28-10-2018
SQ21
EWR-SIN
9V-SGC
Seat 23A
Thanks to my job, which required me to go on a business trip to SIN to visit a customer, I had the pleasure to try out and enjoy the currently longest flight in terms of duration and distance - Singapore Airlines SQ21 from Newark to Singapore operated by 9V-SGC, a pretty much brand new A350-941ULR.
Normally I don't get too excited when I need to fly out of EWR, but as this flight was scheduled to leave in the late morning of a Sunday the roads into the NYC area were clear and the terminal was deserted. The hassle-free experience continued with a very quick and smooth boarding procedure and shortly after I had settled in my seat in the over-wing business class section we left our gate 11 minutes ahead of schedule.
I had expected that we would take a polar route, which also seemed to be the case as we turned straight north over CT, but soon after I was proven wrong when we turned northeast again towards Nova Scotia. The reason became clear a little later when we picked up the jet-stream over Newfoundland. This provided a 250 km/h tailwind, which catapulted us across the Atlantic. After cutting along the northern edge of Central Europe we headed towards the Indian subcontinent. They were in far distance, but I got to see the peaks of the Himalaya. Eventually we arrived at SIN more than an hour ahead of schedule.
02-11-2018
SQ22
SIN-EWR
9V-SGB
Seat 15A
For the return flight to Newark we took the usual route along the east coast of Japan and then across the Bering Sea over to North America. The flight was uneventful, it just felt awkward, that it was light outside for a few hours in the middle of the flight. Due to a runway closure takeoff at SIN got delayed and we ended up arriving at EWR 38 minutes behind schedule.
So due to the selected routing this turned out to be a round the world trip.
On both flights the food was exceptional, however, the service quality was just mediocre and did not meet my expectations based on what I had heard about SIA in the past. I experienced much better service on several Air Canada, EVA and Lufthansa long-haul flights (also in business class).
The business class seat was probably the best I have had so far. I had to learn from the "pro's" though how to make best use of it and that it becomes most comfortable when being kept in lie-flat position for most part of the flight, even when not sleeping.