My Final Singapore Airlines 747 Flight: SQ228 MEL-SIN

[Strawberry Muppet]

From: Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL) - Singapore Changi (SIN)

 

Flight: SQ228

 

Date: Monday 7th September 2009

 

Aircraft: Boeing 747-400 9V-SPA

 

Departure time: 15:50

 

Arrival time: 21:40 (23:40 AEST)

 

Distance: 3742 miles

 

Springvale VIC 3171, is located about 15 miles southeast of Melbourne. It is one of many Melbourne suburbs with a large Vietnamese population. There is an abundance of Vietnamese restaurants, shopping malls, grocery stores and many other things Vietnamese here in Springvale. I was here on a short visit to spend some time catching up with my relatives, having already spent 6 days in Sydney the week before.

 

 

Springvale VIC 3171

 

 

Springvale VIC 3171

 

 

 

 

I woke up early on Monday and had a leisurely breakfast of toast and Weet-bix (my favourite Aussie cereal) with soya milk. My cousin Julie invited me for lunch in Springvale before going to the airport but I declined. I told her, basically, on SIA they feed you so much that it would be impossible to have lunch before flying AND be able to eat everything onboard - well, at least for me. So lunch was out. I had decided not to eat anything after breakfast before getting on that plane. She agreed it was a good idea!

 

I arrived at the SIA check-in desk at Tullamarine at exactly 2pm, 1hr 50mins before my scheduled departure time. The check-in agent was very pleasant and checked my case through to London Heathrow via Singapore Changi and Tokyo Narita. I would be flying over 13,000 miles from Australia to the UK! My boarding pass for my connecting ANA flight from Singapore to Tokyo was also issued - very good as it meant I didn't have to visit the transit desk in T2 on arrival in Changi.

 

 

After passport control and security I popped into the SIA SilverKris lounge, decided it was too small and made a hasty retreat to the large and spacious Air New Zealand Koru lounge in the basement of the terminal. There were hot and cold nibbles but I didn't eat or drink anything whilst I was here. About half an hour before departure I left the lounge and made my way to Gate 8 where the last passengers were boarding Flight SQ228.

 

 

9V-SPA

 

A familiar face greeted me as I entered the First Class cabin - it was Emily the Leading Stewardess. Emily displayed impeccable service on my flight, SQ231 SIN-SYD back in March and she also remembered me from that flight six months ago! I was really pleased to see her again! What a coincidence to bump into her on another 747 flight. We warmly greeted one another. I asked her if she was working the First Class cabin today and she replied that indeed she was. Well! I knew then and there that I was in for another superb flight. Emily displays genuine warmth and friendliness in her role as cabin crew and I can still remember how much I enjoyed my flight with her to Sydney earlier this year.

 

Let me introduce the cabin crew. In the First Class cabin today is In-Flight Supervisor (IFS) Ong Choon Boon, Leading Steward (LS) Heng Quee Yong "Tony" and, of course, the lovely Leading Stewardess (LSS) Teo Yoke Yin "Emily."

 

The first of many hot towels were offered as we prepared to pushback from the gate. I sipped my freshly squeezed orange juice as Emily came round the cabin with newspapers, magazines, menus, slippers, pyjamas and Salvatore Ferragamo washbags. Wow! She even remembered my pyjama size from my previous flight! The aircraft pushed back ahead of schedule at 3.42pm and taxied out to Runway 16. The 747 feels rather clumsy as it bumps along the tarmac, creaking and juddering, but once airborne it is magnificent and graceful as ever. At 4.02pm (2.02pm Singapore time), Flight SQ228 took off heading south towards Port Philip Bay before banking to the northwest and heading out towards the heart of Australia. The captain advised an estimated flight time today of 7hrs 10mins and an early arrival into Changi.

 

 

 

Banking over Melbourne suburbs

 

I had asked for a cup of Earl Grey tea after take-off. I've cut down my coffee consumption recently in favour of tea. I do love a refreshing cuppa. SIA has recently introduced this new Singaporean fresh loose tea onboard and I was keen to sample it again. Emily brought round the first of three cups of TWG Earl Grey tea, which I enjoyed very much, along with warm cashew nuts. She also asked me if I would prefer to have dinner now or later at 6pm Singapore time - 8pm AEST. SQ228 offers two meal servings in all classes - dinner and refreshment. Since it was only mid-afternoon Melbourne time and I was feeling peckish, not famished, I decided to have dinner at 8pm AEST and skip the refreshment service. There were three other passengers in First Class and they all decided to have dinner now rather than later.

