Singapore Airlines London-Singapore-Melbourne

[Strawberry Muppet]

Part I

 

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

 

Flight: SQ321

 

Date: Wednesday 26th August 2009

 

Aircraft: Airbus 380-800

 

Departure time: 22:05 BST

 

Arrival time: 17:55 (+1) BST +7

 

Distance: 6761 miles

 

Welcome to another of my Singapore Airlines trip reports. This report is of my second visit to Australia this year and includes my penultimate flight aboard SIA's Boeing 747-400, my favourite SIA aircraft, currently being phased out of the SIA fleet. :frown:

 

The trip starts at Heathrow's Terminal 3 where I arrived in good time for Flight SQ321. I checked in my case through to MEL and received my boarding passes for both sectors. The check-in agent was superb; she was welcoming and friendly - maybe it's my unique charm lol?!

 

I lingered in the SIA SilverKris lounge before making my way to gate 7 to board my flight. It was about 9.40pm and everyone had boarded - I was the last passenger and not for the first time. Upon entering the aircraft I was greeted by name and welcomed onboard. Once settled into my seat - 48D - in the economy cabin on the main deck hot towels were brought round. On SIA you get lovely hot towels no matter which class you're flying in.

 

The captain made an announcement advising due to congestion at LHR the estimated take-off time would be 22:33. Actual take-off was at 22:38 and the estimated flight time was 12hrs 15mins. Tonight's flight wasn't full at all, I guess around 70% load in economy. I had an excellent seat with ample legroom. There is no seat in front due to the emergency hatch for the crew bunks below. Seat 48E next to me was vacant and I made full use of the seatback adjacent. The armrest next to 48E is movable and I was able to spread out and enjoy the extra space, none of which is possible if you are in an emergency exit seat.

 

 

 

 

 

The cabin crew offered juice, beer and wine after take-off before supper service commenced. The menu for tonight's flight is:

 

supper LONDON TO SINGAPORE

 

appetiser

 

Smoked ham with vegetable & couscous salad

 

main courses

 

Roast beef served with tomato herb sauce, buttered vegetables and mashed potato

 

or

 

Indian tandoori chicken, mixed vegetables curry and pilaff rice with almonds

 

or

 

Chinese style sweet and sour prawns served with selected vegetables and steamed rice

 

cheese

 

Cheese and crackers

 

dessert

 

Ice cream

 

from the bakery

 

Roll and butter

 

hot beverages

 

Coffee-Tea

 

The couscous and ham was nice enough. I opted for the sweet and sour prawns which tasted far too vinegary.

 

 

The rice was beautiful though. I love rice. I need rice. It's my staple diet where I originally come from, Vietnam, and I eat it almost every day. The rice onboard was as good as it gets at 38,000 ft. Not sticky, not dry, not hard. Almost as perfect as the rice I cook! I said almost. The SIA rice was much, much better than some of the rice you can find in some Chinese restaurants in London Chinatown. Sometimes, it's an embarrassment to eat rice in Chinatown. I had eaten before the flight (one banana in the lounge) and I didn't want to overeat onboard - something which is easily done when flying SIA. I passed on the bread roll (no need for extra carbs, the rice provided plenty), cheese and crackers (no need for extra fat and salt), and also the ice-cream (too much sugar).

 

Throughout the flight I counted how many juice/water runs were made after supper and before breakfast. Five! The cabin crew plyed the cabin five times offering juice and water in the space of 7 hours. And I was asleep for two hours during that time so it could have been more! That's SIA service for you. I didn't have the need to press the call button at any time during the flight.

 

Snack service comprised of savoury sandwiches, peanuts, chocolate bars, crisps and little bags of fresh fruit. I went for the healthy option - a bag of fresh apple slices and grapes. Just the perfect snack! Give me fresh fruit anytime!

 

At 08:20 am UK time or 3.20pm SIN time the cabin was awakened with refreshing hot towels and breakfast was served shortly after.

