Singapore Airlines London-Singapore-Sydney

[Strawberry Muppet]

Sector 1: London Heathrow (LHR) – Singapore Changi (SIN)

 

Flight: SQ319

 

Date: Saturday 21st March 2009

 

Aircraft: Boeing 747-400

 

Departure time: 18:15

 

Arrival time: 14:55 +1 (GMT+8)

 

Distance: 6761 miles

 

Firstly I’d like to apologise for some of the poor quality photos in my trip report. My camera sustained damage after being accidently dropped by someone and the focus does not work properly in low light.

 

I was due to fly to Australia in February but for personal reasons I had to delay my trip a month and I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to fly out until only a few days before departure when I booked my ticket.

 

After a busy morning I arrived at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 just before half past three in the afternoon and checked-in my case at one of the new SIA check-in counters located in Zone A, next to Virgin Atlantic. My seat was already pre-assigned; I had chosen 4A, a window seat at the rear of the First Class cabin. My onward boarding pass from SIN-SYD was also issued. I was travelling on a one-way award ticket to Australia (I would book my return trip back to the UK later whilst I was in Sydney) and I expected the check-in agent to ask me for my return or onward ticket/itinerary but that didn’t happen. My plan would have been to book an award ticket on Virgin Atlantic out of Sydney there and then but in the end I didn’t have to do that. As it was I wasn’t too sure exactly how long I would be in Australia.

 

Check-in completed and I was inside the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge by quarter to four. As usual, before I sit down to eat or relax, I like to book my haircut and a slot was available at 16:30. Perfect! Just time to grab a late lunch in the brasserie before my appointment. I was a little hungry and decided on the British beef casserole and dumplings followed by the steamed (or rather, in my case, microwaved) Belgian chocolate pudding washed down with a few glasses of fresh orange juice. Portions sizes were small which was good as I had a feast to look forward to onboard. I finished my late lunch with a cappuccino. They do make good cappuccinos in the Clubhouse.

 

 

SQ319 awaiting departure at LHR

 

Elizabeth cut my hair very nicely in the Bumble hair salon and we chatted along as she gave me my shampoo and cut. After a refreshing shower I left the lounge a little earlier than usual having spent only 90 minutes inside. Gate 7 was the departure gate and I was thankful it wasn’t too far a walk. I arrived at the gate about 20 minutes before departure and boarded what was to be my last ever SIA Boeing 747 flight from London. SIA has since replaced the last 747 flight with the Boeing 777-300 ER from the beginning of the Summer 2009 timetable. Currently SIA operates three daily departures from LHR-SIN utilising two A380 and one 777 aircraft.

 

I was a little dismayed to see a fully occupied cabin when I settled into my seat. Plus one crying baby. Never mind, I didn’t plan to sleep much on this sector anyway. I have a routine when flying from Europe to Australia via Asia. I like to sleep as little as possible on the first sector to Asia then crash out on the second sector to Australia. That way, I can arrive refreshed and ready for the 11 hour time difference between the UK and Sydney.

 

Flight SQ319 took off from runway 27R at exactly 18:40. Flight time today would be 12hrs and 7mins. Before the dinner service commenced I had a glass of the Dom Pérignon served with chicken satay sticks. Delicious. For dinner I booked the cook as I wanted to have the Cantonese roast duck with rice again which I had on my previous SQ319 flight last year.

 

Here is the menu on today’s flight:

 

 

 

 

To begin I had the caviar as usual followed by the double-boiled chicken soup with ginseng. The soup tasted very refreshing indeed. This was followed by the Caesar salad before my main course of duck and accompanied with another glass of the Dom vintage champagne. Dinner was finished off with a cup of Earl Grey tea and some pralines. I didn’t have any room for dessert, I felt so stuffed! Why do they feed you so much in First Class?!!!

 

 

Cantonese roast duck with steamed rice

 

After dinner, at about half past nine London time, I decided to have a little snooze – all that food sure makes you sleepy! My seat was converted into a very inviting bed whilst I was in the washroom brushing my teeth and changing into my Givenchy pyjamas. Everyone else in the cabin was settling down for the night but I didn’t want to sleep for hours on end. I awoke as we flew over the Caspian Sea after a very quick nap of only an hour and a half at 23:10 GMT (07:10 in SIN). It was time to get up in Singapore anyway! And time for my morning caffeine fix! A cappuccino was the order of the day. I entertained myself with KrisWorld on-demand in-flight entertainment and a selection of onboard magazines until breakfast was served an hour and forty-five mins prior to landing.

 

 

 

For breakfast I had the fresh fruit, a croissant and a bowl of the Thai style rice porridge (congee) with sliced pork and pork meatball, fried garlic and pickled vegetable. The congee was nice but the meatballs were simply massive! The crew did their job well despite a full cabin with everyone expecting to be wined and dined upon. Still, the service was excellent, if less attentive than on previous flights. At 14:47 local time we touched down at Changi and I was quickly off the aircraft and into the city for a short visit before my onward flight to Sydney just after midnight.

