From now until 11 July 2017, Krisflyer members enjoy 50% savings on the miles required for award ticket redemptions on SilkAir. To be eligible for the discount, the date of travel must be between 1 July and 31 October 2017.
The mileage required for a one-way redemption to various destinations are as follow:
Destinations
Economy (one-way)
Business (one-way)
Penang
3,250
N.A.
Bali, , Langkawi
3,250
8,750
Phuket
3,250
10,000
Balikpapan, Semarang, Medan
3,750
8,750
Hanoi, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, Kalibo
6,250
10,000
Changsha, Xiamen, Chengdu
7,500
13,750
Darwin
10,000
16,250
Cairns
26,000
26,000
Note that there are some routes or cabins excluded from the promotion, such as Business Class redemptions to Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh. Also, if you redeem a round trip ticket, travel must be completed before 31 October to be eligible for the promotion. Tip: if the return leg falls outside of the promotion window, simply do two separate redemptions.
For the full list of destinations and mileage required, click here.
You can travel to Bali and back on SilkAir business class for just 17,500 miles. How sweet.
SilkAir has announced today that it will launch three times weekly non-stop flights to Hiroshima, Japan from 30 October 2017. This will be SilkAir’s first destination in Japan.
The flight will depart at 1.45am on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and arrive at 9.30am the same morning. Returning flights from Hiroshima will depart at 10.25am and land at Changi Airport at 3.40pm.
The new route is significant on several fronts – it will be Hiroshima’s first non-stop link to Southeast Asia, as well as its furthest destination; and it will be the first Southeast Asian carrier to fly to Hiroshima. It is also set to become SilkAir’s furthest destination, edging out Cairns by a few minutes.
Why SilkAir?
Within the Singapore Airlines Group, it is very interesting that SilkAir was chosen to service this route. While it is technically SilkAir’s first scheduled services to Japan, it is not entirely new to the market, having previously ran seasonal charters to Okinawa and Hiroshima, with seats sold by travel agents.
Previously, travellers to Hiroshima will have to transit at either the Japanese gateways of Narita and Kansai, or via North Asian hubs of Hong Kong or Taipei.
Singapore Airlines itself has previously flown to Hiroshima up to 2003, when they did a massive network reduction as a result of reduced air travel due to SARS.
Thoughts
Will I want to fly SilkAir to Japan? Maybe. While I’m not a big fan of flying a narrow body tube for anything longer than four hours, I will put up with that as compared to not having complimentary water for the journey by travelling with a low-cost carrier.
In terms of product, SilkAir trails Singapore Airlines significantly – no in-flight entertainment (there is streaming entertainment, but you need your own device), and the economy seat width and pitch are comparable to Jetstar’s (SilkAir measures at 30 inch pitch and 18 inch width; Jetstar’s at 29 inch pitch and 17.9 inch width). The key difference you get is free baggage allowance and meals, which hardly justifies the savings.
Ultimately it boils down to price, and SilkAir is not known to be price competitive for routes it monopolises. It might make more sense to travel via Tokyo or Kansai – the additional couple of hours may well be worth some cost savings.
Qantas Airways / 28 Apr 17 / A330-200 / QF81 SYD-SIN / Business Class / 5A
Credit: Qantas Airways
I returned from a work trip in Sydney on a Friday morning, catching the first of two daily Qantas flights back to Singapore. QF81 departs at 10.25am arriving into Singapore slightly before 4pm, while the later flight QF5 leaves Sydney at 3.15pm for a close to midnight arrival into Changi.
Out of Singapore, Qantas also serves Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.
Qantas’ international flights departs from Sydney International Terminal (Terminal 1). Qantas check-ins are at Rows C & D, on the left wing of the airport once you enter.
Check-in was relatively quick but do note that if you are taking economy class, the queues in the morning can stretch really long (we are talking about a half hour wait or longer) so be sure to arrive early at the airport with ample time before your flight.
Immigration and customs on the other hand was a breeze. Ever since Australia granted citizens of several countries (Singapore included) the use of the automated gates, the immigration lines have shortened significantly. I took less than 10 minutes to breeze through immigration and security screening.
