The differences between ANA and SQ

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Up in the air

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This is my first working trip to japan and it lasted a good four weeks. Somehow I was put on an ANA flight out instead of the usual SQ because SQ was freaking expensive when the booking was made.

I wasn’t entirely looking forward to this flight as I was entering unfamiliar territory.

I was full of complains on my way to Tokyo. Not sure if it’s because the seats were preassigned and I was seating next to my new boss. It was also a red eye flight that I concluded eons ago that I am too old for.

The one thing that really caught my attention was the big screens on board actually shown the view from the cockpit. I could see the view of the roadway before and during takeoff and the clouds in front of the plane while it was climbing to the required altitude.

Shortly after takeoff, On top of the usual pillow, blanket and headset, I was given a bottle of mineral water and croissant. SQ has deprived we passengers of midnight snacks since god knows when!

Since it was a red eye flight, I had breakfast on board. There was no choice, all were served scrambled eggs.

My mood was slightly better on my return flight to Singapore as I was put on the 1040 flight from Narita. There is a machine next to each check in counter where I can select seats and print my own boarding pass.

I chose my usual aisle seat. You may think that I got away from my boss.. But no lo, when I board the aircraft, I saw him sitting in the next seat, we were only separated by the aisle.

I was served lunch on this flight and was given a choice of beef or seafood. I chose seafood since it’s something I do not usually get on SQ unless I pre-order. I later found out that seafood is actually international and beef is the Japanese set.

Wines are definitely not free flow onboard. Luckily the guy sitting behind me got a Asahi dry and so I decided to follow. This really made my day=p

On both flights, the movies are on demand but somehow I wasn’t that keen on the inflight entertainment. I was reading my photography sbook on my iPhone and blogging my time away=)

Overall the experience is satisfactory. Taking SQ is really just a habit.

My first ANA flight

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Up in the air

 This is the first time I am taking a non-SQ international flight. Call me mountain turtle. Call me anything you like. Yes, I am one of those spoilt brats.

This is an overnight flight to Narita but I can’t sleep. I have got several assurance that ANA is not bad but some how I am not used to it.

As usual, I am hungry and I don’t dare to ask for cup noodles (also because my new boss is sitting next to me).

There is no alcohol being served. No red wine. No asahi dry.

I am sad because I can’t sleep. And did I mention earlier that the hotel check in is at 4pm?

Moving On

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Up in the air

This post had been deliberately post dated because of the sensitive contents.

I am writing this on my flight to Shanghai on 10 September. I am making a trip to Shanghai to catch the World Expo. This trip is significant because this will be my last trip to China in the foreseeable future.

I tendered yesterday, 9 September.

My new job does not require travel to China.

I know everyone is amazed, disturbed, curious, or even grasping in disbelieve since the bulk of my salary were really earned through servicing rich Chinese companies over the last couple of years. I have grown accustomed to the Chinese loud way of getting attention. I have no difficulties pushing and shoving my way to the front. I am used to hiding behind the Great Firewall of China and be oblivious to the happenings on FB.

I have even learnt to accept the fact that SQ only serves soya bean on China flights!

I cannot believe it myself either.

I am taking a gamble. The stake is my year end bonus. I am no longer entitled to it since I will not be on the payroll on 31 December.

I do not know if I will succeed. But I think its worth a try.

I will be flying to a new location on an ad-hoc basis. I need to archive categories such as “Behind the Great Firewall of China” and “Of Prets and Cha-chan-ting” as I will no longer be using them.

I need to pick up a third language.

Hence, I am enjoying the last few cups of soya bean drinks up in the air as much as I can.

Konichiwa, I will be asking for Asahi Dry on all future flights!

When Malaysians Complain About SQ

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Up in the air

I am sitting next to a Malaysian couple and hearing them complain. You will be surprised that they complained the tv screen is too small compared to that on the A380. They complained that the food is boring. When the towels were distributed, they complained that the towels were too hot! The menus were handed out and they thought there were four types of food to choose from. When the headphones were distributed, they did not know how to unlatch the remote from the set.

Thanks lei! Please take MAS in future!

Ok, I agree that the food sucks on this flight. So bad that the air steward asked me what was wrong when he collected the plates and found I only took at most 2 mouthful from my main course!

It was not only salty, it was unpalatable!

He say he will feedback. He better!

