Inflight Experiences - 'J' Class on SQ from SIN to TPE (Nov 2016)

I have always view air travel on Business Class as an exclusive privilege, one in which I can only indulge in on rare occasions. This is because the exquisite touches of Business Class travel on premium airlines made the flight itself a separate and unique travel experience. 

This is a review of my experiences when I flew on Business Class (i.e. 'J' Class) on Singapore Airlines (SQ) from Singapore to Taipei in December 2016.

Check-in

While Singapore Airlines offer a seamless check-in experience both online and via its SingaporeAir app, I have always preferred and enjoyed the experience of checking in at the check-in counters at the airport in person. I loved the feel of that Boarding Pass in my hand. Add the fact that I collect my Boarding Passes as mementos of my trips and the reasons for my in-person check-in preference become apparent.

As with all premium class travels, separate check-in counters for Business Class are allocated at the airport by Singapore Airlines. Check-in was seamless and the counter staff extremely polite and service oriented. One plus point for Singapore Airlines ticked.

Lounge

My flight was on SQ876 which departed Singapore's Changi International Airport (IATA: SIN, ICAO: WSSS) Terminal 3 for Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport (IATA: TPE, ICAO: RCTP) Terminal 2 in the morning of 5 November 2016 at 8.15am. Prior to boarding, as with all Business Class passengers, my travelling partner and I were invited to the Silverkris Lounge. The lounge was spacious and the food was good as usual. A wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages was available here and you can pick and choose whatever catches your fancy.

An impressive array of beverages awaits the those traveling on Business Class, Singapore Airline's Silverkris Lounge, Changi International Airport Terminal 3, Singapore (2016)

I like everything about the Silverkris lounge except for the lighting. While I understand the need for the lighting to be designed such that a warm and cozy feel can be achieved throughout the lounge area, I personally felt that the lighting here was a bit too dim. Reading wasn't really comfortable or possible due to the dim light conditions. Thus, I put away my reading materials and simply while away the time enjoying the food and ambience.

View of the lounge, Singapore Airline's  Silverkris Lounge, Changi International Airport Terminal 3, Singapore (2016)

Seating area, Singapore Airline's Silverkris Lounge, Changi International Airport Terminal 3, Singapore (2016)

Boarding and Seating Arrangement

At boarding time, premium class passengers got to board at the head of the queue. SQ876 was and still is serviced using the Airbus A330-300 aircraft at the time of the publishing of this article. This aircraft is one of the older planes in the Singapore Airline's fleet and seats a total of 285 passengers in a 2-class configuration; 30 Business Class and 255 Economy Class (Y-Class) seats.

In Business Class, the seating arrangement is based on a 2-2-2 configuration from rows 11 to 16 (the row number 13 is skipped) while in Economy Class, the configuration is based on 2-4-2 layout from rows 31 to 58 and a 2-3-2 layout from rows 59 to 63. 

Business Class seats on the Singapore Airlines A330-300 Plane, SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016)

Business Class seats on the Singapore Airlines A330-300 Plane,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016)

My travel partner and I were seated in seats 15A and 15C respectively.

As mentioned earlier, the Airbus A330-300 is one of the older planes in the airline's current fleet and thus do not offer the latest in SQ's much vaunted Business Class products. Nevertheless, the leather seats were still comfortable and spacious. Passengers may wish to note that there are spaces around the seat areas which can so "comfortably" fit an iPhone 6-sized phone that once the phone or some other devices of similar form factor went into these crevices, getting the device out again will pose a great challenge. Trust me, I experienced this first hand. ;-)

The in-flight entertainment system onboard the Singapore Airlines A330-300,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016)

Flight map as shown on the in-flight entertainment system onboard the Singapore Airlines A330-300,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016)

Food and In-flight Service

As usual, the food served onboard in J-Class was great and the in-flight service by the cabin crew almost flawless.

Starters was cereal with milk accompanied by a delicious croissant and a small plate of fresh fruits.

Starters for my in-flight meal; cereal with milk, SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016)

A delicious and warm croissant for breakfast,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016) 

Fruits,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016) 

I pre-ordered ny main course of  Chicken Biryani online via Singapore Airline's "Book the Cook" service and everything was meticulously prepared and delivered. The Biryani is a muslim dish with its origins in South Asia and consist mainly of rice and meat cooked with a rich variety of spices.

I enjoyed my food as usual and was very surprised that the air stewardess knew my favourite coffee brew based on my preferences in my other previous flights on the same travel class with SQ. Singapore Airlines really set the bar for customer service. 3 plus points for SQ ticked.

Chicken Biryani, my pre-ordered main course,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016) 

Close-up view of the rice of the Chicken Biryani dish,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016) 

Close-up view of the curry chicken of the Chicken Biryani dish,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016) 

Close-up view of the pickled vegetables condiment of the Chicken Biryani dish,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016) 

The steak burger main course pre-ordered by my travel partner,  SQ876, Singapore to Taipei (2016) 

After the meal service, I sat back, relaxed and reached for my favourite onboard reading material, the Silverkris magazine. The articles in SQ's very own in-flight magazine were as usual, very interesting  and occupied my time for the next one hour or so.

Arrival

The flight time from Singapore to Taipei was slightly more than 4 hours and we soon arrived at our destination. A smooth landing was accompanied by a short taxi to the gates and we were soon leaving the comfort of the plane as we started on our vacation. 

Overall, a very relaxing, comfortable and enjoyable flight.