

Main course: Salmon, paired with red wine. Ordered from Book the Cook service.

Flying to Singapore. Witnessing a sunrise !

No matter which part of the world I am at, sunrise is always beautiful from the sky's perspective.

SQ A330 business class seating configuration is 2-2-2 across 5 rows in a cabin. Luckily I don't have a seatmate on this flight. The seat comes with a big screen PTV, plenty of storage areas for personal belongings, in flight literature. 

A water bottle with SIA 70th anniversary logo is handed out, together with basic amenities such as slippers and eye mask. Toothbrush and comb are available in the lavatory.

No amenity kit is provided on SQ business class on any flight. This is one area which I think SQ pales in comparison to other airlines such as EVA Air which offers rimowa amenity kit. Though some passengers may not need an amenity kit or bag, but for others, it is definitely useful. Maybe SQ could provide such an option.

In Singapore, SQ uses the silverkris lounge for its business class passengers in T2 and T3. 

I went to both the silverkris lounges in T2 and T3 for a comparison. Both offer similar great food and beverage varieties. Many hot dishes are available. T3 lounge is much bigger than T2 but it is also more crowded due to more SQ departures to far flung places such as Europe, especially close to midnight.

On the other hand, the above pictures are taken in the T2 lounge.  Very few people due to fewer flights out of T2. So probably T2 lounge provides a better lounge experience. Though my flight departs from T3, it is worth the effort even if I need to take a skytrain to the T2 lounge.

Yup. On to the flight. SQ B77W and A380 business class seats feature fully flat seats in a 1-2-1 spacious configuration. It is touted the widest business class seat in the sky and feels rightfully so. On this B77W, I get to experience the latest business class seat.

Plush pillow

Pre-departure drink: Champagne !

Lobster thermidor. Another of my favourite !

On the Beijing to Singapore flight, I get to experience the earlier generation SQ Business class seat. Different design, but still as wide and comfortable.

Satay on this flight!

Lamb loin. Paired with the Singapore Sling

Vientiane 'June 17

Vientiane and Luang Prabang, though belonged to Laos, are vastly different cities. Vientiane is more fast paced, more developed, more traffic and people. There are visibly less tourists around. Luang Prabang is the opposite. More laidback, more heritage. Reminds me of the comparison between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, both belonging to Vietnam.

Luang Prabang definitely has more tourist attractions than Vientiane. It's fortunate that I had pre-planned for two full days in Luang Prabang and only one full day in Vientiane which is more than sufficient.

Just like Luang Prabang, Vientiane is a compact city, perfectly walkable for a day. Here are some photos of my stay in Vientiane.

The Vientiane golden sun hotel features a private balcony for every room, albeit the view is quite limited.

Traditional decor in the hotel

Vientiane has its own impressive temples as well

Laos Presidential Palace

A Chinese temple in Vientiane

A cafe in Vientiane provides a cool respite from the June weather

Vientiane cultural hall

The only shopping mall in Laos. It has an adjoining market selling fashion, handicrafts, tourist souvenirs at a bargain. Many shops close in the evening.

Yup. This concludes my great Laotian experience. This also completes my ASEAN tour !

Lao Airlines domestic flight Luang Prabang to Vientiane

There are various options to travel  between cities in Luang Prabang. Either long distance coach or by air. Coach travel no doubt is much cheaper but the duration is a lot longer and the comfort level is questionable. 

After reading several online reviews, I feel that the coaches may not be comfortable for me, whether it's the daytime coaches or the overnight sleeper ones. Also, the roads may make the journey bumpy.

So I decided to take to the air instead. There are two domestic airlines in Laos. Lao airlines and Lao Skyway. Lao airlines is the national carrier and operates both international and domestic routes. Its domestic routes uses ATR turboprops and A320 planes. Lao Skyway is the budget version and uses MA60. 

Personally, I prefer jet aircraft to turboprops so I stick with Lao Airlines despite its higher prices.

There are some flights a day between Luang Prabang and Vientiane. I chose the timings which are operated by the A320 plane for both the forward and return journeys. Tickets are not cheap. It costs ~$300 for a return ticket. One thing about Lao airline ticket prices is that they are fixed and not dependent on the date of flying.

Fastforward to the day of flying.

Some airplane sightings at Luang Prabang airport:

This A320 actually has seatback PTV. Though it wasn't switched on. It's great that there is the usb port.

Lao Skyway ma60

Cruising altitude for this 30 minute sector is lower than 20,000 ft. The view of Laos is great from the sky!

Another lao airline A320 at Vientiane airport

Return sector :

Blessed with great day of flying as well 😊

Overflying Luang Prabang airport. 

The airport has a single runway and taxiway.

This Lao airline A320 has no seatback PTV and no usb port. 

Not consistent among its fleet.

A ~5 hour layover at Luang Prabang airport. There are only a few cafe and souvenir shops before and after immigration.

Luang Prabang - Beyond the city

On the second day, we joined a tour out of the city. A buggy came to pick us up and send us to the jetty to board the boat.

This is the scenery for much of the duration of the boat ride

We got the boat to ourselves for the first 2 hours of the boat ride

These boats, in addition to ferrying people, are also the homes for the boat people.

In Laos, tourists can join an elephant ride if they want. I didn't.

After close to 3 hours of boat ride, we arrived at the buddha cave and pak ou cave. These caves contained ancient buddha statues.

After visiting the caves, we had lunch nearby. Lunch is provided as part of the tour package. There are views of the elephants too.

Old style sewing machine

An hour's ride on the van, we soon arrived at the Kuang Si waterfall.

There is a bear sanctuary here as well

My first sight of the waterfall. There are great views as we follow the trail.

More waterfalls. There is a pool where people are allowed to take a dip in.

This is at the end of the trail

Retracing my steps, the bear keepers are tossing balls containing food for the bears.

The road leading to Kuang Si waterfalls has shops on both sides selling handicrafts and sounveirs and eateries.

Traditional village

At the end of the tour, the van dropped us off at our hotel. Back in Luang Prabang city, I climbed the hill to catch the sunset together with hordes of tourists. There is a stupa at the top as well.

Directly below the hill, once the sun goes down, the night market comes alive. It's cheaper to get all the souvenirs here.