 

 

Rice congee with pork and pork meatballs

 

 

On approach to Changi

 

 

A380 at Changi

 

Sector 2: Singapore Changi (SIN) – Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD)

 

Flight: SQ221

 

Date: Monday 23rd March 2009

 

Aircraft: Boeing 747-400 9V-SPE

 

Departure time: 00:30 (03:30 AEDT)

 

Arrival time: 11:00 AEDT

 

Distance: 3912 miles

 

I arrived back at the airport a few hours before my flight and had a light dinner of yellow cucumber and chicken broth, sweet and sour pork with rice, and fresh fruit in the SilverKris First Class lounge at T2. A quick shower and then I headed over to T3 to board my flight. I was hoping to be the only passenger in First Class but my hopes were dashed when I saw 2A occupied. Still, with ten unoccupied seats in the cabin it should make for a nice and quiet flight. I was welcomed onboard and immediately offered assistance to stow my carry on. With only a small backpack and a few carrier bags I declined and stowed my bags on the floor under the LCD monitor. The lovely leading stewardess asked me if I wanted to sit in any of the unoccupied seats but I said I was happy with my assigned seat, which was again 4A. I was offered a drink and asked only for a glass of water (I had already brushed my teeth prior to boarding).

 

After the usual amenities were distributed I was asked if I would like my meal served shortly after take-off or before landing. SQ221 is a sleeper service and there is only one meal served. Naturally, at this late time of departure, having had dinner earlier already, I didn’t want to eat so asked for breakfast to be served as late as possible. I just wanted to sleep straight after take-off and declined any orders for drinks after take-off. We pushed back at 00:28 and exactly 15 minutes later took off from runway 02L. Passenger 2A also opted to sleep immediately after take-off and by 01:00 I was tucked up in bed and the lights were out. I quickly fell asleep as I was very tired from being awake for so long on my earlier flight from London and going into Singapore for the evening.

 

I woke up as we flew 196km north of Coober Pedy, SA, after a most refreshing night’s sleep. The time was 08:15 ACDT (08:45 Sydney time). I had just under 5hrs sleep and felt most refreshed. And it was time for breakfast! The crew noticed I had woken up and immediately offered me a drink. I asked for a cappuccino. It came with a lovely hot towel. Breakfast would be served about 2 hrs before landing anyway and I had awoken as the crew were preparing to serve. Good timing I thought!

 

 

Breakfast was served at 09:00 Sydney time as we flew over the state of South Australia heading for New South Wales. The sun was shining brightly and I looked forward to arriving back in Sydney, the place where I used to live and know so well. During breakfast I took the opportunity to chat to the crew, who were all simply fantastic. The leading stewardess explained to me that this flight used to have two meal services in First Class but because of the scheduled departure time and flight duration it was better to serve only one meal. I couldn’t agree more. Some people would like to eat twice but for me, one meal is just fine. I’ve taken SQ231 in economy class before and always skipped the refreshment service after take-off in order to maximise sleep time and wake up to a nice hot breakfast.

 

For the menu

 

So on to breakfast. What a treat! I had fresh fruit to begin and chose the dim sum selection as well as a bowl of the Thai rice congee which I had just had on my previous flight. This time the meatballs were smaller and easier to eat. The food was outstanding and very well presented and I finished every single morsel. I declined the croissants and bread. More cappuccinos, Earl Grey tea and orange juice and I was very satisfied indeed. I chatted some more with the flight crew and we talked a lot about aviation and aircraft and, of course SIA!

 

 

Strawberry!

 

 

Dim sum

 

 

Rice congee with pork and pork meatballs (again)

 

 

Seat 4A

 

At 10:28 we began our descent into Kingsford Smith. Coming in to land over Botany Bay we touched down at 10:52 local time after a flight time of 7hrs and 9 mins. I thanked the crew before disembarking and made my way to Customs. My passport was stamped without a single word uttered or even an acknowledgment or smile. Quarantine decided to give me a drugs screening so I had to have my case emptied and x-rayed before I was allowed on my way. Exactly the same thing happened to me when I arrived at SYD last year so I wasn’t in the least surprised. Anyway, the sun was shining and it was a lovely warm morning to arrive in Sydney. I felt refreshed and did not feel at all sleepy until late in the evening. Overall, another excellent First Class flight with my favourite airline, Singapore Airlines.

 

 

 

 

Finally some random shots taken in Sydney:

 

 

Hyde Park from the Sheraton Executive Lounge

 

 

Qantas A380 on finals over Sydenham railway station

 

 

One of my favourite Northern beaches; Collaroy

 

 

[Tim E]

Wow! What great report Strawberry Muppet! Loved all the detail ..made me feel that I flew part of the trip too. Thanks for sharing.

 

 

[Guest David C]

Thanks for sharing ... a great report , very comprehensive..

 

Dave C

 

 

[Guest Glenn]

Great report as always

 

 

[Guest Chainsaw]

Ahhhh good ol Collaroy, thats where I was brought up. I spent the 1st 25 years of my life there.

 

Nice report Straw :)