Shanghai-Bound: how Singapore Airlines Managed our Missed Connection
Hello from Shanghai! I haven’t visited China since I was a kid. But between my parents wanting to go on a family trip and Singapore Airlines offering bargain A$750 return fares from Perth, the offer was too good to pass up.
How I Booked and Earned Points
We booked in September 2023 for travel at the end of May 2024. At this price point, we got an Economy Lite ticket with a 25kg baggage allowance. There’s no free seat selection, and absolutely no changes or cancellations permitted.
I added my Velocity Platinum membership and will earn 4,796 Velocity Points + 80 Status Credits overall. With Family Pooling, my wife’s earnings are also going to me, so I’ll pocket double that amount.
Visiting the Perth Silverkris Lounge
This was our first visit together to Singapore Airlines’ new SilverKris Lounge in Perth, and it didn’t disappoint.
A 3:30 am wake-up for SQ224 from Perth to Singapore is never fun, but the staff were cheerful and served up an excellent flat cappuccino adorned with the Singapore Airlines SilverKris logo.
Over at the open kitchen, highlights included Singapore-style kaya toast with soft-boiled egg, and a reuben sandwich.
SQ224 - Perth to Singapore
Unfortunately, Perth was in the midst of a disruptive thunderstorm, and our departure was delayed by an hour. The issue? Our transit in Singapore was also an hour, so it seemed inevitable that we’d miss the connection. But everything was on the one ticket, we we weren’t too concerned.
Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 787-10s have comfortable Economy seats in a 3-3-3 layout. I’ve never experienced any issues with the legroom in these seats. The inflight entertainment screens were large and content looked crisp on it.
For this morning flight, my wife wasn’t particularly taken with any of the default items on the menu. Instead, she decided to order a fruit platter special meal. Not only did she receive a comprehensive bowl of cut fruits, but the bread roll and yoghurt were replaced with even more fruits as well!
I stuck with the simple seafood egg noodles with shrimp, fish and leafy greens. This meal was absolutely fine as far as Economy breakfasts go, except it was notably missing the leafy greens.
Mid-way through the flight, I checked the Singapore Airlines app. It still works if you connect to the ‘KrisWorld’ onboard network, even if you don’t have an active internet plan.
I could see that we’d been booted onto the next flight to Shanghai, leaving around 4.5 hours later. I was impressed with the app as it let me choose new seats on the flight, so I moved us to an empty row.
Our Delayed Transit in Singapore
After we landed in Singapore, the cabin crew announced a long list of connecting flights (including ours) and asked those passengers to see ground staff. It turned out that six different flight connections had been impacted, and everyone on those had been rebooked.
Once again, the procedure here was flawless and a testament to Singapore Airlines. Local SATS staff set up a trestle table and had already printed out new boarding passes for everyone. We also received a S$15 lunch voucher each, valid at four outlets in Terminal 3.
With plenty of time to spare, we decided to quickly fill out the online Singapore arrivals form and go landside to Jewel for a roast meat lunch.
Because I booked this flight on my American Express Platinum Card, I’m also lodging a claim for the travel inconvenience cover. If all goes well, it should reimburse us for our lunch cost as the overall delay was over four hours.
Back in the terminal, we pooled our S$15 lunch credits to buy some single-origin compostable coffee capsules from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
SQ836 - Singapore to Shanghai
I was somewhat dreading our original connection, SQ832 to Shanghai, as it was a very busy flight with no hope of an empty middle seat.
But the situation couldn’t have been more different on SQ836. It was so empty that nearly every travelling party could have a spare seat or even row to themselves.
Singapore Airlines’ Economy dinner menu hit the right notes. The braised chicken was juicy and sweet on a bed of springy noodles. I had the herb-crusted fish, which came on a creamy bed of mash.
We landed in Shanghai just before midnight, ready for a week of delicious and authentic bites around the city. Overall, we can’t fault Singapore Airlines’ service, especially as passengers on the most budget fare the carrier offers.
If you don’t travel often, my advice for a smoother travel experience is to book connecting flights within the same itinerary wherever possible, as the airline is responsible for getting you onto the next flight.
Finally, always have your travel insurance PDS on hand, downloaded as a PDF file on your phone. You’ll never know when you might need it.
