Review of Singapore Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Singapore in First

This flight report is on my 18th birthday flight with Singapore Airlines in their First Class cabin. Check out the video version for a more detailed report, which also includes my return flight with Cathay Pacific in Business Class!
 
Hey guys, before starting today's flight report, please also check out my flight reviews on YouTube as Marco Polo Club Flyer and my flying shots on my Instagram at cxka_ken!
YouTube (Marco Polo Club Flyer):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY_bpEhIzqjh_x2hXdx390A
Instagram (cxka_ken):
https://www.instagram.com/cxka_ken/?hl=en

YouTube Vid for this flight:

A warm welcome from Hong Kong International Airport. As the Covid-19 situation was already evolving back in February 2020, the Hong Kong Airport was already very quiet. A number of flights have also been cancelled with hand sanitisers installed everywhere around the airport.

The check-in counters of Singapore Airlines are located in Aisle F. Due to Covid-19, Singapore Airlines has reduced the number of flights between Hong Kong and Singapore. And therefore, the check-in counters only open 3 hours before each flight departure, instead of being opened most of the time.

Getting into the restricted area (airside), the food court was also empty… It was really an exceptional sight that I had never seen before.

The Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge was located right next to the immigration area, right beside Gate 5.

The Lounge was separated into two parts - The First Class section and The Business Class Section. This is the Business Class section.

The First Class section is exclusive to First Class passengers and PPS Club Solitaire members. It is a small and segregated area with fewer seats and people to add to the privacy.

The Lounge Attendant welcomed me in with an a la carte dining menu, and I ordered the laksa noodles for lunch.A

As Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways both belong to the Star Alliance, being a First Class passenger on Singapore Airlines, I also had access to the Royal Orchid Lounge, which was located at the other end of the airport.

The Bridge, one the 4 Cathay Pacific Business Class lounges, was closed due to decreasing demand on flights.

HKIA was making use of the time with fewer passengers to refresh and refurbish the boarding gates. Gate 12 was installed with automatic boarding gates with facial recognition features.

My jet for the day, 9V-SWI was already parked at Gate 7, which was a stone's throwaway from the Singapore Airlines Lounge. The jet is in a special outfit - The Star Alliance livery.

Boarding onto the aircraft, the Inflight Supervisor welcomed me onboard and the flight attendant provided me with a Welcome Drink - Krug 2004 champagne, as well as a menu. Due to COVID-19, the menu wasn't placed in a leather case.

Many Cathay jets were parked around HKIA, what a sad sight :((((

Flying into the air, it was time for more bubble drinks - Krug 2004 and Dom Perignon.

The Singapore Airlines First Class cabin was a really mini one, with only one row of seat arranged in a 1-2-1 layout. There were only a total of 4 seats. Luckily, I was the only passenger in the cabin that day. The cabin did not feature any luggage bins and this made the cabin more spacious-looking. However, this also sacrifices storage space and the only place where you can place you baggages is under the ottoman.

BAD NEWS - Due to COVID-19, all meals for SQ were loaded in Singapore and no meals would be loaded by Hong Kong catering companies. She told me that as my booking was confirmed less than 24 hours before departure – my booking was made 18 hours beforehand – they did not have sufficient time to prepare and load a First Class meal, and instead I would be served a Business one onboard. I understand that airline operations are severely impacted by COVID-19, but I really wasn’t too happy with their arrangements as even after deducting 5 hours for the outbound flight from Singapore, it had over 12 hours to prepare the meal after receiving my booking. I would think that’s more than sufficient. Or alternatively, SQ could have stopped selling First Class tickets 24 hours before departure. 

Appetiser - Crabmeat salad with mango salsa and herb vinaigrette. 
It was my favourite dish of all. 

The meal continued with a bread basket, a Singapore chicken rice, fruits and cheese and a coffee cake. Most of the dishes tasted great. But still, as it wasn't a standard First Class meal, I wouldn't give a high mark in the scoring board…

Something impressive was that SQ provided turndown service on such a short flight. The linen and pillows made the bed really a comfortable one!

After snooping around the bed for a while, Ivy and her team came with a surprise!S

She and the entire team wished me a Happy Birthday and once again apologised for not having the right meal loaded.

And soon, we arrived at Singapore Changyi Airport just after I had finished my birthday cake. I was in great hurry when leaving the plane as I had to transit to Terminal 4 to catch my return flight with Cathay Pacific back to Hong Kong immediately after visiting the cockpit. 

In short, this fantastic SQ journey was a bittersweet experience. Bitter because I really was disappointed that I couldn’t try a First Class meal, but also sweet from the very impressive service provided by both the cabin crew onboard and the lounge attendant.