More evidence that SQ is the suck

I seriously think that SQ is cutting corners to make ends meet. I recall some time ago, SQ is a premium brandname among airlines. One had to be really rich to even think about travelling by SQ. The experience of travelling by SQ apparently made the price tag worth it.

But the coming of budget airlines, long-distance carriers and the strengthening of regional air hubs such as Bangkok made life difficult for SQ. SQ was lucky for years but increased competition from neighbouring airports e.g. Suvarnabhumi airport was slowly wilting away SQ's profit margin. And so the shake-up was inevitable. There was only so much SQ could offer on the safety and quality front. Sooner or later, the cold dollar and cent caught up with it. SQ's response was as inevitable as a Fann Wong movie nowadays. Predictable, ho-hum and a general crash-and-burn. In other words, I think SQ started to cut corners like an Indian prata shop. Hell, I think it cut a whole rectangle and triangle also, besides just corners.

I can't help but notice that SQ planes are getting rickety and old. You can see it in the seats and the general condition of the cabin. The entertainment system doesn't always work either. My colleague and I were given seats which the entertainment system didn't work. This is the second time on SQ that the inflight entertainment system was wonky for me. As compensation, we were given S$50 voucher to buy some duty-free stuff. No thanks.

Flying in an aging plane and wonky entertainment system (miraclously, my seat's entertainment worked after I grumbled and banged on it a few times - I subsequently returned the voucher) was pretty much bad enough - but I also had to deal with the crampness of SQ's economy class cabin. I am pretty sure that SQ economy seats offer the smallest leg space in the universe. Everytime I got into my SQ economy class seat, I am nicely wedged in with my knees glued to the seat infront.

And the best economy class seats? It was on Indian Airlines on my flight back to Bangkok from India. Some of the economy class seats were as wide as business class. Seriously, check out these economy class seats on Indian Airlines.

Those are my knees. It is like wow, my knees could finally breathe on the plane! I spent several minutes flexing my knees just to savour the sensation.

Time will tell whether SQ could survive the global economic slowdown. Already bad business decisions are catching up on SQ. I think I read a newspaper report that the all-business class direct flight from Singapore to New York which SQ foolishly established in favour of the economy class flight was barely 20% full. Served SQ right for taking the "elitist" view and treating economy class passengers like me badly. I had to transit in Frankfurt in a rickety SQ plane that could accurate be described as piss-poor and insufferable. Now SQ was bleeding on that "elitist" flight route everyday. You know what they say about retribution.

On a positive note, the food on SQ isn't too bad. But my taste buds have been pretty much mangled by Indian food the last few months so anything that is not "curried" tastes good. I had a few mouth-fulls of teriyaki fish from my colleague's lunch that was alright but I decided to just settle on a Asahi beer and a cup of cheap (and nasty) airline coffee. I generally hate Asahi beer but it was between Tiger and Asahi and given the choice, I will happily ditch my national beer together with my national airline.

I need to take a holiday. Or just sit down somewhere and have a quiet drink.