SQ uses both terminal 2 and 3 in Singapore Changi Airport for its outbound flights to anywhere else in the world. SQ uses Terminal 2 for regional flights and Terminal for outbound flights to anywhere else in the world. The flight bound for Bali departs from Terminal 2. There are several dedicated rows for SQ in the terminal, mainly rows 1 – 4. Row 3 is dedicated to passengers who have checked in online flying to anywhere in the region. As we had done our check-in online, this row is where we drop our luggage. There are 2 sections to this section, one for drop off of luggage for passengers who prefers to print their boarding pass and tag their luggage at the machines outside the queue in the row. The other section is for passengers who prefer to have a ground staff checking their luggage in. We opted for assistance in checking in. As the queue was pretty short, we got checked in pretty swiftly by the ground staff.

Curbside at Changi Airport Terminal 2

Passengers checked in online will need to approach Row 3 to drop off their baggage

Self-service kiosk for the printing of boarding pass before dropping off baggage at the counters behind

Pretty empty check-in counters for passengers who checked in online

Changi Airport airside is like a shopping mall. There is no lack of shopping from luxury brands to the more affordable range brands. There are several gardens around the airport spread across 3 terminals as well as cinemas and rest areas. Most of the rest areas are facing the tarmac for passengers to rest and do some plane watch while waiting for their flights.

Shopping in Changi Airport

Duty-free shopping

SQ departs from gate F54

Entrance to the waiting room

The new Denpasar International Airport was opened in 2013. The terminal building still looks new despite being about 3 years old. To gain access into the terminal building, security personnel matched the tickets of passengers with their passport. SQ uses half of Row C (C5 to C12) for their passengers flying out of DPS. 3 counters are dedicated to Business Class passengers and 2 counter are dedicated to passengers who have done their check-in online. As we were early for our flight, there is no one in the queue and we did not have to wait for our turn. The ground staff at the counter acknowledges our online check-in and process our check-in very quickly and briefed us on our boarding time and gate number.

Denpasar Airport new terminal

Curtsied of Denpasar Airport

Denpasar Airport

Denpasar Airport

Inside Denpasar Airport terminal

Flight information

Very empty check-in counter at row C

Internet check-in counter

Once cleared immigration, passengers are made to walk through duty free shop before arriving at a part of the airside where one can find duty free shopping. There are some luxury brand shops and mostly shops selling overpriced Balinese souvenirs. There are limited eateries around in the airside of the terminal. I particularly liked the queue system of Economy Class at DPS airport. Passengers are grouped by row numbers and there are lanes for passengers to queue up according to the group they are assigned to. This makes boarding very efficient and boarding queue seems shorter.

Passengers will have to go through this duty-free shop before reaching airside of the terminal

Walking through the duty-free shop

More shopping when one exits the duty-free shop

Lounge for premium passengers

More shops. Compared to the old Denpasar airport, which is dark and poorly lighted, the new airport is bright and clean

More shopping at the airside

There is a Hard Rock Cafe near the boarding gates

I like the way SQ organise the queues in Denpasar Airport, making boarding feels faster

Economy Class passengers are organised in groups for more efficient boarding

The bird that is going to fly us home

Heading to the aircraft

Through the aerobridge

Pursuers waiting to welcome passengers onboard

The Cabin

SQ uses A330-300 for both legs of the flight plying between SIN and DPS. The aircraft is configured to take up 30 passengers in Business Class and 255 in Economy Class. The Economy class is further divided into 2 sections, each with its colour theme. The forward section of Economy Class has a brighter theme, attributed to the use of turquoise colour in the seat with light brown. The aft section of Economy Class is decked in beige and dark orange seats.  The forward gives passengers a lighter and brighter feel, while the aft section gives passengers a more warm and cosy feel. Economy Class is configured with the 2-4-2 seating arrangement.

Forward Economy Class cabin

Aft Economy Class cabin

Cabin ambience lighting

Seat belt sign and overhead reading light

Peeking into Business Class

Aircraft safety card

The lavatory in Economy Class is rather standard. As with most airlines, the lavatory in Economy Class tends to be a tad cramp. The lavatory onboard both SQ948 and SQ949 have the standard fixtures. I particularly like the step level which opens the trash bin cover by the sink. I thought this is a nice touch. The lavatory is well lighted with what the airline terms as “Hollywood-style” mirror. SQ provides more standard amenities in its Economy Class lavatory. Amenities such as hand soap, mouth wash, hand moisturiser and eau de toilette are available onboard SQ Economy Class lavatories. These amenities are more than what most airlines offer in their lavatories. On top of these amenities, sanitary pads, combs, toothbrushes are also available in the Economy Class lavatories. Most airlines these days do not provide toothbrushes on board, I am glad SQ still provides these additional amenities.

Toilet Bowl

Hand cream and Eau de toilette

Mouthwash

Basin

Step pedal to open the trash bin cover

Well stocked toilet paper

Additional amenities which is not seen in most airlines these days

Lavatory compartment

“Hollywood-styled” mirrors

Hook on the door of the lavatory

The seat in Economy Class is comfortable,  with a generous seat pitch of 32″ and a width of 19″. There are a total of 255 seats in the Economy Class split into 2 sections. A small cup holder and a compartment are found behind each seat, providing more storage space for its passengers. The seat also has an AV jack, a USB port and an outlet for one to plug in their iPod to enjoy music from their lifestyle device. The seat pocket is rather generous, with 2 large pockets and 1 small pocket providing ample space for passengers to store their stuff. The legroom is great for Economy Class, and I have sufficient legroom for stretching. The seat also has a sliding bi-fold tray table which provided space for passengers sitting in the window to gain access to the aisle without disturbing passenger sitting at the aisle too much. There is also a vanity mirror on the tray table. The headphone jack is located on the armrest, above a power socket for passengers to charge their lifestyle gadget.

