I booked this flight earlier in the year when SQ restarted their flying schedule to Chongqing. I am headed to Chengdu but at that time they did not have the clearance to fly to Chengdu yet. Instead, I book flights to and from Chongqing. These are rather popular since they are only one flight a day and SQ uses the smallest 737-8 aircraft. I am quite excited to be back onboard the MAX RJ which I had fond memories about after trying previously on the way to Bali. I was heading to a conference in China with my partner and we decided to check out Chongqing too. The two cities are only about 1.5 hours away via China High-Speed Trains. I can also take the opportunity to check out and review the HSR. I have heard amazing things about it. I would not dwell too much on the hardware this time around since I have already reviewed it extensively on my previous Bali flight. You can find that review here. I paid 34,000 Krisflyer miles and 65.20 SGD in taxes for this ticket. I also tagged on an extra KUL – SIN flight prior for an additional 10.80 SGD which allows me to fly on SQ’s shortest business class flight. You can check out all my SQ premium cabin reviews here.
Checking In
I have already checked in at Kuala Lumpur and collected my boarding pass for the flight. My bags were also checked through to Chongqing. I did check an additional bag in Singapore. I had about a 7 hours transit in Changi which allows me to get some errands done. I got to the airport at around 5pm for the flight and spent most of my time at the SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 3.
Boarding Process
We were assigned gate A19. It is the worst gate ever and is far away from the lounge. Boarding started right on time at 7.50pm. I was the first to be onboard and managed to get some nice photos of the cabin. I was welcomed by the crew at the door and ushered over to my seat by the cabin crew. The economy class crew seems more friendly than the business class one. I will be seated in row 12. We got both the throne seats. These are not blocked for PPS members ahead.
The stewardess who was working in the business class came around to take meal orders and informed me that they would be doing a round of drinks and nuts before the dinner service. I was shocked to hear that the signature Shi Quan Wei Mei By Mr Zhu Jun meal from the inflight menu was unavailable. She just did an order for a couple before us. So in reality, SQ only loaded 2 meals for their signature recommended one? This is ridiculous. The crew also did not do any rationing. This was a full flight of 11 pax. Besides me, the two guys at the back wanted the meal too.
She was not making sense at all. Firstly, she says that she goes by elite status rather than seat number. Later she says she goes from front to back. But I saw her making meal reservations from the back first. So even if it goes by elite status, I asked her if the two people who chose before me were PPS, and she couldn’t answer. I can’t believe SQ catered just 2 sets for an 11 pax biz class cabin. If they can advertise the entire page introducing the signature menu for China flights, they should make sure that more passengers get to enjoy it. I have to say that after flying numerous times in a premium cabin for Singapore Airlines, this is still the very first time I did not get to have my preferred meal choice. This left a sour taste in my mouth at the start of the flight.
Singapore Airlines 737-8 MAX Regional Business Class
I shall not dwell too much on the hardware and the seats since I have reviewed this product extensively while flying to Bali. You can find that review over here. Naturally, the best seats for solo travellers would be the throne seats. These are so-called the “real” business class seats here with a window and direct aisle access. For couples or families, you can try the 2-2 configuration seat. I will go out of my way to avoid them when travelling alone. Imagine apologizing before heading to the toilet or others crossing over you when flying in business class. Here are some pictures.
The seat can be converted fully flat directly. These are found on the side of the console nearer to the aisle. As usual, on regional flights, there aren’t any additional turndown amenities or duvets. I always prefer a duvet material blanket and mattress topper for the bed. I wish SQ could improve on this. It can be tight around the knees when sleeping in the throne seats.
There is one toilet in the front of the cabin that is reserved exclusively for business class passengers. This is only used by the crew and business class pax. They are rather strict in enforcing this. The toilets are the main concern of this aircraft. It is way more cramped as compared to the wide bodies. You can still find it equipped with the usual Penhaligon amenities stocked in them.
Meal Service
As mentioned earlier, the meal service was a disaster. You can find the menu for the flight here. This flight comes with a full dinner meal service. After expressing my displeasure with how the meal orders were taken, the crew somehow scavenged up half a Shi Quan Wei Mei from the tech crew. The Side Dishes and Cold Appetizers will not be available. She acted super condescending and as if she was doing me a huge favour. I have a real question here, according to this particular crew, the pilots get to choose their meals in advance. I appreciate them offering their meals to passengers. The real issue is why pilots get to choose their meals ahead. To better satisfy every paying passenger? Isn’t it a better idea to load more meals of each choice so that passengers have more choices and a better chance of getting their preferred meal? The crew and pilots can then choose from the pool of meals remaining. Since when do staff choose meals before passengers?
According to my news, the crew are trained to ration the meals and not just give out all the same meals in the same row or first cabin. After take off drinks and nuts were offered right after levelling off. I got a glass of the 2020 Alvaro Palacios Remondo red wine which was great. The actual meal started about an hour after take off. It is another shocker that they do the dinner service via tray service. This is a flight of more than 4 hours! It should be a proper table service with tablecloth. I was offered the usual appetizer. The Hot Smoked Salmon Salad was served with new potatoes, pickled red onion, hard-boiled egg, black olives, and dijon herb dressing. I got the crackers and garlic bread to go with the meal. These were nicer than the salad.
I then had the main from the Chinese menu. It is unfortunate not to get the full meal as this was excellent. The Braised Pork Belly in Pickle Sauce was so delicious. It was flavourful and tender. This paired so well with the vegetables and the noodles. The egg noodle with spicy mushroom meat sauce was yummy. This is one of the best meals I had onboard.
For desserts, I got both the Chilled Orange-Scented Malva Nut Soup and fruits. They were decent and not too bad.
I wish that I could get the full Shi Quan Wei Mei menu to try. The side dish and appetizer seem delicious too.
Conclusion
I guess my novelty and interest in the 737 Max 8 RJ Business Class seats is over. Perhaps this is due to the lacklustre service onboard this flight and the subpar experience with the meals. The seats are also rough to sleep on, especially the throne seats. The space around the knees is very tight. You will not be able to move around easily. These seats will be found on a sub 3-hour flight. Anything more than this or if it requires lying flat, will be a struggle. I miss my fun Bali 737 Max 8 crew. Somehow, the crew on my short flights are always nicer and more fun. Singapore Airlines needs to do something about the way their meals are catered. I am not a fan of pre-selecting them in advance, especially when they are available on the inflight menu. There is a reason why there is a menu and choices. If not, they should just ask everyone to choose ahead or you get a standard choice onboard.
No point asking for chicken or fish when chicken is all you get!
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