Background

This is the story of a 'super deal' (error fare) which was published by SQ in May last year which was an one-way fare from Santiago, Chile to a few cities in India and Nepal served by MI for a price of SGD1,500 in Business Class. It's not exactly cheap for an error fare but this is definitely not a normal price for such a distance. The routing would be SCL-GRU-SIN-COK for me with SCL-GRU being in economy Q fare, and the rest on SQ/MI C fare. The fare class of the booking is C-based and I earned miles and PPS values accordingly but the pricing seems to probably take into account only the first segment.

For the SCL-SIN-COK flight which is the subject of this trip report, I had only travelled up to SIN since the fare allowed unlimited stopovers along the way whether in GRU, BCN, or SIN. I will be travelling onwards to Kochi only in September.

One week after the error fare was published (which lasted online for 3 days), SQ announced the withdrawal of SQ61/62 effective Oct 2017. That was a real bummer and I thought this would definitely be a no-go as it's the airline's one time chance to cancel tickets with a reasonably valid reason. Some people were impatient and they called the airline asking for replacement flights and naturally many of them got declined and was told no choice but to refund. I decided to just lay Low and see how things play out after many weeks and months. Fortunately for me, by lying Low, my cancelled SQ61 flight was resurrected and replaced by SAA and SQ via JNB after 2-3 months later. That was my first good luck as I realise SAA is having a new J product and the sector would be served by this new product. At the time, there was very little information of what product is that and I believe this report is one of the very few available about the new SAA. For SQ, I further had the 2nd good luck to have the aircraft further 'upgraded' from a 2006-era 77W to the A350.

And that's why this report will be focused mainly on comparing the two airlines with their newest J products (SAA A333 and SQ A359). I will be skipping covering the first sector in Latam economy because that is a fairly regular economy flight and the report might get too long and boring. I will also be writing a separate report on such economy flight across the Andes because the views are stunning and I will be sharing my epic Bolivian adventure.


Part 1: South African Airways

Flight: SA223
Type: A330-300
Reg: ZS-SXJ
Cabin: Business
Seat: 12D
Load: 100%

I had a 7 hour layover in São Paulo and decided to make a trip to Japan Town in Liberdade district for a wonderful Asian meal after an abstain from it for the previous 4 weeks. This was my 4th visit to the city or so and it still is one exciting, energetic, and fascinating one for me although, having visited most Latin American cities, I think I still love Mexico City the most.

I was back to Guarulhos airport in the mid afternoon and unlike in my previous visit some 3 years back, the new Terminal 3 has now opened and this is where most intercontinental departures depart from.



The interior is pleasant calm and cool with a lot of grey which reminds me of Japanese airports.



It's not a huge terminal certainly, approximately the size of Changi Terminal 1



And by that time, the SAA counter has opened.

Untitled by Charles Chan, on Flickr

Business Class passengers have their own lane.



I was there just to request to swap seats to the second cabins on both flights because I had already been issued boarding passes all the way to Singapore in Santiago earlier that morning.

It was not a busy time and immigration and security didn't take more than 10 min and soon after I found myself in the retail area.



I proceeded upstairs to the lounge. LATAM merged is dominant in Latin America and they have a huge lounge and they look quite good and upscale.



Star Alliance has its own lounge and it looks good as well.



Plenty of seating areas.



And differently-themed areas.



Food selection was quite good as well. Certainly no complaints.



Walking towards the gate and we passed quite a few airlines. Sadly, no more SQ here.



The gate area has plenty more retail.



And that includes my favourite pillow store. It's pricey at $75 a piece but they are amazing high quality products here. I got a new pillow from here which would be handy in all my flights.



Another rush at Havaianas store and then I had to board ...
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Seats are arranged in 1-2-1 format and when I first looked at the promotional pictures while researching on it (note that trip report on this product is very rare as it is only recently launched just 2-3 months back), I thought it would be the same like SQ product in design concept / principle because the seats don't seem to stagger like most other 1-2-1 non herringbone layout.
But it is not exactly SQ. They stagger but they don't alternate with some seats so close together and others so far apart. The distance between the seats are consistent. I definitely like it better as there is more sense of space. In fact sinking into the seat, it feels quite similar to SQ in terms of the amount of width available.



The side space is not exactly like SQ's new J but is quite similar including a certain taper.



Looking towards the front, the width available has quite a similar effect as on SQ.





In fact I thought this design is a hybrid of SQ and the usual stagger. Definitely much better than the usual stagger although not quite as plush or luxe as SQ.

I couldn't really see my Neighbour but I still could see what he was watching.