I arrived at the gate 20 minutes before the scheduled push back time and there was barely any queue. Right after I was welcomed and shown to my seat, the friendly crew, Lily, came by very quickly to offer a drink. It was too early for a champagne, so I opted for water.
We pushed back on time at 10.25am, but took more than half hour to hit the runway as it was a busy time at Sydney Airport. The airport has a night curfew between 11pm to 5am, which means that morning and night times were often the busiest time in the terminals and on the runways.
The aircraft
Qantas flies mix of A330-300s and -200s between Singapore and the east coast of Australia. Regardless of which version, all A330s boast a two-cabin product. On today’s flight, we have 28 business class seats and 243 economy seats, with the latest Business Suites.
Qantas’ business class layout in the A330-300 and -200
There is a slight difference between the 300s and the 200s. In the A330-300, all 28 business class seats are in the forward cabin, separated from Economy by a galley. Whereas in the -200 variant (which I am on), six of the premium seats are located in the second section of cabin.
The seat
I am seated at seat 5A today, in the first section of the cabin (between the two aircraft doors). If you select your seats online, do remember that rows 7 & 8 are located in the second section of the aircraft, just in front of the economy cabin which may be a little tight for some people’s liking once the curtains are drawn.
Seat 6E across the aisle
Qantas has refreshed its business product across its entire A330 fleet in 2014 (except two aircraft VH-EBG & EBL), introducing the Business Suite. The Business Suite has a seat width of 21.5-23 inch (58cm) and a pitch of 78 inch (198cm). It not only has a flat bed, but it also offers a gate-to-gate recline mode, the first in the world. On the A330-200 today, all but three seats are occupied.
The Business Suite is in a staggered formation, where each seat’s feet well extends into the seat in front. This means that some of the seats are separated from the window by the side table. I personally prefer to have the side table next to the aisle, making the seat feel more private.
It is the only airline that provides a direct aisle access for every Business class passenger, forming a 1-2-1 configuration in the front cabin for all its flights from Singapore to Australia’s east coast. Its key competitor on this route, Singapore Airlines, operates different aircraft across the day, with most of it being the regional configuration of 2-2-2 across unless you are on the A380 or the B777-300.
The service
Champagne and nuts
Shortly after take-off, the cabin crew went around with a beverage service again, and I was ready for a champagne. The cabin service manager (in SQ’s term, in-flight manager) Rebecca then came by to every business class passenger to offer immigration forms and ask about their connecting flights.
Less than one hour after take off, lunch was served. Qantas Business class dining is done Aussie style, with a choice of a small and big plate. On today’s menu, we have:
The service begins with the crew coming by with their trolley, laying out the tablecloth before they set the bread plate, side salad, drink, water and finally your choice of small plate. The cutlery, plates and glasses were Marc Newson, made specially for Qantas.
Prawn, celeriac remoulade with frisee salad and sourdough crostini
My choice of small plate for the day was the prawn salad. It didn’t look quite as I expected, and a little too heavy on taste. A choice of sourdough bread or quinoa bread was offered, and I took the latter. The butter was a dollop of hand churned Australian butter. While it was hard to spread, but it definitely went very well with the bread.
Despite having a champagne, Rebecca offered another drink so I took a Chardonnay. Qantas offers two choices of red and two choices of white wines in both business and economy, the key difference being you are served a glass of your choice in Business, while passengers are given a small single serve bottle in Economy.
Beef goulash with grilled zucchini, orzo and creme fraiche
Once you are done with your small plate, it will be cleared before the main course is hand-delivered from the galley to your seat. I had the beef goulash on orzo (some kind of rice) with grilled zucchini, which fared much better. My experience with beef of any kind on board usually disappoints as they end up mostly too hard or overcooked. Surprisingly, the beef was still tender and the zucchini was warm and crunchy despite being drenched in sauce!
Dessert trolley
After the main plate, all the plates were cleared before the crew wheeled out a two-tier trolley with all the desserts plated and laid out. I had the famous Pat and Stick’s ice cream sandwich, which I wished was opened and served on a plate more fitting for a premium cabin so that I don’t have to struggle with the packaging.
Irresistible ice cream sandwich
When lunch was done, the cabin lights were dimmed and all the windows were shut, so I set my seat to the bed mode and took a nap, which was easy given the amount of food served up during lunch.