So I got myself a cup noodles.

And who the hack serves strawberry flavored ice cream on air crafts? Strawberry and ONLY Strawberry lor. Can serve more universally acceptable flavors or not?!?!?!

Tired

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Up in the air

I dosed off 30 minutes after take off and was woken by the air stewardess for brunch.

I recall nearly every flight to be THIS tiring. This is nothing new. The late nights before each flight spent surfing the net and blogging when I am really suppose to be packing is taking its toll on me.

My arms are arching from pulling the cabin bag. I did not bring that much, guess it goes to show I need to exercise MORE.

A plane-ful of complains

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Up in the air

The sugar has shrank, the salt has shrank, the pepper has shrank. The mini tray for the coffee cup is gone. And most importantly the air stewardesses has put on weight.

Once again, I am on my way home. I finally have time to slowly recap my life before leaving for HK, to blog about some more interesting happenings to date.

I met NT this trip. Xiong say I am saying the obvious because I flew in to meet him, did I not?

Yes, I did.

He couldn’t recognize me at the first instance we met at the life lobby. We went for lunch together at a Chinese restaurant. He handed me his name card with the most awkward look on his face. I couldn’t decipher what that look meant but took mine out to swop with him anyway. He asked, ‘Have we met before?”

Indeed we have. I told him I worked for him before.

Boy, everyone who knows him should have seen the way he scrutinized my name card immediately after I said that.

But because we already know each other, he was quite fast to arrow me. He was suppose to attend a meeting in Singapore together with his AM in 2 weeks time and he conveniently said I would bring his AM around (I bet he going to make use of those free time to la-kopi with his long time friend from EY days)

Anyway, I am returning home to my mailbox full of emails requiring my immediate attention, to a mounting credit card bill and to a readily full work desk, if not work room. A messy bed room which I have always wanted to clear before my HK trip but failed as usual, A long over due lunch date with Selina and another weekend drink tea la-kopi session with Xiong and Ms Tan since Ms Tan is starting a new job on Monday.

For the countless time, Hello Singapore, welcome me back in the scotching sun again please…

I Live in a cocoon of self-banishment

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Up in the air

Bombastic title huh?

I am watching “Up in the air” on the plane now. Its a show about a frequent traveler. The humorous side of the show stroked a cord in me.

What motivates frequent traveler?

Air miles!

Yes, we do stupid things, much of our scheduling revolves around the maximum number of air miles we can claim. We boast about the next free holiday destination. We compare and see who can go further, whether we are clearing our annual leaves in San Francisco or London or Sydney.

We talk about our next destination in codes, just like the characters in the show do. Beijing is known as PEK or BJ in short. Hong Kong is just HKG or HK to be even simpler.

The show talked about how yim chim frequent flyers are when it comes to packing luggage to ensure a fuss free check in (I ever asked my staff to change out of her winter boots and check in wearing her track shoes), how a superior niamed at a green horn about the stuff she brings and which queue to join when clearing the immigration. In case you are curious, always queue behind a business traveler at the immigration queue if you have a choice (the show talked about queuing behind an Asian businessman when you are in US, but if you are travelling out of China, it is preferable to queue behind an angmo business traveler, never queue behind a black man or a china man)

What hit me most was the movie shows how people around frequent travelers perceive frequent travelers.

We think we lead fulfilling lives, exploring the world while we are young, surrounded by friends and people. But are we really surrounded by friends or strangers?

A lot of times, we spend festive seasons away from home. We understand how hotels operate better than how our mums run the households? We are never around when families need us.

Does it really please us so much that we get to jump queue because of our frequent flyer status and that we get to snug at the holiday-makers wasting time queuing to do their check in? Does it really make us feel happier that we are shopping along  different streets in Asia while our peers are busy setting up families, getting themselves into debts, working their asses to pay off their loans and hence cannot afford our kind of live style?

Deep down most of us fear commitments. If we are really frank with ourselves, are frequent travelers all running away from something at home?

Food for thought, maybe over wanton mee in some cha-chan-ting in TST in HK later?

Today’s luck number is 2645

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Changi Airport, Singapore, Up in the air

Do not ask me why 2645 because I will be reluctant to tell. Because you will bash me up if I say the truth.

Anyway, I did the usual at the airport, i.e. check in early and went shopping. I usually spend enough to exchange for a voucher to be used in the airport, enough for me to exchange for a free breakfast.