Then I started exploring the details.

Foothole.



Side lights and seat controls.



Table slides from the arm rest.



More light and seating control which is very simple and fool proof compared to SQ's series of buttons in the latest version.



Mirror and more the side controls. I can't recall what this is. I think it's IFE with again very few buttons for lighting. I didn't use it though because I used the touch screen.



Seat is in a combination of leather and fabric and I have to say the fabric is really nice and comfortable. I can't explain it but I feel really good sitting on it. I am not a fan of the Tan leather Colour but the red and black is really sleek and contemporarily beautiful.



Coming back to the overall seat design, seat belt is a shoulder strap. I had seen this on TG's A359 too. I wonder what's the advantage than the normal seat belt. I find it more cumbersome and not as comfortable. I would be willing to accept it only if they allow sleeping through to gate if this is one added safety feature but so far I had not noticed any difference in landing protocol for passengers. Anybody?



Amenity kit is a beautiful pouch by South African designer, Mphelane Mareletse. Although the content is pretty standard which I had also seen on TG and TK.



Reading materials.




IFE is not as extensive as on SQ but I think it's decent. In any case, I hardly watch IFE these days and even right now, I am writing a trip report on a flight. That's how I spend my time onboard, if Not looking out of the window to look at cities and geographical features on daytime overland flights.



And ah, this always piques my interest - the network map. SAA is connected to 6 continents and quite a good network throughout sub Saharan Africa. On our flight, quite a few Chinese were onboard. One option of flying from Latin America to China is definitely SAA. And it's also a very short route. GRU-JNB was 8 hours and JNB-SIN was 9 hours. If the connection could be better timed, the journey would have taken just under 19 hours, and that's 6 hours shorter than via BCN! In economy, that would have been a godsend. 6 hours is a long time....




Dinner service commenced with amuse Bouche and a tall glass of champagne.



And then dinner was served and there was no menu. I was served by a burly not-so-friendly male Steward while my Friend was served by a bubbly and funny female Stewardess. Service was not consistent.

There was no menu, so it was just a verbal offer with very little description of the dish. Soup or salad. Beef or chicken. Cheese or dessert. It was not explained what kind of beef in what kind of sauce or whether it was roasted or fried or what not. I didn't ask much either and just embraced the surprise.

Soup was pumpkin soup and it was amazing. Lovely.



And beef was beef in red wine sauce and my goodness, this was one of the most tender and well-cooked beef I ever had onboard and the flavour was intense. Super yummy and this was easily one of the best meals onboard. Definitely better than any SQ food in J class as far as I remember. Seriously good. The portion was small but then I thought this was just the right amount for me.



My Friend picked the salad.




And then the chicken which was roasted chicken with some seasoning. It was tender and juicy and amazingly well done. Again, the food has been stellar.



I had the cake for dessert.



And then asked my Friend to order the cheese which he didn't eat because he was already full but I gladly finished it. The cheese platter came with crackers and the prune jelly was a nice touch.



What a wonderful truly 5* First Class meal.


Happy and satisfied, I reclined the seat to bed with button and no flipping. I placed a really soft padding on it, and then tuck myself to bed. Definitely no Stewardess to tuck me in. But what does it matter when that padding is so heavenly - way way way better than anything on SQ.



I have to say the seat is really well-designed. I loved it the moment I sank into it when I first went onboard and now I love it even more in bed mode. I had the best sleep ever in business class. I slept through across the Atlantic.

I was woken up for breakfast just before landfall into Africa, 1.5 hours before landing.



Again, there was no menu. And it was a simple question: omelette, continental, or fruits. No further description.

I picked the omelette which was good and above average but not as memorable as the dinner.



Croissant was added later on. Coffee also has no further elaborated offering like on SQ. It's either coffee or tea - like in economy



And then it was smooth sailing into JNB on what I thought as one of the best flight ever in J class.

Verdict:

Seat: definitely a stellar design. I still prefer SQ's design but SA is very very marginally closely trailing especially in bed mode. The padding is important and I don't think SQ has got that right. The choice of fabric for padding and the density is very important. (5/5)

Food: definitely stellar and I will remember it for a very Long time. The portion might be on the small side but I do not mind it. The lack of menu is a bit of a downer but I do not mind it at all because the quality delivered exceeded expectation by quite many leaps. Mẩy be its the element of surprise and Low expectation also that makes the food more wonderful than it is. Sometimes we expect a lot when the food is described so well and appetising? (5/5)

Service: probably one of their weakness but it is not bothersome to me. Some are cold. Some are warm. (3.5/5)

Overall, definitely one of the best flight ever (in J). Definitely the airline of choice for South and Central American trips.

