We flew Singapore Airlines to US of A from India . To be precise from Chennai to San Francisco and back with flight change both ways at Changi airport in Singapore.We had done some preliminary research of the other airlines too but this one had higher customer approval ratings.
In the parlance of the the new age flyers, Economy is often known as cattle class.Some justification may be seen in that description when one surveys the boarding time scenario. Passengers in this class are herded towards the boarding gate like cattle through a checkpoint where each one is examined and scanned for carrying just one cabin baggage and a valid boarding pass . As the herd enters the aircraft they need to fall in line and walk past the superior class section to the cramped narrow aisle way into the economy class section where they start looking for their assigned seats. After finding it they manage to squeeze their usually overstuffed cabin baggage in an already usually overstuffed over head compartment before strapping themselves in their seat.These manoeuvres often block the progress of their fellow passengers who must wait patiently till the path is cleared. If there happens to be any irate passenger in the waiting line a scuffle could erupt if the passengers are a family and took too much time to settle down . I and my family did block the line but managed to keep the delay short and avoided such a possibility.
The space in front and sides of my seat , as I foresaw ,was cramped as I sat down and straitjacketed myself . I had very little space to move my limbs freely although the seats were cushioned and soft . As always the hand rest in this class had to be shared with one's neighbouring passenger who incidentally were no strangers to me. They were my own family members . The speaker socket and the control handset were all tucked around the inner part of my seat.Without the necessity to move this way or that I managed to get access to these .Thanks to my grand daughter ,seated on my left, who managed it for me.
The plight of an occupant of such a seat is best compared to that of a sardine stuffed in a can . A living human being however ,is more demanding than dead sardines and requires space, and lots of it, for real comfort but unfortunately today's airline economics is based on space conservation as priority. All others are secondary, although this is not spelt out in so many words.In simpler words, "They dare not throw away space generously at the going rate of economy airfares" - and remain flying. Comfort, therefore is compromised by re-interpreting it as minimum discomfort and that makes all the difference in defining the present day economy class . Increasing the size of the seat a few inches more and adding fancy devices like the footrest and including an extra item or two in the food menu, the economy becomes premium economy class with little or no added value at an extra cost , unless provided gratis by the airline itself, which incidentally they did for us for our return journey. Other airlines, I believe, are no different from this airline in this kind of space and seat management in this class.
To survive the cut throat competition more innovative measures are necessary to keep an airline flying. Singapore Airlines have devised a path breaking strategy in this direction admirably. They have unleashed a team of well trained flight crew inside the cabin . This unique team of select male and female members slim and trim in build and nimble in negotiating through the narrow aisle and row space and a polite to a fault and soft speaking voice often bend over backwards to please the passengers to make them feel at home and wanted in their aircraft. Over and above this first step they have added a choice menu of delicious sounding airline food and a huge range of flight entertainment material that can keep you awake on long haul flights ,that is , if you cannot manage your sleep in the cramped position . Hey presto ! They have broken some barrier and soon started flying far higher than their rivals with sky high reviews to boot.
Being a heavy set man, my own estimate of minimum discomfort level was far higher than that of the aircraft designers and this was a serious disadvantage for me .The tray table ,the kind that drops down from the seat in front and the retractable one that is drawn out from the hand rest never fail to rest on my belly at an inclined angle. During meal times the food tray needs to be held with my left hand to prevent it from slipping away while feeding myself with the right. it cannot be a comfortable position to enjoy any kind of food. One could probably do with an additional hand or two to hold on to the polythene / paper wrappers etc from flying all over the cabin while busy eating. Thanks to both my left and right helps they lent theirs . These are minor issues and turns major only to the oversized passenger concerned . An airline cannot be expected to look into this kind of individualistic problems,except perhaps suggest an upgrade to Business class.
As for the entertainment material ,they were insipid for me, probably because of my outdated preferences but quite a treat to the majority of my fellow passengers around me. Again an individualistic problem for which the airline cannot be blamed.In all fairness I must add they did have provision to add one's own entertainment material in the system .
Of the four stretches I flew from Chennai to San Francisco and back , the onward journey from Chennai to Singapore and there on to San Francisco was relatively less strenuous than the return journey. The stretch from San Francisco to Singapore was upgraded to premium economy by Singapore Airlines itself at no extra cost as mentioned above . I don't have much to rave about the premium economy as compared to the economy sections. The minimum discomfort level was probably higher than the economy class. Blame my bulky build I must remember not to forget I am unfit for cattle and start thinking of business for all my future flying plans. I should also not forget that all air lines follow equation between comfort and minimum discomfort and this could well be a hidden factor in classes other than economy too.
The flight to Chennai from Singapore, the last stretch , was memorable for the wrong reasons. It was an ageing aircraft. This was quite apparent when I took my seat because the tray table in front of me was quite clear of my belly and the space availability was also more than the other newer aircrafts we had flown earlier. My amateur deduction was confirmed when the plane took off with a resounding plane shattering noise and vibration that lasted for several minutes during and after take off .No one seemed to be concerned. Least of all the crew and everyone ignored it as if it was a normal phenomena. It could be due to a bad weather take off because weather did seem inclement even during mid flight. However the very same noise and vibration occurred during landing in Chennai where the environment appeared normal. Age perhaps was telling.
Catering in this flight was executed in a haphazard manner.Meal trolleys were absent and food trays were carried by hand by the crew member moving from galley to passengers several times and served at random order. The food was below par but we ignored both the service and the food quality. We were reaching home and I was looking forward to it more than anything else
The final hours of the flight was amusing. The pilot probably forgot to switch off the seatbelt sign after a brief period of turbulence during mid-flight and a steward who appeared to be a novice, prevented passengers from using the toilet pointing to the seat belt sign every time some one stood up looking towards the toilet. A few intrepid passengers defied his instructions when he was not looking and started walking towards the toilet. Several others followed suit and the line lengthened and remained so for the next one hour till the captain announced the flight was starting the descent. During this period one of the senior stewardess was kind enough to help my ageing wife skip the line to a toilet ,probably intended for the crew.
The incident of using an ageing aircraft, the haphazard meal service and the unending toilet queue with a trainee crew member who was learning his ropes is indicative of indifferent attitude to this particular flight. There could be a very good reason for this but who wants to know. Not me. But the airlines management probably know.
I have been flying economy and business since 1968 in various airlines in various parts of the world and the term cattle class was unknown or was non-existent those days. Economy those days could be compared to business today. I have no comments on the economics of airline operations then or now . I leave these to the experts to figure out the decline.
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