Comfortable Economy Class seats. Large size pillow and Givenchy fleece blankets are already placed on the seats

AV input and iPod, as well as USB outlets, are found on the right of the TV screen

Cup holder and a small hook as coat hanger found on the left side of the TV

 

Bi-fold tray table gives passengers a sense of space

Tray table fully extended

Vanity mirror on the back of the bi-fold table

Seat recline button found on the armrest of the seat

Headphone jack and power socket are found on the armrest of each seat

Excellent legroom in Economy Class

3 tier seat pockets with sufficient room to store items. I particularly like the small pocket which can be used to store smaller items like passports, mobile phones

Seat pocket with inflight reading materials

Contents in the seat pocket

In-Flight Entertainment

Passengers are treated with a 10.6″ Personal TV screen in every seat in the Economy Class, however, these TVs do not have touchscreen function, which is not a problem as the AVOD controller is rather responsive. KrisWorld is SQ’s entertainment system, which has tons of options to keep passengers entertained, ranging from the latest release of movies to TV shows to games. There is also a row of LED reading lights under each personal TV screen, which can be tilted to expose the reading lights. The AVOD controller is stowed underneath the personal TV screen. One side of the controller controls the menu for KrisWorld allowing passengers to select their preferred entertainment. The call button and reading light switches are also located on this side of the controller. On the backside of the controller, one can find a keyboard, directional joystick as well as 4 buttons which is used for playing games on KrisWorld. SQ distributes earplugs which passengers are free to bring them back. The quality of the earplugs are rather bad, nonetheless, it is good enough to be used onboard.

LED reading light under the PTV

10.6″ Personal TV, which is one of the largest in the industry

IFE controller is stowed under the PTV

The backside of the IFE controller

Earplugs

As with most other airlines that have relatively short flight time, time is critical for the pursuers, especially on a nearly full flight. The pursuers sprung into action as soon as the seat belt sign has been turned off. They went around preparing for food like clockwork, hoping to beat the time and get the food to all the passengers within the short flight time.

SIN-DPS

I guess the safest meat to serve in this region has got to be chicken and fish. The options for this flight we had panned seared fish or curry chicken. I had the curry chicken. The chicken tasted tender and the spice in the curry wasn’t too overpowering. When eaten with rice, the curry is very delicious. My only qualm is there is too little of the delicious curry for the bed of rice. My friend opted for the fish. I was told the fish tasted fresh and the seasoning on the fish is just perfect. Also on the menu was a salad for starter (nothing fantastic, the dressing was “normal”) and chocolate mousse for dessert. I find the chocolate mousse to be a tad too sweet for my liking. The pursuer went around serving coffee and tea after all the passengers got their food. Pursuers also went around serving drinks.

Dinner is served

Curry chicken with brinjal

Fish with potato

The options for this leg of the flight is again restricted to chicken and fish. Both my friend and I opted for the chicken. The chicken was dressed in spicy rendang sauce served with rice over a bed of long beans, carrots and cauliflower. The rendang chicken is a little dry, but the level of the spicy is just nice, perfect for passengers who are not used to taking spicy food. Both starters and desert are the same as the previous flight.

I was given 2 buns and 2 desserts by the friendly pursuers

Chicken Rendang for dinner

The service onboard this flight feels very standard of SQ. The standard warm towels are being passed to passengers shortly after takeoff. Somehow the pursuer working at our aisle felt a little fake in her service. Her smile is rather plastic and she somehow gave me the impression that she is not sincere in her service. I requested playing cards and a can of coke from her during the flight, but these requests were not being taken note. At first, I thought she might be having a bad day, however, I did witness her warmth when dealing with a Caucasian passenger. Not once, but 3 times I saw her going up to the Caucasian passenger initiating conversation and checked if he was comfortable during the flight and if he needed anything like a drink during the flight. I was taken aback by such discriminating service by her. Having said that, the pursuers serving the other aisle seem friendlier and warmer. I saw they going around asking passengers if they needed anything with a very warm and sincere smile.

The pursuer on the right was serving our aisle

These pursuers on the other aisle seem friendlier in their service

Going around doing their job

DPS-SIN

The service onboard this leg is much much better than my outbound flight. From the moment we stepped onboard the flight, the pursuers asked if we needed help with our carry-ons, to the dinner service when the pursuers asked if the food was alright and if we needed to top up our drinks. The pursuers tried their very best to accommodate our request. We requested to change seat before taking off and were assisted by the pursuers in securing our new seats. The pursuers have a warm personality and occasionally popping by to ask if we needed more drinks. They were seen joking with my friends and other passengers during their free time. We were also given extra desserts by the pursuers as my friends complimented that they liked the dessert. The pursuers felt sincere in their service onboard SQ949.

SQ provided very comfortable flight on their seats even in Economy Class. The cabin decor felt warm and cosy and the amenities found in the lavatories are a notch above their competitors. The pillow found on the seat is large for Economy Class and the fleece blanket gives Economy Class passengers a feeling of premium. Passengers will be spoilt for choices in the entertainment system, especially on a large screen (larger than most other airlines of the same class). The food is great on board and very delicious. However, the service was mixed, giving me a feeling that luck plays a huge part in determining if we got good service, depending on who served our aisle.