 

before touch-down LONDON TO SINGAPORE

 

fruit

 

Sliced fresh fruit

 

light starter

 

Fruit yoghurt

 

Wholesome beginnings

 

Fried rice with char siew, shrimps and vegetables

 

or

 

Vegetable fritatta served with chicken sausage, baked bean (plural!) and hash brown potato

 

from the bakery

 

Breakfast roll

 

Butter - Fruit preserve

 

hot beverages

 

Coffee - Tea

 

I was pleased to see yet more rice on the breakfast menu rather than the usual stir-fried noodles and I was not disappointed. Again I passed on the bread roll. To me, it is a bit odd to eat bread with fried rice. Or any rice for that matter. Eating bread with rice is like eating ice-cream with custard, is it not?

 

 

Flight SQ321 touched down at Changi at exactly 6pm local time after a flight of 12hrs 22mins. I had exactly 3hrs in my favourite airport before my onward flight to MEL on SQ227 departing at 9pm. Even though SQ227 departs from T3 where I had arrived at I made my way over to T2 to use the SilverKris First Class lounge there as I much prefer the tranquility in the T2 lounges over the more busy T3 lounges, particuarly when it comes to evening departures.

 

Overall, another excellent flight with SIA. The cabin crew were attentive, the toilets stayed fresh right to the end of the flight, the food was good (actually, it was better than the food I had in June when I flew from London to Bangkok with SIA in economy class) and flight was relatively peaceful despite a couple of babies seated in my section of the cabin.

 

Stay tuned for Part II.

 

 

[Tim E]

Thanks Strawberry Muppet..enjoyed your trip report and the pics immensely..and you will be pleased to know I have had rice for dinner last 6 days!

 

Can you tell me more re the crew bunks below? Do they lift the hatch up and have bunks under the floor space? Did any use this on the trip ? Tim :)

 

 

[Strawberry Muppet]

Can you tell me more re the crew bunks below? Do they lift the hatch up and have bunks under the floor space? Did any use this on the trip ? Tim :)

I didn't see any of the cabin crew lifting the hatch up and popping their heads out lol! :biggrin:

 

No, I believe it's just an escape hatch for the crew bunks below deck. On a long flight such as LHR-SIN each cabin crew member will have 4 hrs rest. On shorter flights such as SIN-SYD the crew do not receive official rest periods so I don't think the bunks are used on the shorter flights. Also, on the longer overnight flights each A380 will have two pilots and two first officers so crew bunks are essential.

 

 

[Strawberry Muppet]

Part II

 

Sector 2: Singapore Changi (SIN) - Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL)

 

Flight: SQ227

 

Date: Thursday 27th August 2009

 

Aircraft: Boeing 747-400 9V-SPE

 

Departure time: 21:00

 

Arrival time: 06:10 (+1) AEST

 

Distance: 3752 miles

 

 

9V-SPE

 

Flight SQ227 was scheduled to depart from Gate B10, the furthest B gate from the lounges. 9V-SPE is the same aircraft which carried me from SIN-SYD back in March. My seat today is 4F in the nose of the jumbo. This time, however, I noticed some subtle changes to the First Class cabin. Gone are the old satin headrest covers, small cushions, pillows and duvets. In comes the new Givenchy designed pillows and duvets.

 

I had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice before the doors closed and the aircraft pushed back on time. At 21:14 SQ227 rotated into the Singaporean night sky. After take-off drinks and warm nuts were served prior to dinner. I had a glass of water even though I would much rather have had a glass of the Dom Perignon. But I don't drink on flights where sleep is important to me. In any case I don't like to drink champagne alone...so I sipped on my water and nibbled on my nuts whilst perusing the menu, which was as follows:-

 

dinner FROM SINGAPORE TO MELBOURNE

 

Create your gastronomic experience from our selection of tantalising options

 

APPETISERS

 

Chilled malossal caviar

 

With melba toast and condiments

 

Duckliver terrine and smoked duck breast with apple fennel salad

 

Peach compote and balsamic vinaigrette

 

SOUPS

 