Part 2: Singapore Airlines

Flight: SQ479
Type: A350-900
Reg: 9V-SMD
Cabin: Business
Seat: 21F
Load: 60%



JNB airport is gloomy and not so pleasant although it is not repulsive either. Transit here was a long 6 hours and we spent almost all that time in the lounge. I took some pics in the lounge but unfortunately due to iCloud syncing issues all the pics taken in my camera are all gone.

The lounge is spacious. It was crowded in the morning when we first arrived and it was even difficult to find seats. However towards 10am and after, it was much more pleasant.



Food quality in the lounge was great in terms of both quality and quantity. Only the shower attendant was quite curt and not exactly friendly.

JNB is certainly full of exoticas.



I won't elaborate much on SQ product since I think it has been reviewed over and over again including me being one of the first to try the product in late 2013 and report it.

So anyway, in light of the other posting discussing the lesser dimensions of the A350 versions, to be frank, at this point in time when I flew the entire sector JNB-SIN I did not notice any difference between the 777 version and the A350 version despite the facts.

I still think it is a great product and the best product out there in the world. And while I was really happy with SAA and coming off that plane I thought I just had my best business class flight, when I sank onto my SQ seat I knew it is something better. The sense of space, the plushness, the luxe upscale feel is unmatched.



The sense of privacy is complete. You can't see anyone from your seat.



Lots of compartments which are handy. The top compartment can even fit my DSLR with its zoom lens.







Side lights



Whole series of side buttons.




Ah... the much talked about foot hole



The so-called amenity kit.



But at least SQ provides proper menu with detailed description. And yes, the foothole is big enough to fit my fat and fluffy seal.



Lunch service began with satay and champagne. This is always a highlight each and every time I come off from a long trip away from home and this time, it would have been almost 5 weeks.




Appetiser was crabmeat with mango salsa which was good enough.



So main course was Asian too. Chilli prawn with rice which is a standard SQ fare.



The other main was more interesting in Flavours and textures. There was chicken thigh which I don't like (it's a personal dislike against all chicken thighs). But I love the sausages.



And then there was a cake dessert and ice cream dessert which i had taken pics using my iphone and they are gone now. The dslr battery had run out by this time.

In any case, I would say that the quality of the food is pretty much standard SQ fare which comparing to SAA I think it is still lacking. It does not register in memory as much.

And then it was bed time. I thought I would be able to sleep smoothly because I had disrupted my sleeping pattern so much (just 5 hours onboard SAA although that was really sound and having woken up at 3am 2 nights before in SCL). But alas, I couldn't sleep. Partly because it was a daytime flight I believe but I am usually also on and off on SQ when it comes to sleeping. There are days that I can sleep through and through and there are days I can only marginally sleep. Compared to SAA I think the base is not as great and I think it might arc a little also due to the flip mechanism.

So after some tossing around, I decided to watch IFE instead until breakfast time.

I lost the photo of my breakfast which was French toast but we have the photo of the chicken noodles which my Friend had. This is really standard predictable SQ fare but having abstained from noodles for almost five weeks, this was very much desired.



Landing was on time and it was a great way to fly as usual

Verdict:

Seat: definitely a stellar design and I don't notice anything lesser or lacking in design compared to the 777 version. If anything I actually thought that everything seems wider bigger and more enclosed than the older versions. Is the pitch lesser btw to give this effect? I am not tall so length doesn't matter to me (5/5)

Food: it is standard SQ fare which is good but quite predictable (4.5/5)

Service: Crew was great with the one serving my Friend being exceptional, and the rest is regularly good SQ crew. (5/5)

Do I prefer SQ still? Definitely. Except that I think the padding of the bed needs to be improved.

Thank you very much SQueeze for this first detailed trip report about SAA long haul J.
Nice to see SAA raising their game by going 3F (full flat, full access and full privacy). Really beautiful cabin and colors!
If the food tasted good, presentation could be improved imho. On a regional flight (JNB-NBO), not only we've got to choose from 3 options for starter, main and dessert but also, crew were carrying these options on a tray/cart so we could see them prior eating. So this protocol is only available ex-JNB or it's a cost cutting measure?

Too bad about the iCloud issues preventing you from posting pics as JNB Star Alliance lounge indeed is excellent!
Good catch of Malawian 738 and KQ 787

I can't recall what this is. I think it's IFE with again very few buttons for lighting. I didn't use it though because I used the touch screen.

Correct, there is a gamepad at the back of it. Well it's quite convenient when the seat is (fully) reclined as the screen might be a bit far.