While it’s an all-flat bed, I felt that the foot well can be rather tight and as a side sleeper I keep kicking on the sides. That was easily fixed by moving up the bed a little, but I can imagine it will be a problem for taller folks.
Later in the flight, I got up and asked for a cup of coffee and Rebecca came with not only a coffee, but a fruit bar. That’s what I call initiative. Another crew went around the seats with a basket of snacks such as Red Rock Deli chips, Koko Black chocolates and whole fruits.
The entertainment
Over 100 movies, 500 TV programmes to choose from, but limited Asian selection
I fiddled with the in-flight entertainment system for a bit. Having flown Qantas several times before, I know the selection of movies skew very much to Western and Australian offerings and very limited on Asian offerings. I love my Chinese movies, and I counted a grand total of 11 Chinese movies and nine Japanese ones. Another of my pet peeve was the fact that the earphones are not noise cancelling, so you could still hear a little of the cabin noise when you have them on.
About an hour and a half before landing, the cabin crew came around with the refreshment service. Unlike Singapore Airlines, Qantas serves up a refreshment in place of the second meal. The snacks were all plated and displayed on a trolley, which the crew pulled through the cabin and offered to the passengers.
Options for today were chicken wings and the vegetarian cheese balls with aioli. When it was my turn, they ran out of chicken wings temporarily (they were still being heated up in the galley) so I couldn’t see how it looked like. Thinking that it will be rather challenging to eat chicken wings mid air, I opted for the balls instead. When the other cabin crew came out with the chicken wings I immediately regretted – the chicken wings were merely drumlets and winglets, which will be easy to hand. Quickly, I asked Rebecca if I could have the chicken wings if there were leftovers and she gladly obliged, bringing me a bowl of the wings very soon. And they were fantastic.
Verdict
My flights on Qantas has always been pleasant and today was no exception. While the seat product may not be as generous as Singapore Airlines’ in terms of width, it is still a solid seat with a great design. Admittedly, the service can be hit or miss – but in today’s case, it was definitely more than a hit.
Oh, did I mention that Qantas has a very pretty in-flight safety video too?
In a terrible need of a retreat this week, I checked myself in to Conrad Centennial Singapore for a 2D1N stay this weekend.
Conrad Centennial Singapore is a 507-room property built in 1996, with its most recent renovation made 10 years ago in 2007. The property has a range of rooms from Classic rooms to the Presidential Suite.
Great location, heart of downtown
Located in the heart of the city, the hotel is conveniently located near the Downtown Core, within walking distance from key shopping malls such as Suntec City, Raffles City, Marina Square and Millenia Walk. For those attending conferences at Suntec City convention centre, this will be a great choice of hotel.
My choice of dungeon for this stay was the Executive King Room. The room I originally booked was supposed to be on the 27th floor, but as I requested for a change to a twin room during check-in, I was then given a room on the 13th floor as it was the only twin room available at that point in time.
Aromatherapy Associates amenities
Executive benefits included free pressing of up to three items (I read somewhere that it used to be five), as well as executive lounge benefits including afternoon tea between 3-5pm and evening cocktails (with hor d’oeuvres) from 5.30pm to 8pm. Executive rooms also come with breakfast, which can be taken at either the executive lounge or at Oscars.
Of course, as with any Hilton property, wifi is always complimentary for Hilton Honors members!
Also, guests are entitled to a box of pralines and fresh fruits waiting for you in the room, although the pralines were missing since I moved to a Classic floor. I personally thought that at the very least they could have sent a box to my room.
Having switched to a Classic room, there were several items that were missing from the Executive room, such as a Nespresso machine. This doesn’t bother me too much (since I am not quite a fan of Nespresso coffee) but do note what you are missing out if you don’t mind a room on the Classic floors.
Executive rooms come with pralines, and you get a bear regardless of the room you book
Also, Conrad’s signature is also its soft toy. I had a small teddy bear on the bed when I checked in, although the size of the bear varies with the grade of room that you have booked.
While the room is rather dated, the rooms are of an adequate size (40 sq m) with an equally spacious bathroom. The amenities are also well thought: there are sufficient sockets (such as the one tucked into the drawer next to the bed) and ample towels (there were four)!