Oriental style crabmeat and sweetcorn soup

 

Sundried tomato-flavoured beef consomme

 

SALAD

 

Butter lettuce heart with baby cress and cherry tomato

 

Balsamic and virgin olive oil dressing

 

Singapore dressing infused in shallot oil with sambal, lime and honey

 

MAIN COURSES

 

Click here for details

 

DESSERTS

 

Warm peach frangipane flan with strawberry ice cream and fresh berries

 

CHEESES

 

Selection of brie, mild cheddar, true blue and smokey pepper cheeses served with garnishes

 

FRUITS

 

Fresh fruits in season

 

FINALE

 

A selection of gourmet coffees & fine teas served with pralines

 

I decided to save my main course for breakfast instead of having it for dinner, since there was no chance of me stuffing my face before going to sleep. I started with the usual caviar – I simply can’t resist it – followed by the crabmeat and sweetcorn soup. This was very nice indeed. The salad which came next was nothing exciting. A few rocket leaves here and there would have livened it up. The dessert was the best part of the meal. The tart was lovely and warm and delicious. I’m not a cheese eater so I always skip this course and end my meal with fresh fruit. The fruit basket was brought over to my seat enabling me to pick whatever I fancied. Peaches, apples, lychees, melon, strawberries and more! I think next time I will have to leave more room for more fresh fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You gorgeous strawberry!!!

 

 

 

At 01:15 AEST I fell asleep for little over 2 hours waking up at around 03:30 AEST.

 

 

 

I had my lobster noodles for breakfast at 04:00 AEST even though I wasn’t that hungry. The dumplings were delicious and the vegetables perfectly cooked.

 

 

The leading stewardess (wearing the green kebaya) was professional, courteous and not a lot more. She delivered what was expected and kept talking to a minimum. She made no attempt to engage in conversation with any of the other passengers including myself. So I went out of the First Class cabin in search of someone I could chat to. It didn’t take me long to find the delightful Chief Stewardess (wearing the red kebaya) who was working the business class section. She immediately offered me a drink and then we had a wonderful 20 minute chat in the confines of the business class galley, like we were long lost friends, even though we had never met before! Damn! If only she’d been working in First Class rather than Miss Non Chatterbox!

 

As the crew began to prepare for arrival I returned to my seat with about 40 minutes to go before landing. Just before touchdown, the lovely Chief Stewardess popped over to my seat to thank me and say good bye. I told her it was a pleasure talking to her and I hoped she would get a chance to visit London again in the not too distant future (she’s yet to train to fly the A380). By the way, she’s the first SIA stewardess to tell me her age – and I never asked! Let’s just say she looks amazing for her age.

 

SQ227 touched down at Tullamarine at exactly 05:30 in the morning on Friday 28th August. In conclusion, I much prefer the late evening departures to MEL/SYD which are timed to leave around midnight, give or take half an hour or so. This gives me the opportunity to sleep as much as possible after take-off and wake up to a nice breakfast. The problem with flight SQ227 is that there isn’t much time to do any sleeping after dinner and the arrival time is just silly. Immigration, customs and quarantine were all a breeze and I was outside by the taxi rank in the chilly Melbourne air at 6am.

 

 

Goodies galore! I always give away my in-flight goodies

 

 

 

 

[Guest OzChris]

Great reports as usual - love the incorporated images :]

 

 

[cavalier]

Thanks for letting us all know about your recent journey,it was very imformative & the pictures were also a nice.

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Mate, an awesome read. Always a pleasure reading your trip reports. Keep them coming! I would have to say Changi is also my favourite airport. Again, thanks for sharing. Always feel like I am there with your trip reports.

 

 

[Strawberry Muppet]

Thank you for reading my trip reports guys and greetings from the Air New Zealand Koru Lounge here at Melbourne Tullamarine where I am waiting to depart Australia on SQ228 to SIN.

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Looking forward to the next trip report

 

 

[Guest Chainsaw]

You have the knack got doing great reports Straw! Great stuff.