<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>SIA's service not the best any more - the magic's missing
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->FOR as long as I have flown, Singapore Airlines has been my preferred airline. Whether I was headed to Asia or Europe or North America or Down Under, rarely did I choose another airline over SIA.
In a world that offers several carriers to any destination, my choice of airline has been dictated by three factors: safety, cost and service.
On the first, there is no fear - SIA has one of the world's best safety records and a reassuringly young fleet. An SIA officer put it best in a humble Asian city when my colleague looked around the half-empty cabin and asked why they used such a large aircraft: 'Well, madam, we do not have anything smaller or older.'
On the second factor, one is entitled to misgivings when SIA business class to London costs more than first class on a slightly lower-rated airline. However, all is well where I am - in economy class. Factor in the safety record and SIA's pricing comfortably fits my wallet.
On the third factor, any level of unhappiness would have been inconceivable a few years ago. Today, I would hesitate to argue for SIA if the debate is on customer service. Its service is not terrible - at least not yet - but it surely is not the best any longer, and it simply is not anywhere near the level it once was when every passenger walked off an SIA flight with an appreciative smile on his face.
Over the years, a languid complacency has set in.
The entry-to-exit graciousness that lit up tedious journeys, the eager attention to comfort and detail, the in-flight smiles that held genuine warmth - these and many other intangibles made SIA the industry's benchmark. The service star shone bright everywhere, as it did in Amsterdam when SIA ground staff shepherded us through one of the biggest airport jams I have ever been in.
In recent times, I have seen flies in the cabin (and bees), pillows with gaping covers, dandruff on the headrest, used tissues in the seat-pocket, inoperable entertainment systems and greasy toilets. I have also sat through endless reruns of SIA's outdated safety video. It is at least six years old.
Earlier this year, a few of us flew to Los Angeles and back on SIA. Two of us made a terrible mistake - we ordered special meals. We were severely punished by being forced to eat the same meal over and over on one of the world's longest flights. The strangest thing was that, except for the tiny identifying tags, his Muslim meal and my Hindu meal were exactly the same.
Stung, my family and I chose regular meals when we flew SIA's Singapore-Tokyo route, only to be confronted with a dilemma: The light meal before Bangkok and the later supper were pork dishes - at a time when Influenza A (H1N1) was raging. The option was Japanese food for which we have no liking. We chose to stay hungry.
Another dilemma awaited us on the return flight on the giant A380. This time, the meat was beef - and we do not eat beef. I fail to grasp how pork and beef can be termed 'international' when Hindus and Muslims - two large groups - do not eat them. Again, as the option was unfamiliar Japanese food, we went hungry.
What topped this was the flight attendant's refusal to serve us coffee. 'Can I get you some Oolong tea?' she asked. 'No,' my wife said, 'I don't even know what that is.'
'Then you have to wait,' she announced.
And wait we did until everything had been cleared and forgotten. It was only when I alerted a senior crew member just before the descent to Changi that the coffee appeared. It came on a business class tray as if that would make amends for the callously poor service.
The seats at the rear of the A-380 are not for the faint of heart. The rudder hydraulics are incredibly loud and grating - and a heavy whine accompanies you all the way to cruising altitude. When asked about it, a flight attendant nonchalantly replied that it was normal. Well, I am not sure it is, and these are reasons the magic of Singapore Airlines has faded for me.
Bobby Nair Chandrasekhar
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->FOR as long as I have flown, Singapore Airlines has been my preferred airline. Whether I was headed to Asia or Europe or North America or Down Under, rarely did I choose another airline over SIA.
In a world that offers several carriers to any destination, my choice of airline has been dictated by three factors: safety, cost and service.
On the first, there is no fear - SIA has one of the world's best safety records and a reassuringly young fleet. An SIA officer put it best in a humble Asian city when my colleague looked around the half-empty cabin and asked why they used such a large aircraft: 'Well, madam, we do not have anything smaller or older.'
On the second factor, one is entitled to misgivings when SIA business class to London costs more than first class on a slightly lower-rated airline. However, all is well where I am - in economy class. Factor in the safety record and SIA's pricing comfortably fits my wallet.
On the third factor, any level of unhappiness would have been inconceivable a few years ago. Today, I would hesitate to argue for SIA if the debate is on customer service. Its service is not terrible - at least not yet - but it surely is not the best any longer, and it simply is not anywhere near the level it once was when every passenger walked off an SIA flight with an appreciative smile on his face.
Over the years, a languid complacency has set in.
The entry-to-exit graciousness that lit up tedious journeys, the eager attention to comfort and detail, the in-flight smiles that held genuine warmth - these and many other intangibles made SIA the industry's benchmark. The service star shone bright everywhere, as it did in Amsterdam when SIA ground staff shepherded us through one of the biggest airport jams I have ever been in.
In recent times, I have seen flies in the cabin (and bees), pillows with gaping covers, dandruff on the headrest, used tissues in the seat-pocket, inoperable entertainment systems and greasy toilets. I have also sat through endless reruns of SIA's outdated safety video. It is at least six years old.
Earlier this year, a few of us flew to Los Angeles and back on SIA. Two of us made a terrible mistake - we ordered special meals. We were severely punished by being forced to eat the same meal over and over on one of the world's longest flights. The strangest thing was that, except for the tiny identifying tags, his Muslim meal and my Hindu meal were exactly the same.
Stung, my family and I chose regular meals when we flew SIA's Singapore-Tokyo route, only to be confronted with a dilemma: The light meal before Bangkok and the later supper were pork dishes - at a time when Influenza A (H1N1) was raging. The option was Japanese food for which we have no liking. We chose to stay hungry.
Another dilemma awaited us on the return flight on the giant A380. This time, the meat was beef - and we do not eat beef. I fail to grasp how pork and beef can be termed 'international' when Hindus and Muslims - two large groups - do not eat them. Again, as the option was unfamiliar Japanese food, we went hungry.
What topped this was the flight attendant's refusal to serve us coffee. 'Can I get you some Oolong tea?' she asked. 'No,' my wife said, 'I don't even know what that is.'
'Then you have to wait,' she announced.
And wait we did until everything had been cleared and forgotten. It was only when I alerted a senior crew member just before the descent to Changi that the coffee appeared. It came on a business class tray as if that would make amends for the callously poor service.
The seats at the rear of the A-380 are not for the faint of heart. The rudder hydraulics are incredibly loud and grating - and a heavy whine accompanies you all the way to cruising altitude. When asked about it, a flight attendant nonchalantly replied that it was normal. Well, I am not sure it is, and these are reasons the magic of Singapore Airlines has faded for me.
Bobby Nair Chandrasekhar