So it did not come to me as a surprise when the sales girl handed me my receipt with a token and directed me to the centre area to redeem my voucher. What surprised me was I WAS HANDED A STACK OF FIVE VOUCHERS INSTEAD OF ONE (which is equivalent to SGD 25). I was so shocked, I exclaimed right at the counter, ‘ How come so many? Not one only meh?’

I got a reasonable and satisfactory answer but its censored cause you will beat me up if I were to type it out here.

Five vouchers for SGD 25 weren’t a lot for a shopaholic. What bothered me was I had already finished my shopping, I merely wanted to be a cheapo, to get a SGD 5 voucher to exchange for my morning coffee.

I decided to have my morning dose of caffeine first because while working out how to utilize the remaining vouchers.

I always wanted to buy a samsonite back pack. I always thought there was a samsonite shop within the terminal but as all shopaholic knows, things are somehow never there when you want to buy it.

So there was plan B. I walked to the cosmetic shop with the remaining vouchers in hand and asked for a bottle of tinted sun block. The lady, saw me holding my vouchers in hand, told me, ‘Ma’am, you can only use one voucher per receipt.’

Me: What? But I have a stack of them?

And so, there was plan C. I walked into Watsons because I was running out of time. I decided no liquids since they are heavy and requires ‘secured’ packaging.

Guess what I bought?

.

.

.

.

.

4 packs of sanitary pads at SGD 5 per pack!

I am such an ass.

My BalmiAn Trench Coat

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Up in the air

I bought a Balmian leather trench coat during my last vacation in Tokyo. [You can read about it here]

I brought it along with me this trip and on the flight to Xiamen got the air stewardess to hang it up for me as usual.

About 15 minutes before landing, an air stewardess handed me my jacket. But I did not take note which stewardess did it thou. Obviously the story does not end here.

A few minutes passed and a stewardess came up to me:

Stewardess (S): Mdm, can I know how you get your jacket?

ME: huh, someone passed to me?

S: Oh I mean where did you buy your jacket from”?

ME: Japan!

S: Its a really nice jacket. A lot of passengers pass us their jackets from brands like Marc Jacobs jackets and told us they got it in Shenzhen.

ME: But you do not know if you are buying the real thing in Shenzhen?

S: Ya (with an embarrassed smile)

So, a lot of Singaporeans are wearing fake goods huh?

Looks like my trench coat will be a good conversation starter with the air stewardesses now =P

The differences between SQ and SILKair

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Up in the air

I am very embarrassed to announce that THIS is the first time I am taking SILKAIR. I am very apprehensive because I am a spoilt brat, spoilt by none other than SQ. So spoilt that I no longer dare to travel on any other airlines.

I made a list of difference between the 2 sister airlines:

1. Baggage allowance.

We all know this is always explicitly stated as 20KG on the electronic air tickets. But we also know that we can test the limits with certain airlines, in particular SQ. You will need to check in near 30KG onto a SQ flight before you will receive a gentle warning from the staff at the check-in counter.

The max limit you can push for on Silkair is 25KG. I checked in 26.7KG. I was lucky enough to be let off with a friendly warning and a gentle reminder that the MAX, MAX I can bring on is 25kg, the airline has the rights to charge me for the additional 2KG I checked in. But lady behind the check-in counter say she can waive it for me this time.

If you want to try this yourself, please remember to SMILE and maintain a friendly disposition. And it does help when you are a frequent traveler with SQ.

2. Newspapers

We all know SQ will place all the available newspapers just outside the door of the aircraft. You are suppose to choose and pick what ever you fancy.

This is not the same for Silkair.

Newspapers will only be distributed after all passengers are seated. I asked for Business Times  twice, after the second time, the air stewardess told me they have ran out of Business Times… haiz….

3. No Hot Towels

Yes, no hot towels are distributed. Which means I can use my wipe off cleanser and do my own DIY facial during take-offs.

4. Safety concern

I am a bit disturbed by this difference. During take-offs, some passenger sitting by the window actually had their window shades DOWN. Another passenger 3 seats in front of me actually lowered his back-rest. This is definitely unheard of on SQ!

Do you know why the sun screen are to be lifted during take-offs? One version I heard was so that there will be eye-witness in the event of an accident. Morbid right?

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