Singapore First Class JFK-Frankfurt
SQ25
JFK-FRA
9:25pm-11:05am +1
September 14, 2010
747-400
First Class
Seats 3CD
At around T-70 minutes, we decided to head for security and A6. The A2-7 security and gate situation was the same third world experience if not worse than last time. Although there was priority security, the economy security line moved faster than F/J especially with numerous flight crews cutting the line.
Gate A6 was utter chaos. A sea of gate lice everywhere with no announcements from the SQ (presumably contract) employees. The GA finally announced boarding for First and Business pax. Naturally 50-60 people tried get around, over or through dozens of economy pax blocking the way. What an absolute disgrace. With only 7 pax in First, is it too much to announce and board First pax first??
On board and up in the pointy end, it was calm and serene but Mrs. SFO was in a bad mood, not at enamored by the cramped seat and closed-in feeling compared to her favorite SFO-MUC LH 346. "We left a day early for this?'" From SFO-Europe, clearly LH and now LX are the only refined options. Not many people would put up with the crap on the ground at JFK. Indeed I doubt I would do another one from JFK until it figures out how to leave the third world, but rather start from IAH or just go west from civilized SFO.
Mr. and Mrs. SFO, would you like some Dom? OK, I'm starting to feel a little better.
Tonight's menu presented at the gate and while we were enjoying our Dom...
Pages of tonight's menu. For all the options, the one thing that struck me was, other than exceptional champagnes, the wines were pretty pedestrian and disappointing. The 2006 Buena Vista Chardonnay and the 2007 Robert Mondavi Cab. You cannot be serious? These selections are something I would expect on American or United, but Singapore? Wow. Hopefully the six wine Burgundy 1er cru tasting flight I read about in the Wall Street Journal last week will be featured on our LHR-SIN and HKG-SFO flights. And I thought our FA took glasses a little early, at the end of push back, compared to LH where they will remove just prior to take-off roll or not at all.
Dinner
Desserts and Cheeses
Champagnes and White Wines
Red Wines and Ports
Cocktails
All-Time Favorites
Spirits
Coffees
Coffees
Teas
Taking dinner orders...
Chilled malossol caviar, with crackers instead of the palate killing Melba Toast...
Chilled Belvedere vodka, much better than the Smirnoff swill served on LH...
Gotham chilled melon mint salad with lime vinaigrette, radish, duck proscuitto and smoked paprika (from Alan Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill)...
Roasted tomato soup with herb and parmesan croutons and sour cream...
In between my many glasses of Dom (I heard at least three corks popped tonight and I had clearly lapped the field in the cabin consumption stakes), I opted for the pleasant Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot Grand Cru..
Salad of assorted heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, rucola and basil served with Balsamic and virgin olive oil dressing...
Our excellent BTC Lobster thermidor...
Warm apple-rhubarb pie served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis...
California vella dry jack and comte cheeses served with fruit paste, grapes, walnuts and Taylor's 20 Year Tawnny Port.
After an hour and a half of sleep, and an hour prior to landing, our crew offered continental breakfast, which I declined.
Exceptional SQ service by a cabin crew of three for the seven of us in First. I've said it before and will say it again, how an airline can provide such amazing in flight service yet be so horrendous on the ground at some stations is mystifying. And given LH's amazing ground facilities, FCL/FCTs, I can't imagine why anyone would fly SQ point to point JFK-FRA-JFK unless it was part of a much longer journey.