The executive lounge
Executive lounge on 31st floor
The lounge is located on the top floor of the hotel. At 31st floor, the lounge provides a wonderful view of the city from the Marina Bay area to Kallang Basin. However, the lounge is rather small, with enough seating for perhaps 30 people. The lounge can get very crowded during the evening cocktails, when an adjacent reading room has to be opened as well.
Delicious scones for afternoon tea
The lounge serves up afternoon tea from 3pm to 5pm, with an assortment of sandwiches, coffee and tea. Special mention goes to the scones, with an amazing selection of creams and jams to go with them.
Evening canepes and cocktails
From 5.30pm, the dining area transforms to the evening’s cocktail snacks, boasting light bites such as hor d’voeuvres, hot items, salads and cakes. On the menu today were beef bourguignon, sauteed prawns in laksa spices, pomelo prawn salad, tuna tataki, and peranakan kuehs.
I was impressed with the lounge for the fact that it doesn’t serve bottled water, but instead offers San Pellegrino and Aqua Panna for a choice of sparkling and still water. Other canned soft drinks were also available whole day, along with coffee and tea.
Chandon brut
For those into the booze, the Conrad club lounge serves up two choices of red wines, a choice of white wine and a sparking wine – the Chandon brut. There is a selection of spirits with mixers, as well canned beer (Asahi was the choice of the day).
Turn down
After inbibing perhaps close to a bottle of brut, I went back to my room to find my room turned down.
The room slippers were laid out neatly next to my bed with a towel underneath, and a breakfast menu left on the desk for my convenience. The pragmatist in me never believed in room service breakfast, especially when it costs close to S$50. So why spend when one has a complimentary breakfast included in the room rate.
This is when Conrad scored another point in service. As I was placed on a Classic floor, there wasn’t the box of pralines that usually comes in the Executive rooms. Before I left for the lounge, I called to ask for another bear and the chocolates appeared!
Facilities
Conrad swimming pool, 4th floor
The hotel boasts of a decently sized pool on the fourth floor, with a gym and spa to go with it. The gym is well equipped for travellers, with a dumbbells rack, smith machine and some cardio equipment.
24-hour gym
Do note that there are no sauna, steam room or jacuzzi on the property, but there’s a spa offering body and face spa services.
Breakfast
Breakfast at Oscars
Executive room guests have a choice of breakfast at either the Executive Lounge on the 31st floor or at Oscars restaurant at the lobby. I’ve chosen to take the breakfast at Oscars, which offers a wider spread.
International selection, including Chinese and Indian options
The international breakfast spread offered a good mix of Asian food, from congee, roti canai to dim sum. For those who love the usual western fare, there is always the great range of fresh baked pastries and egg station to fall back on, along with sausages, salads and fresh fruits.
One of my favourite items at Oscars is the ice cream, and I’m very happy to see that this was also offered at breakfast. I had it atop a piece of very fluffy pancake and it was a great way to wrap up breakfast.
How does it add up?
It is definitely a five star property – the grand lobby, very attentive service (mostly) with a great hotel restaurant and lobby café. As one of the landmark hotels in the Marina area, despite its age there is a certain charm that makes you feel very comfortable when you step into it.
The room floors, while dated, still looked elegant and very well maintained given its age. I personally liked the older hotels for their generous room sizes, with a sufficiently large bathroom that are so absent in newer hotels. The main sign of its age is in the technologies available in the room: power sockets are few and hard to locate, there was only one USB port, the television sets did not have a HDMI port nor were they internet-ready.
Another area that I thought needed a refresh was the pool and its adjacent pool bar. While functional, they looked very tired and could use some modernizing. The lounge needs an upgrade also, and perhaps an expansion to cater for the growing base of customers who are willing to pay more for a better experience.
Aching for a quick weekend getaway in Bali, I decided to burn 17,500 miles and S$34 in taxes for a Friday afternoon departure on Singapore Airlines business class, given that economy class tickets on the market are going for close to $200 one-way.
It’s my first redemption after Singapore Airlines devalued its Krisflyer miles. Some would advise that I should have done it before 23 March (before the devaluation), but I do think that burning an additional 2,625 miles to save on close to $70 in surcharges is probably still somewhat worth it.
