Having visited the American Express Centurion Lounge, as well as the United Club and KLM Crown Lounges, I made my way to Gate D1 at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport for my flight on Singapore Airlines.
Flight SQ51 used to operate the service from Houston to Singapore via Moscow, but has since used Manchester as the pitstop for a couple of years already.
At the gate, there is a dedicated priority waiting and boarding area reserved for Business Class and PPS Club passengers, which was separate from the boarding area for KrisFlyer Elite Gold, Star Alliance Gold, and Premium Economy Class passengers.
Boarding commenced on time and Business Class passengers were called upon to board the aircraft first.
Having boarded the aircraft, I settled down right at the front of the aircraft in row 11. Once again I must emphasise that as much as possible, you should try to clinch the bulkhead row seats in Business Class as they provide an immense amount of space.
There would be both dinner and breakfast on this sector from Houston to Manchester.
As the rest of the passengers were in the process of boarding, the cabin crew served us a welcome drink and fresh hot towels.
The A350-900 has Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, providing passengers with direct aisle access from every seat. Note that there are no overhead compartments over the middle of the cabin, which gives the cabin a roomier feel.
Once the doors were closed, we were on our way and departed pretty much on schedule. The dinner service commenced once we reached our cruising altitude, starting with a tuna tataki Greek salad, with mesclun and balsamic dressing.
For the main course, I chose the spice rubbed beef fillet in chipotle steak sauce, served with sautéed spinach and potatoes. The beef was prepared close to perfection.
For dessert, I decided on the macadamia ice cream with chocolate sauce, a nice finale to the dinner service.
As we crossed the northeastern seaboard to cross the Atlantic, I decided to get some sleep. The 2013 Business Class seats convert to a fully lie-flat bed, which is perfect for long haul flights. The fluffy pillows and duvet provided were more than sufficient for a restful sleep.
I must’ve slept through most of the flight because when I woke up, the cabin crew were already preparing for the breakfast service. I probably slept more than what was required to adjust to the new time zone. Breakfast service started with a selection of sliced fresh fruits.
This was followed by some fruit yoghurt and a warm buttery croissant.
For the main course, I chose the stir fried pork in ginger and spring onion, served with Chinese vegetables and egg noodles. By now I was just craving for some Asian food as I had a fair share of Western cuisine the past couple of weeks.
At around 40 minutes to landing, the Captain provided us with the latest arrival information in Manchester before we commenced our descent. We touched down on schedule for the technical stop of just over an hour, before the flight continued on its onward sector to Singapore.