Many thanks for sharing

Superb report throughly enjoyable & detailed. Nice to see the new SAA J but nicer to see SQ - very jealous !!

Thanks for sharing.

I flew on South African in economy from New York to Johannesburg and liked it. Great legroom on the A330-600. Also excellent food with large portions. Great crew. We had male Stewards in both directions who were great. But I noticed that the Stewardesses were not so friendly.

However the entertainment did not work in both directions but at least the map worked.

SQueeze wrote:

So main course was Asian too. Chilli prawn with rice which is a standard SQ fare.... In any case, I would say that the quality of the food is pretty much standard SQ fare which comparing to SAA I think it is still lacking. It does not register in memory as much....This is really standard predictable SQ fare.

Thanks for the report.

With regards to your comments on SQ catering, I'd like to ask what you actually want from SQ's J catering. This is not to be a critical or pointed question. Or put another way, what can SQ do to prevent such feelings and comments in relation to their J catering ?

Thank you for taking the time to post this great trip report.

I have to say, it looks like SAA is back in the game, when you posted that it would be a SAA/SQ report, I made the assumption that it wouldn't even be close, boy was I wrong, while I wouldn't say they are there yet, that is a pretty solid looking product.

SInGAPORE_AIR wrote:

SQueeze wrote:

So main course was Asian too. Chilli prawn with rice which is a standard SQ fare.... In any case, I would say that the quality of the food is pretty much standard SQ fare which comparing to SAA I think it is still lacking. It does not register in memory as much....This is really standard predictable SQ fare.

Thanks for the report.

With regards to your comments on SQ catering, I'd like to ask what you actually want from SQ's J catering. This is not to be a critical or pointed question. Or put another way, what can SQ do to prevent such feelings and comments in relation to their J catering ?

Hi. Thanks for replying.

Actually I think it is indeed subjective, I think one of the issue might be that I have travelled many times with them and after awhile, things are becoming bit monotonous and predictable. For example, I have had similar crabmeat salad, similar noodles with chicken, and their presentation is not exactly very high end generally, usually they are piled and not composed.

It is good food and i think it has improved. In the past, I also commented on their dessert being served on a bowl which is not looking like business class meal. That has changed and dessert now looks more classy when plated except on short routes.

Hi SQueeze!

Excellent report! SAA's seat really looks quite fantastic. If I'm not wrong, it's similar to what Qantas and SAS have, the Thompson Vantage XL. In fact SAS' seat looks even much more like SQ's seat in terms of the colours. I've read that SQ's new regional J should be a staggered layout (but not the same as the long-haul seat) so maybe they could tweak this seat to have a similar theme. I wonder, though, whether this seat can create a denser layout than their own?

I know what you mean when you describe SQ's J food. It's not bad, but it's not fantastic either. It's quite sad but even my domestic hops on VN in J give me better-tasting main dishes. Book The Cook helps, but from most outstations you still have to stick with whatever's catered.

How would you compare the cubby hole of SQ's seat verses the footwell of SAA's seat? I've read that the Thompson seat sometimes suffers from the 'coffin' syndrome, but I think the XLs are generally wider so maybe it's not such a big problem anymore.

I'm glad you took this flight before my post about the cubby hole width differences. Goes to show that for most people (including me), we wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless we did a measurement haha.

pokfur

Hi SQueeze - many thanks for sharing your experience. I've been very curious to try SQ's new J seat. However, when I fly J the food factor plays a big role and umm... to be honest from the photos they don't look too appetizing. How do you rate the quality of SQ food? Say, compared to MH or TG (I thought the food was quite good here). It may not be TK or OS but I wonder where the SQ will fit in comparison. Like you said, they look quite standard.

Great writeup,

I agree the SQ J product is amongst the best in the world however it does have a few issues in my opinion. Firstly, due to the flip design it lacks the various positions you can enjoy in a more traditional flat bed design and secondly when your fully flat you have to sleep on a bit of angle which can be a bit uncomfortable.

what a great FR to read. Congrats!

I really feel sad that SQ does not fly to Brazil anymore. I remember that by entering the airplane at GRU I could already feel like I was in Singapore.

About the SQ C seat. I think it is gorgeous and huugee! But I can never have a good sleep whenever I'm in it. I recently flew on AKL-SIN in a brand new 77W and I gotta say that the bed is not that good. Maybe because I'm tall, but I never manage to lay comfortably flat on the bed.
My inbound flight to AKL was with Cathay Pacific and their new A350. I slept the whole time. It may not be as beautiful as the SQ one, but I think it is more confortable to sit and sleep.