I am sitting at 30,000-something feet as I write this, cocooned in my flat bed on a Singapore Airlines A380 to Zurich. I feel like I am in a space capsule – I can now charge all my devices and yes, there’s now also On Air wifi.
There goes that last bastion of peace. I check it out but think twice before clicking the “pay” button. It’s an overnight flight – do I really need to check who’s sent me cute messages at this time of the night?
I resist but I notice the passenger next to me going for it. I recognize him – he’s someone on the speaker circuit, talks about customer service excellence, and I take a peek at what he’s working on. I have radar vision, accustomed to seeing in inflight light.
It’s a presentation and I see him cutting and pasting. Good job, if you can get it – professional speaker. Get to fly business class and get to cut and paste, and can afford inflight wifi. I wonder what he thinks about SIA’s customer service but from the way the girls are fawning over him, addressing him by name, I am sure he has no complaints.
I can’t help but compare this A380 business class seat with the Emirates’ version which I had the chance to try just last week. What I like about the latter is the seat, which also folds out into a flat bed, has a (very) mini-bar on the right – so you have your own supply of water and soft drinks, no need to keep asking the crew.
“No alcohol?” asked a fellow road warrior when I told her about the mini-bar. “What’s the point?” I am not that fastidious, I guess.
Besides the small touches, there really isn’t much difference between the two airlines – both have great selection of entertainment, not much difference in the food and drink experience although Emirates seems to have a bigger Bistro Bar at the back of the aircraft. I also noticed the subtle mood lighting on the Emirates aircraft.
Service-wise, I know SIA and so it’s consistent – very predictable. Emirates, I like it that when you first get on, they say they have crew that can speak 20-something languages – that’s another little touch that’s different and reflects the global mix that makes up Dubai. The cabin staff are alright – there was nothing about the service element that stood out on this flight, neither was there one that was negative.
When I look at how my fellow passengers behaved inflight, you wonder what else we need. I am impressed by the male road warriors on this flight – they look like they’ve done it hundreds of times. First thing they do – go to bathroom and change to their own sleep gear. So men do wear pyjamas. Me, I am checking out the movies and duty-free shopping and no, I don’t bring sleep gear.
On-ground experience, SIA is better though. Changi works like a dream. The Dubai airport has a lot to do before it can become a Changi, even if Emirates has its own terminal. I found it confusing and not as user-friendly but then maybe that’s because I am more used to Changi and not Dubai. My Emirates Marhaba meet-and-greet service got messed up but I have to give credit to the guy manning the Marriott counter – he was as cool as a cucumber handling three very tired customers waiting for transfers to the hotel at 2am.
I know airlines make a big fuss about customer experience but really within the confines of the aluminium tube in the sky, it’s rather hard to differentiate – aircraft are made by one or two companies, aircraft seats by a handful, inflight entertainment sourced from a small pool, duty-free shopping offers mainly the same brands and products. The rest – the airport, customs and immigration – they don’t control. (Some airports are trying to get around that by introducing their VIP services like the one I experienced in Schipol last November but how many people can afford to pay for that exclusive service that whisks you from aircraft to lounge to hotel.)
You can play with the cabin design a little bit – I flew with United Airlines business class last year to Honolulu via Narita and I am not sure of those seats that face each other and if you have one that’s facing the opposite direction of the flight path, it can be rather unnerving.
So really the only differentiator is in the human element, the loyalty programme and, oh yes, price.
The airline that gets all three right wins, I reckon – the rest, like the mini-bar, are nice-to-have.
