It was my first time trying out the Premium Economy (PE) product on SQ and I was really excited. I managed to use miles to redeem a return trip from Singapore (SIN) to Dubai (DXB).

SQ 494 depart SIN 15:10 arrive DXB 18:25

SQ 495 depart DXB 20:00 arrive SIN 07:30 (+1)

It was really quiet at Terminal 3 when I went to check in for my flight. It was a few days before the announcement of Covid-19 being a pandemic, so many people had already postponed or cancelled their trip. For me, I decided to press on because I felt that UAE was a low-risk country and had fewer number of cases compared to Singapore.

Premium Economy customers could check in at the same row as the Business and First Class passengers. However, the hardcopy ticket was printed in white, with premium economy at the top. Our baggage was tagged with Priority label, the same for the Business class passengers.

I went to my favourite T2 lounge/ restaurant for the sashimi set meal using my Priority Pass before heading to the boarding gate at T3 B5. The skytrain provides a convenient transfer for passengers going between the terminals 1-3, except for T4 where you would need to clear immigration first before transferring to a shuttle bus.

At boarding gate B5, I was one of the last few passengers to clear the security check, but boarding had not started yet. The waiting area was not packed but about 60% full. There were Singapore families, couples and also Arab tourists returning home.

Being a PE passenger, I was the third group of people called for boarding. The friendly stewardess greeting me upon boarding and I walked past the business class seats before reaching the PE section. There were 28 seats in PE, arranged in a 2-4-2 arrangement. Seats were much wider and also had more legroom compared to Economy class. But the seats cannot be reclined fully to 180 degrees unlike in Biz. Singapore Airlines Premium Economy Class seats offer 19.5 inches of width, 38 inches of pitch and 8 inches of recline. The seats are well-padded and comfortable but there are no air vents installed to provide individual temperature control.

The plane took off at 3.20pm even though I didn’t see any queue forming at the runway. The staff then came round with hot towels and a snack. This time round, SQ had changed its snack to almonds and cashews, compared to the previous ones – peanuts. I do not take peanuts so this change is a better option for me. I also had a glass of champagne as an apperitif.

For lunch, I had ordered Book the Cook so mine was one of the first few meals in PE to be served. Explore the ‘Book the Cook’ menu & choose from a wide selection of meals up to 24 hours before your flight. I had seafood pasta in creamed tomato basil sauce. The pasta was dry but the portion for the seafood was quite generous. It was like all the sauce had dried up. I did not like the fried fish because there was too much batter and I could not taste any fish fillet. It would have been nice if shrimps and squid were used instead. For dessert, premium quality Haagen Dazs ice cream was served. It was fresh out of the freezer so it was quite hard to scoop at the beginning. I am glad SQ has metal teaspoons which make it easier to scoop the ice cream.

After lunch, there was duty free sales shopping. Then the cabin lights were dimmed for the passengers to rest. Around 5pm local time, we were served a light refreshment of Ciabatta with tuna mayonnaise and a hot beverage. Since I was not feeling hungry, I kept the Ciabatta sandwich for afterwards. This is too light for dinner too, so it would just serve to replenish my energy in the evening.

One hour later as the crew cleared our tray tables and prepared for landing, the plane started its descent into Dubai International Airport. It was evening time and I caught the sunset from the plane window. The familiar view of the sandy desert from afar, which then zoomed into modern buildings and residential areas packed tightly together.

The airport was not as busy as usual, though there were a number of other airlines parked at Terminal 1 of DXB. I cleared immigration within 20 minutes and proceeded to collect my baggage. Thanks to the priority tag, my check-in baggage was one of the first few bags on the carousel.

Now I shall move on to the return flight SQ 495. It was a rather eventful week as I was supposed to fly to Beirut, Lebanon but the return flight got cancelled. I was excited to do a flight review on MEA but I guess that will be for next time. I ended up spending my holidays in UAE. Then in the middle of the week, the Singapore government said that all travellers coming back after 12:00am 21 March from all countries have to serve a compulsory 14 day stay home notice. There was a frantic rush to change the flights but to no avail as the SQ hotline and email correspondence were all jammed. In the end, I had to take the original flight as planned on 21 March. I wasn’t alone as there were also a few other Singaporeans and also some Chinese tourists who were making use of Singapore as a stopover to go back home.

The DXB airport on 21 March was like a ghost town, with many airline counters closed. Most international flights had been suspended by then and even the national airline – Emirates was preparing to go on a 2 weeks no-fly suspension. I went straight to the Singapore Airlines counter and checked in within a few minutes. After getting my boarding pass, I went to clear immigration, took the skytrain to the satellite terminal and waited for my flight home.

I went to Ahlan Business class lounge under Priority Pass to have a shower and some dinner first. Since it was not a full flight, I only went to the gate around 7.40pm and boarding had only just begun.

The flight back home was even more empty than the one to Dubai. It was only 50% full, with most passengers in Economy class. This was the last scheduled flight out of Dubai for at least the next month as travel worldwide comes to a standstill. Unfortunately, we had a heavy thunderstorm which is rarely experienced in Dubai, so the take off was delayed by 1 hour. Upon reading the news the next day, there were even some hailstones experienced in other parts of UAE.

It was almost 10pm local time when dinner was served. I had beef goulash with Basmati rice under “Book the Cook”. It was prepared specially instead of the usual meals on board, a perk offered to First, Business and PE passengers.

The verdict? The beef was tough but the rice was fragrant. I realised that ordering beef on SQ flights is quite disappointing because the beef is not prepared medium style. They usually tend to be overcooked. Even for my Christmas flight in Biz class from Seoul to Singapore, I ordered beef steak and it was also unappetising. I had champagne to pair with my meal and the stewardess gladly refilled my glass. I must say that the service in PE is unparalleled in Business class.

I had a good sleep of around 4 hours after watching one movie. I really liked the noise-cancelling headphones provided by the airline, the same one used for Business class as well. Around 6.30am Singapore time, we were awoken by the crew and served with a continental breakfast. It consist of a sultana roll, hot beverage, yoghurt and juice.

Due to the late take off, our touch down timing was delayed by around 40 minutes. We landed just before 8am. Based on past flights, SQ494 usually lands at 7.10am if the flight took off on time. I wasn’t in a hurry to get home because I would have to be quarantined at home for 14 days. That’s all for my flight review for both SQ 494 and SQ 495.

The ICA officer serving the SHN seemed nonchalant. She just asked if I had read the notice, the penalties etc, took down my flight details and directed me to the automated passport control for locals.

This is probably my first and last trip of the year because judging from the situation, the virus seems to be getting out of hand, with many countries and territories affected. I was lucky to be able to travel overseas for one month, and what more with my favourite airline. Hope to be able to fly again soon!