Thursday, February 28, 2013

To Seoul with Singapore Airlines Again
 [Singapore Airlines] SQ 15 SFO-ICN (San Francisco->Seoul/Incheon) trip report
 [싱가포르항공] SQ 15 샌프란시스코->서울/인천 탑승기

SQ 15 SFO-ICN (San Francisco->Seoul/Incheon)
DEP SFO 14:10 28 FEB 2013
ARR ICN 17:50 29 FEB 2013
Flight Duration: 11:40
Aircraft: B777-300ER


There's a reason why I always tend to select Singapore Airlines for my travel to Korea from West Coast.  It's the incomparable service provided by SQ economy class and the airline's attractive price. 
There are other airlines (United, Korean, and Asiana) that fly this route daily, but the Singapore Airlines offered the best price for the one-way ticket to Seoul at $370. No other airlines were able to match the price.
The morning of 28th day of February, my good friend gave me ride from Berkeley, CA to San Francisco Airport terminal. I checked into the SQ flight at noon and went straight for G-gates. The security line was packed with Asia-bound passengers on ANA and United flights leaving for Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, and other Far East destinations. 

 
The B744 on the left was bound for Seoul/Incheon. The right was bound for Tokyo/Narita.

The United B747 from Sydney just arrived. From G-gates you can see a lot of United activities, especially their B747s. Recently United moved all B747 operations to SFO, focusing on the Far East, Oceania, and European destinations from this airport.

G95 gate, where the same exact flight departed last year.

Gate panorama shot; you can see bits and pieces of Singapore Airlines B77W in the background.

The clean interior of the SQ B77W

To the left was me was a Beijing-bound United 747.


And the plane took off about 30 minutes later than scheduled.

I wanted to try the seafood from SQ catering, so I tried the fish. The cream went pretty well with the fish, which was very well cooked.

In-flight service scene

About 6-7 hours after take-off.

We were flying above Russia.
 

The ice-cold Russia land visible down below.


I had the curry chicken for lunch, which was served about 2 hours before landing. The smoked salmon salad was pretty good. The curry itself was very well seasoned and had a great texture.

The plane landed around 17:50 local time in Seoul-Incheon.
 
Taxiing to Concourse A after the Korean Air B747-400.

And the Emirates A380 that parked right next to my plane.
 I would eventually take one of these planes on my way from Dubai to New York/JFK.
(For Emirates A380 Trip Report click here).