Wednesday, June 16, 2010

SQ Econ Class Gets A Makeover

A Singapore Sling on SQ

When I walked on the plane today, I had to look twice, as those Barney-colored purple seats were gone and replaced with new beige ones instead. Cool - did we get the new economy class seats on this flight? Not quite. Upon closer examination, the seats were structurally still the same ones from before (i.e., small screens and no power outlets), but at least the new upholstery made the cabin look refreshingly less claustrophobic. It was a warmer homey feel instead - complete with a new carpet and pillows to match. It's an improvement, but it obviously would have been nicer if they had switched out the seats altogether.

They also had a new safety video. Those of you who have flown SQ so much that the old video still rings very clearly in your head ("...and have a pleasant flight!") will know what I mean when I say that the old piano-based background song is gone. So is that dude shoving that antique HP Tablet PC swiveled inside-out into the seat back pocket, which I never quite understood since airlines usually don't want you putting laptops there. The KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system also underwent a facelift. There seemed to be more ads now, but it wasn't as annoying as it might sound.

And the food? It was the same stuff, but what was more interesting was that they are getting ready to sell a cookbook featuring recipes from their International Culinary Panel. Oh, and in case you're wondering what that manly pink drink was, it was a Singapore Sling...not because I really wanted one, but just because that ridiculous US$21 price tag at the Long Bar got me thinking of this. Sure, it came from a pre-mixed bottle and a can of pineapple juice, but hey - this one was free.

2 comments:

FN said...

A friend of a friend runs the SQ customer service dept. She says people complained and complained about the safety video looking "old", so they made a new one....

Anonymous said...

lol
I'll be sure to ask for that when I get on their flight the next time. Talk about that expensive cough syrup in Long Bar. How did this one taste??