With the J class ticket in hand, of course I had to spend some time at the acclaimed flagship SilverKris lounge in Terminal 3.
How do I get in?
The SilverKris lounge is Singapore Airlines’ business class lounge. Access to the SilverKris lounge is limited only to its Business & First Class passengers, as well as other Star Alliance carriers’ Business & First Class passengers. PPS & Solitaire PPS members may also use the lounge even if they travel in economy class.
Business class to the left
Singapore Airlines have a separate lounge, the KrisFlyer Gold lounge, for all Star Alliance Gold elite members at Changi Airport. So if you hold status while travelling in economy, tough luck in getting into the SilverKris lounge at Changi.
Where is it?
The lounge is located near the A gates, one level above the shopping strip. Simply follow signs to the ‘A’ gates from wherever you are, or turn left after clearing immigration and it’s just a couple of minutes away. If you are lost, simply ask one of the Changi Experience Agents in the bright pink jackets and they will gladly point you in the right direction.
Changi Airport Terminal 3, near the A gates
Once the lounge host has greeted you and seen your boarding pass, walk further in and turn left. The business class lounge is to the left, while the first class lounge is to the right.
The Lounge
The SilverKris lounge has a distinct classic feel to it – plenty of warm lighting, wood finishing and elegantly designed. It tries to emulate a feeling of home, as described on its website:
Inside, customers can look forward to the familiarity of home with unique spaces modelled after living, dining rooms and kitchens, featuring tastefully selected art pieces.
The lounge was moderately occupied when I entered at about 2.30pm, with perhaps a few dozen people adequately spaced out across the lounge. Even then, I was spoilt for choice for a seat, and I ended up nesting at one of the high tables.
What’s good to eat?
KrisFlyer lounges are technically opened 24 hours and will have a range of food available round the clock.
Buffet area
On the menu today was an international spread from speghetti boglonese and deep fried lemon chicken, to yong tau foo (a first that I’ve seen in any lounge), and an indian vegetarian option.
The local yong tau foo, with soy bean soup on the far right that goes right with it
On the side you also find a salad bar, with an assorted plate of maki and fresh fruits.
Salad bar
There’s also a bread basket with an oven, as well as some cold sandwiches that I thought could do with a much better packaging.
There are two self service bar areas in the lounge. SilverKris lounge serves up the the delicious TWG teas, with over a dozen choice to choose from.
Selection of TWG teas with a coffee machine
For the alcoholics, note that champagne is available all day but has to be requested from one of the service staff. On the self service bar you have your usual spirits – Absolut vodka, Johnnie Walker black label, Bombay Sapphire gin.
Self-service bar
I personally thought that they could afford better quality spirits, perhaps Grey Goose and Hendricks.A nice touch was the draft Tiger beer tap, with an adjacent fridge full of chilled mugs. On offer were also a choice of red and white wine, although I didn’t care to check them out. Remember, champagne has to be requested!
Selection of international wines, champagne on request
Showers
Shower room
Since I came from work, I decided to take a shower since I had some time.
The shower stalls are located inside the toilets, right next to the entrance of the lounge. In the toilets, amenities are available at the common basins for those who simply need to freshen up, particularly useful for transit passengers who are passing by Singapore before heading off somewhere else.
There are plenty of shower rooms available. Each shower stall has its own basin and a basket of amenities, including the London perfumer Miller Harris range of eau de toilette and body lotion and disposables such as toothbrush, shaving kit and comb.
Miller Harris amenities
A freshly laundered towel is also available for your use, although the quality is definitely not what you will find from a five-star hotel.
The towel came wrapped in a flimsy plastic package that you can easily rip off
Push-pump dispensers for soap and shampoo
What was disappointing was the use of wall-mounted press pumps for the body wash and shampoo. For a flagship lounge I’d thought that lounge users should deserve better, but I guess press pumps are the most cost efficient given that travel size bottles usually costs more and results in higher wastage.
Overall the SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 3 is a classic of its own with very decent offerings for its users. However, as a flagship lounge given that this is home base for Singapore Airlines, the experience was not exceedingly spectacular – the little details slowly but surely eroded the premium the brand has over its rivals.
Shanescape 