World’s Longest & Best Business Class Flight: JFK-SIN

SQ JFK SIN Flight Review is part of the Reunion Tour Trip Report.

When I left my villa in Puerto Rico, I said, as I always do, who knows what’s in store for me on this trip? I did not realize that drama would come so quickly. I was supposed to take the world’s longest flight from JFK to SIN and onto Vietnam. Instead, I found out, minutes before boarding, that my Vietnamese visa was not processed because September 2nd is Vietnam’s Independence day (see Vietnam E-Visa Not Processed: Another TPOL Duck Up?).

Instead of boarding the plane giddy, I was as stressed as I would be on a par 3 with water between me and the green. Panicked, I was on hold with Alaska trying to change my reservation from Hanoi to Bangkok (see Booked! World’s Longest Flight). Simultaneously, I was trying to take photos of the seat to fulfill my blogging duties.

Our flight was supposed to take off at 10:30 PM. I was still on hold with Alaska and was happy to hear that the flight was delayed fifteen more minutes due to airport congestion. I wasn’t happy that there was no pre-flight champagne. Was this another Covid cut (see Closing Time: Chaos & Trash at Centurion & WingTips JFK)?

As we were taking off, I was told by Alaska that I would have to deal with flight changes in Singapore. With that drama put on hold for 19 hours, I tried to shift back to blog mode.

Almonds in a Bag

After a smooth take off, the champagne was served. Obviously, it was not Krug like SQ first (see Singapore Airlines A380 Suite Class, My Turn), but given my sad state, I was happy to have something bubbly. The buzz came to a shrieking halt when I was handed a bag of almonds. What happened to the hot almonds in a plate? Yet another Covid consequence? What was next? Underwhelming food? Apathetic service? I started to think that leaving my house was a bad idea, that the days of travel and service were well behind me.

Pajamas? Amenities Kit?

The flight attendant came by with slippers. I asked if there were pajamas. He laughed and said no. I also was not offered eye shades or an amenities kit. I was happy that I brought my own eye shades but was surprised that the world’s longest flight does not offer basic amenities. Again, I wondered if this was another act of Covid.

Lie Flat?

Despondent and worn out, I was ready to lie flat and sleep away my sorrows. I pushed the lever for the lie flat, but I could not get the seat to recline. I pulled pillows that were stuffed behind the seat and tried again. The best I could do was angle flat. Could it be that lie flat was not available? With everything going wrong up to this point, I thought it was possible. As I was frantically going through my downward spiral, similar to a Pops commercial, I saw a flight attendant making the bed for a fellow passenger. I did not realize that the seat is reversible. On one side is the bed and on the other is the seat. While I was not amazed by this feature, I was relieved that my hysteria was unwarranted. Perhaps there is hope.

IFE

I don’t watch movies on flights anymore. In fact, the rule is that I am either supposed to sleep or write blog posts when on a plane. At home, I often fall asleep watching BBC World News or CNN International. On this flight, I had the option of those two channels along with CNBC or the US Open. I put my headphones on and fell asleep to the sweet sounds of BBC’s countdown clock.

Food

SQ has the best food among all the airlines. It is similar to Cathay in its freshness and diverse offerings.

Bed

I slept for 9 hours straight. That is impressive.

Breakfast

I ordered the dumplings. Not all were to my liking. The flight attendant asked if I didn’t enjoy it and asked if I wanted more food. I ordered the lamb with noodles.

A few moments later, I was served ramen. I was briefly taken back to my college days before the flight attendant came by and said he had given me the wrong order. Who orders instant ramen when there are so many better choices?

Snack

I sent a picture of my pastrami sandwich to my friend who doesn’t do points and flies terrible flights in coach (see Points in the Front, Peasants in the Back). He said, “That’s what you get in business? A sandwich? ” He failed to see the novelty of this clever, comforting food option.

Overall

I boarded frantic. I left wishing I had a few more hours of pampering. Thank you SQ for being excellent.