Note: 3 is average
Lounge: 1.5/5 (Concordia Premier Lounge in Surabaya – Basic lounge with chairs; no windows; cold shower; mediocre foods)
Seat: 5/5 (Best seat I’ve ever experienced for a narrow-body aircraft; can be converted to a fully-flat bed)
Entertainment: 5/5 (Plenty of movies to select)
Service: 4/5 (Outstanding; the deduction is due to the departure delay)
Food and beverages: 5/5 (Delicious, nothing to fault)
Pros:
- Best seat for a narrow-body aircraft
- Outstanding service from the flight attendants
- Delicious dinner on board
Cons:
- Basic lounge (the only lounge available in the international terminal in Surabaya)
- The plane departed 25 minutes late
Long review
Singapore Airlines SQ929 was scheduled to depart Surabaya at 18:40 and to arrive in Singapore at 21:55 with a total duration of 2 hours and 15 minutes. The plane departed 25 minutes late because of its late arrival. The actual departure time was 19:05 for an arrival in Singapore at 22:10. Researching past departure times for this flight, it seems that it is fairly common for this flight to be delayed for 20-30 minutes.
My family and I arrived at the international terminal of Juanda International Airport around 2.5 hours before our scheduled departure time. With hindsight, perhaps we could have arrived a bit later. When we arrived, there was no queue at the business class check-in desk and there was only a very short line in the economy class. Clearing customs and passing security were quick because literally we were the only ones there at that time.
We went directly to the lounge because the terminal seemed rather deserted. As far as I know, Concordia Premier Lounge is the only lounge in the international terminal. The design of the entrance to the lounge is quite pleasant with a unique-looking wall surrounding the front desk.
Entering the lounge, there is a large decorative column in the middle. A round table surrounds this column and the main dishes and juice were served here. The main dishes included mixed veggies, butter chickens, Hong Kong fried noodle, Hong Kong fried rice, steamed rice, cereals, and some bread. There were two more food stations, in which one served fruit, steamed corns, and tea, and the other served minestrone. There is a bar at the end of the main lounge area where I could get cans of drinks and ordered coffee. I believe they do not serve alcoholic drinks though. Overall, the foods did not seem appetising and the taste was just so so. The green bean soup was perhaps the most reasonable dish. I did not eat much anyway because I wanted to enjoy my dinner on board.
Besides these, the lounge mainly consists of seating spaces with low tables and leather-looking chairs. We pick seats near a TV and the TV reception was rather poor. You can watch the short video below highlighting some aspects of the lounge.
The toilet and shower are located at the very end of the lounge. I actually gave the shower a go. One staff cleaned the shower before I used it and also gave me a towel. There was no hot water, which was shocking. There was no mirror either in the dry area. There was a massage service available in the lounge. My wife tried the half-an-hour foot massage, and she said it was quite good.
We went to the gate at the time instructed on our boarding passes. Due to the delay, we spent quite some time waiting there. Actually the passengers were still leaving the aircraft when we arrived at the gate.
Now let’s move on to the on-board experience. The business class cabin is arranged in 2 columns of 2-1-2 seat configuration with the aisle in between (10 seats in total). This arrangement gives 2 prime standalone (throne) seats available in this cabin. I actually sat in one of these seats, while my wife and daughter occupied the two seats in front. The flight attendants were welcoming and happily took our family photo. They also provided a gift to my daughter (a large Spiderman bag accessory). They actually apologised for not having another type of gift.
A welcome drink was offered, in which I ordered a glass of champagne. A menu was also provided in a seat pocket. You can see the menu content below. I ordered the Chilean seabass, Yenny (my wife) ordered bakmi goreng, and I pre-ordered the kid’s meal for Josie.
Dinner was served soon after the plane reached its cruising altitude. The prawn Caesar salad was a great entrée, while the raspberry bavarois was a delectable dessert. The highlight for me was the Chilean seabass. It was very delicious; one of the best airline dishes I have ever tried. Yenny and Josie also seemed to also enjoy their dishes.
After dinner, I also ordered a cup of rooibos tea to help me relax. Josie also had a short time to try the bed before we had to get ready for landing. I also managed to watch a random movie from the amazing entertainment system. The movie options were outstanding and the system itself was responsive.
For a short flight in business class, this was one of my best in-flight experiences. The glaring weakness was the lounge in Surabaya, although I acknowledge that Singapore Airlines perhaps could not do much on this since all airlines flying from the international terminal used this lounge. The delay was also unfortunate, and it seemed to be a fairly common occurrence for this route. Why couldn’t they change the departure to a slightly later time I wonder?
