Singapore to Taipei on Singapore Airlines A330-300 Business Class

As mentioned in my earlier post, for this trip to Taiwan, I redeemed 2 Business Class tickets on Singapore Airlines for me and my wife. The total number of miles required is just shy of 100,000 and another SGD 800 in taxes and surcharges. This is the review for the flight.

Flight details:
Airline: Singapore Airlines (SIA)
Date: 1st Nov 2014
Flight No: SQ876
Aircraft Type: Airbus A330-300
Aircraft registration number: 9V-STR

We arrived at Changi Terminal 3 approx 1.5 hours before the flight, which is late, even for my standard. The taxi dropped us directly at gate 5, which is the gate for Business Class check in.

After a fuss free check in, we proceeded directly up to T3 SilverKris lounge and had our breakfast.

The food is typical for lounge food, not too shabby, but not fantastic either. Maybe the passengers over at First Class and The Private Room will have better food?

45 minutes before the scheduled time of departure, the screen shows that the flight is "Last Call". Since the gate is at the far end of Terminal 3, we decided it's time to go to the gate.

Boarding has already begun, so we used the express lane for premium passengers and boarded directly through the front door, where the lead steward greeted us and guided us to our seat.

After we settled down, the welcome drinks are served. As it is still early, both of us opted for Apple juice.

For this flight, Business class is full. Halfway into the flight, I took a stroll to the back of the cabin, and realised Economy is full too.

For regional/medium haul routes, Singapore Airlines operate the Airbus A330-300, with 2-2-2 configuration in Business and 2-4-2 in Economy. The seats do not go down completely flat, but rather at an 8 deg angle which some of my frequent traveler friends called it "ski slope".

Although the seats are nowhere near the width and comfort of the Business Class seats on their long haul Airbus A380-800 or B777-300ER, it is very good.

Next, the cabin crew went around the business class cabin to take our meal orders, and for those who have pre-ordered "Book The Cook" (BTC), to confirm our meal choice. I reckon if you have a last minute change of mind, they probably will cater to your request to change to another meal on the menu. No such problem for us, since we know what we are getting ourselves into when we pre-ordered using BTC.

We pushed back 15 minutes late from the gate and taxi-ed to the runway.

Pre-flight safety video. Now that the authorities allow the use of non-broadcasting electronic devices to be used even during take-off and landing, SIA has also revised it's video to reflect the changes.

We taxied past a Silk Air B737-800 parked beside an SQ B777. The size difference is significant.

We also spotted Garuda Indonesia flight GA822 (PK-GPM) on it's way to the gate. What surprised me is, they have started using Airbus A330-300 for this sector. Last I know, they are using the narrow-body B737-800.

The captain then made an announcement that there will be 4 landings before our turn to take off. Lucky me, seating on the port side of the aircraft gave me perfect vantage point to watch the landing.

First was a FedEx MD-11. Haven't seen 3 engine planes for quite sometime.

Next one is a Firefly ATR-72.

And then a Cebu Pacific A310

And finally, China Airlines B777

Our aircraft taxiied onto the runway and very soon, we're in the air.

Tanah Merah ferry terminal came into view. Not sure whether it's haze or mist.

But almost immediately, we flew into low level clouds.

As we climbed to cruising altitude, I took the opportunity to look through the menu.

And "explore" the features on my seat.

The first thing I notice is, there are loads of storage compartments. 2 below the screen for small items like phones, reading glasses etc. Below the armrest (the one in between the seats), there's a dedicated space for storing your laptop/tablet PC, and more space for your handheld devices.

There's also a 110V power plug for whatever device that needs it and 2 USB port.

On the other armrest, is the seating position control. There are 4 pre-set position, the first being upright (for take-off and landing), and the last is "fully flat", albeit at a 8 degree "ski slope" angle.

There is also a dedicated space for mineral water bottle, one for each passenger.

And coat hangers, though the passenger across the aisle used it as a hook for her small handbag.

(In case you notice, there are some difference in the seat position (port/starboard side) and lighting in the pictures above, some of them are taken on the return flight from TPE to SIN)

Then there's the noise cancelling headphone, which was excellent, even better than my personal in-ear earphones, which is quite good. The only problem is, there is still some electronic disturbance sound emitting out from the earphone, which seems to be more of a problem with their IFE hardware rather than the headphones.

Once we reach cruising altitude, the seat belt sign was turned off and almost immediately, the cabin crew started going about their business.

First, they gave out amenity kits, which consist of a pair of "bedroom slippers" and eye cover. Next, another round of drinks are served. Again, I chose non-alcoholic drinks because immediately after landing, I will be driving to Keelung.

I also made use of this time to visit the bathroom, and see the difference between Economy and Business.

There isn't much difference between the 2 cabin class bathrooms, except for the additional eau de toilette and an additional vanity mirror.

Going back to my seat, I decided to lounge a bit and scroll through the IFE system, choosing "X-men - Days of Future Past", which will occupy me for the better part of the next 3 hours.

Shortly thereafter, the cabin crew started the meal service. A Taiwanese "Singapore Girl" set our table and served the prelude consisting of slices of strawberries, raspberries, melon, papaya and oranges.

Next was the bread. I chose the croissant and a sesame filled bread which was recommended by the stewardess. Boy, how right she was, the bread IS yummy.

The main course come next, I had the lobster thermidor, which was getting rave reviews from the frequent-flyer community.

My wife had the seared codfish.

Finally, the Finale was the Mango panna cotta with fruit salad.

I ordered a post dinner caffe mocha while enjoying the rest of X-men.

About 40 minutes out from TPE, we started descending.

And descended into a fairly clear sky.

We landed at TPE 30 minutes behind schedule. But was out of the airport to meet the AVIS Car Rental representative to collect our rental car within the hour.

Overall, when compared to the other full service Business Class which I've experienced (on MAS), I find that the service and personalised service is almost on par, but the hardware on SQ is better. This is especially true for the content on the IFE, which SQ beats MAS hands down on both quality and quantity. On top of that, SQ serve champagne from the ground while MAS only starts serving them in the air.