January 10, 2015

Review: Singapore Airlines First Class San Francisco to Hong Kong

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Grand Club
The Bridge Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Taipei
W Taipei
Cathay Pacific 777-300ER Business Class Taipei to Hong Kong
The Wing Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER First Class Hong Kong to Los Angeles

Apparently, post milestones are for Singapore First Class posts.  Number 150 was my last flight in Singapore Suites.  This one (number 200!) will cover our first class flight on the 777 from San Francisco to Hong Kong.  This is going to be a pretty epic trip report so please enjoy!  One note - due to the late departure and the fact that the cabin was dimmed/dark during most of the meal service, I didn't take a ton of food pics.

Originally, we had booked United's direct service to Hong Kong from San Francisco.  A few days before departure, I was able to change our flight to Singapore Airlines First Class with the same routing.  The flight operates as SQ001 (flight #1) which is pretty cool.  While I would love another crack at Suites Class, the equipment used on this route is a 777-300ER with the "old" first class seats. We've flown this configuration before so we pretty much knew what to expect.

Enjoying the last few minutes of Christmas aboard SQ001

Due to weather and a diversion due to a medical issue, our flight from Denver to San Francisco encountered multiple delays and left us very little time to make the long haul flight.  Despite the delays, we arrived at the gate area for SQ001 just as they were preparing to board.  We still needed boarding passes so went straight to the gate agent who had them ready for us.  I had called Singapore Airlines customer service from Denver to let them know about the delay.  Not sure if they would have held the plane for us at all but they were definitely prepared for our late arrival.  Just one of the reasons why they are awesome!



Boarding commenced nearly immediately and we were welcomed by a fantastic crew and shown to our seats.  There are a total of 8 seats (2 rows setup 1-2-1) and all but one seat would eventually be occupied.  We were seated in the middle of row 1.  To Emily's right, there was an empty seat.  To my left, there was a young boy who slept the entire flight.  So we had the row pretty much to ourselves.

SQ in the holiday spirit

Classic Krug bottle from Singapore's A380 service

The first class Singapore Girl (Julie) that would be taking care of us introduced herself and offered pre-departure beverages.  It was the last 30 minutes of Christmas night so what else to drink than Champagne?  She profusely apologized that they only would have Dom Perignon open on the ground and would that be okay?  She did promise to open the Krug once we were airborne and keep it flowing.

Christmas is "truly in the air"

Wine list

Supper menu

Breakfast menu

She promptly returned with a couple of glasses of Dom and the last of our Christmas presents.  Givenchy pajamas, his and hers Ferragamo amenity kits, slippers, and eye masks.  We were informed of our flight time (14h 40m) and she promised to do her best to take care of us for the long journey to Hong Kong.  Prior to departure, we both changed into our pajamas and worked through a couple of glasses of Champagne (hard work!).  Departure was scheduled for 12:05AM.  We pushed back at 12:04AM.  I love this airline!

Ferragamo amenity kits

Bread pudding for dessert

Once airborne, there were two "pops" in the galley which meant the Krug was open.  30 seconds later, Julie was at my seat with the bottle talking about our dinner options.  Given the late departure, Singapore offers a supper service on this sector so the dinner options are a bit more limited (i.e. no caviar service).  As far as I was concerned, it was still Christmas night so I went with the special Christmas selection which included Turkey with stuffing, vegetables, potatoes, etc....  It was excellent.  After some phenomenal bread pudding for dessert, it was time for bed.

14H 40M from San Francisco to Hong Kong

While cleaning up for bed, the crew put both of our seats into bed mode and turned them down.

Turndown
Upon returning, a fresh glass of Krug and a bottle of water were waiting.   I watched a movie and an hour or so of TV before donning my eye mask and dozing off.  I slept a solid 7 hours before waking up with about 4 hours to go to Hong Kong.  While it was still early in Hong Kong, that was enough sleep for me.  After crushing a few more episodes of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, it was time for breakfast.  What else to order than a cappuccino and a glass of Dom (we drank all the Krug during dinner).

Breakfast of Champ-ions

Emily and I both had a light breakfast, washed up, and changed back into our street clothes before a smooth landing in Hong Kong.  The crew wished us a pleasant stay and we were off to explore our favorite city in the world.  There was a customer service agent at the end of the jetway with Emily's name on it.  Her bag didn't make the tight connection (I typically carry on just in case this happens) so we were escorted through immigration to a service desk where we completed a claim form.  They promised her bag would be delivered the following morning and we were offered 800HKD (~$103 USD) as compensation.  Once that process was complete, we were off to the Grand Hyatt.

Singapore Airlines might just be the best airline in the world.  The premium cabin service is so good and so predictable.  Each time we fly, it feels like we're back in one of our favorite restaurants being welcomed by staff that remember our names, favorite dishes, food allergies, etc...

As a reminder, we only paid $207 in taxes for this flight in addition to the 140,000 miles.  Singapore Airlines is a transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, and Amex Membership Rewards.  So it is very easy to accumulate the miles required to take this flight.  If you need to be in Hong Kong, I highly recommend this service!

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