Took my first flight on the SQ regional single aisle B38M, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (not the one with doors that fall off) operating SQ 203, SIN-CNS yesterday. I cannot remember seeing any report on that aircraft so here are a few impressions of the flight.
Being the Monday after the Lunar New Year holidays, I expected the lounges at Changi to be packed at 0700 but the T3 F lounge was quite relaxed... busy but had no trouble ordering eggs on toast and a barista made Esspresso for breakfast. I needed that for a trek to A19 for a decent 0830 on-time departure. While the service is not daily yet, it will soon be up gauged to a regional A350 as a daily service. The return SQ204 leaves CNS at 1810 to arrive in time for the European departures at 2305.
What I appreciated was the service we received in J with 3 crew looking after 9 passengers. Economy looked full. Hardly 30 mins went by without someone coming through in case we needed anything, proactively offering drinks. There was a check CSM on board (the Man with the Gold Tie) so I am sure everyone was on their best behavior. . Raj has been with SQ for 29 years so probably knows the procedures by now.
The cabin has 10 J seats in a 2-2, 1-1, 2-2 configuration, so 2 so called 'throne' seat in Row 2. Normally, as a TPPS, I would be able to book these seats until T-80 but this benefit was not made available on this flight so Row 11 and 12 all take 3 months ago when I booked. Not an issue as I scored the only free seat next to me in Row 14.
The single seat, Row 12:
Row 14:
Legroom, 14F - enough room to stretch out.
The seats were very firm (after 6 hours) but, otherwise wide and comfortable enough.
I did like the touch screens, very responsive and within easy reach. The ARC flight map especially nice to use. I don't use the entertainment much, preferring to read or use my own entertainment.
I did make comment to Raj about the catering. He did admit that the menus had been revised since Covid but would, of course, not say that the choice was more limited (or of lesser quality). Mind you, I could not fault my prosperity salad or the BTC lobster. I only only ever order it ex Singapore and this was one of the best I have had - fresh, tasty and creamy.
My main fault with the flight was the timing of the meal. Lunch was offered soon after takeoff, not long after 0915 SIN time. In J, I would expect most people would have had breakfast in the lounge so would be happy with a single catering service around 1300 CNS time - they do have a snack service later in the flight (that I did not partake in) so maybe that's the problem. The crew did offer to delay my meal until later and did slow down on the service but I cannot see why the rush. In Y, people would be waiting for a meal but J should be a more relaxed offering or offer dining on demand.
To summarise, a relaxed, comfortable flight with excellent service in a small J cabin even though the seat belt sign was on for the majority of the flight due to persistent light turbulence.
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