Inflight Experiences - 'Q' Class on MI from SIN to TRV (April 2016)

This was a hurried booking for an unplanned trip from Singapore to the city of Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala, India in the month of April 2016. The trip resulted from an 11th hour decision to attend the wedding of a friend.

The booking was done just a few days before the trip and I was lucky to still be able to get a seat for the flight. The only direct flight available from Singapore to Thiruvananthapuram was offered by SilkAir, the regional arm of Singapore Airlines. I have flew on SilkAir many times before on my trips around the South-East Asian region but this was by far my longest flight onboard a SilkAir flight. 

Total flight time from Singapore's Changi International Airport (IATA: SIN, ICAO: WSSS) to Thiruvananthapuram's Trivandrum International Airport (IATA: TRV, ICAO: VOTV) is slightly over 4 hours. The route is usually serviced by either an Airbus A320-200 or A319-100 aircraft.

As is common on all SilkAir flights, inflight service onboard Flight MI492 was awesome. The seats are relatively comfortable considering that I was flying Economy Class (a.k.a. Coach). Leg space onboard is reasonable although there are no personal screen for the inflight entertainment.  Common screens for inflight entertainment are available. However, depending on your seat location, viewing these ceiling mounted screens can be quite challenging for your neck! Throughout the flight, I was reading an ebook on my iPad so the lack of personalised inflight entertainment was not an issue for me.

Ceiling-mounted screen for inflight entertainment onboard Flight MI492 from Singapore to Thiruvananthapuram (2016)

Comfortable leg space between the seats onboard Flight MI492 (2016)

The food was good by Economy Class standards and I must say I truly enjoyed my inflight meal during the flight. I opted for the asian menu which comprised of chicken curry, rice and a vegetable condiment cooked Indian-cuisine style. In addition to the main course, there was the usual bun and a small fruit tray. The contents of the fruit tray vary from flight to flight. For my flight, it was slices of papaya and oranges. As was usual for most of my inflight meals, I chose to have coffee. Tea and soft drinks were also available, allowing passengers a choice of beverage based on individual preference.

Inflight meal in the Economy Class cabin for Flight MI492 (2016)

This main course onboard Flight MI492 was awesomely delicious (2016)

The flight was fairly smooth and any upcoming turbulences detected by the aircraft's radar and avionics were announced by the pilots well in advance. This helps keep the passengers informed and everyone could return to their seats and get their seat belts fastened in time before the turbulences hit. 

Overall, my experience onboard Flight MI492 was good as were all my previous flight experiences with SilkAir. For regional flights from Singapore, I personally rate SilkAir's services highly and they are definitely my preferred choice.

Author's Note (updated as of 07 Apr 2024): Originally founded in 1975 as Tradewinds Charters, the airline started offering scheduled services for regional routes between Singapore and destinations in South-East Asia as Tradewinds Airlines in the first calendar quarter of 1989. In 1992, the airline's name was changed to Silkair as part of a rebranding. Towards end-2021, Silkair officially ceased operations and all its flights were subsumed under its parent company, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot (SIA's low cost affiliated airline).