 

But first, some gorgeous fresh fruit for me to snack on. What could be more healthier? The fresh fruit basket was brought round and I looked at all the gorgeous fruit with delight, longing to munch on them all. But I only selected a few fruits, as I didn't want the cabin crew to think I was too greedy. I was especially pleased to see some delicious mangosteens in the basket. However, the plastic knives provided, thanks to Australian government regulations, proved to be fruitless in cutting the hard mangosteens (no pun intended).

 

 

 

Near Broken Hill close to the SA/NSW state border

 

 

235km from Coober Pedy, SA

 

Several hours into the flight and I popped over to the First Class galley to chat with the crew after the initial dinner service had been completed. In-Flight Supervisor (IFS) Mr. Ong is in the highest cabin crew position having worked for SIA for 25 years. He explained to me that SIA cabin crew must retire after 25 years' service or, in his case, after 28 years' extended service. He also told me that out of the 430 SIA IFSs only a very small proportion - about 30 - is female. Mr. Ong informed me that there are three pilots operating the flight today, the instructor pilot being the extra pilot overlooking the flight crew. A total of 17 crew members including the three pilots were operating this Boeing 747-400 today. We chatted about many other things, including non-aviation stuff, for a good while before I went off on a tour of the aircraft. Both the business class and economy class cabins were packed on this flight.

 

Some photos flying over the heart of Australia:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took a photo of this panel located behind the business class cabin and asked Mr. Ong about it. He explained that it is used to make pre-recorded announcements in several languages on certain routes.

 

 

Mr. Ong preparing a cup of Royal Darjeeling tea for me. Earlier, he dissected a tea bag to show me the fresh tea leaves inside.

 

 

 

Dinner was served at exactly 8pm AEST as the plane headed out of Australian airspace.

 

Here is the menu for today's flight:

 

 

 

 

 

There was still just over three hours before arrival into Changi and the sun had disappeared well below the horizon. I started with the caviar and garlic bread as usual followed by a delicious chicken soup with Chinese mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Next, I had a very nice Caesar salad. I asked Emily if I should go for the stir-fried prawns or Singapore-style chicken, both served with rice. I always choose the Asian dishes when flying SIA. Emily recommended the Singapore-style chicken and rice. The chicken was succulent and the rice was gorgeous - fragrant, with a hint of ginger. The rice on SIA is always very good indeed and today was no exception. The crew anticipated that I wanted a second bowl of rice and this was offered before I had even finished my first bowl. Most excellent!

 

 

 

 

 

 

As this was my last 747 flight in First Class I had to have a glass of the Dom Perignon. I don’t like to drink a lot of alcohol when I fly so when Emily came to top up my champagne glass I had to politely refuse. Dessert was divine. The vanilla crème brulee and coconut and lime sorbet with fresh fruit salad was sweet and delicious and I could have licked my plate clean. Unfortunately, I was also full and couldn't manage another helping from the fresh fruit basket. I finished my meal with another cup of the Royal Darjeeling tea. Emily asked me if I would like to have my seat converted into a bed. I politely declined, not wanting to make a fuss. Besides, I had no intention of sleeping on my final 747 flight.

 

 

My seat, 2F, near the front of the First Class cabin

 

 

The First Class galley

 

 

To the upper deck

 

I bought a box of Godiva chocolates from the in-flight duty free and offered it to Emily and her two colleagues in the First Class cabin. With 18 chocolates in the box there was enough for each of the crew and one left for me. Mr. Ong offered me a choc and we chatted even more before he disappeared to offer the rest of the flight crew a choc each. I told him to offer the pilots a choccie too. Before landing Emily came over to my seat and presented me with a bag full of SIA goodies - children's soft cuddly toys and colouring kits, four packs of playing cards and some First Class writing packs and pens. I never ask for freebies when I fly so I was touched by this small but kind gesture from the cabin crew. Emily even asked me if I would like to keep the First Class menu as a souvenir and I said if it's okay to take it then yes, please! Another freebie! Thank you!

 

 

I had forgotten my jacket when I flew from London to Singapore two weeks earlier on SQ321. The jacket was found and handed into lost property at Changi. I asked Emily if she knew which terminal I could locate the lost property office. I had a lost property reference number and she copied it down and said she would find out for me. Flight SQ228 made a smooth touchdown into Changi at 9:09pm local time after a flight time of 7hrs 7mins. I was sad that this was to be my last ever SIA Boeing 747-400 flight. By the end of this month SQ227/228 will be operated by the A380 on the Melbourne route. Before disembarking I thanked and shook hands with Emily, Tony and, last but not least, Mr. Ong who informed me that Emily would be accompanying me to the SIA information helpdesk in T3 to enquire about my jacket. Emily and I chatted non-stop as we walked from the aircraft into the terminal and over to the helpdesk. I thanked her profusely for assisting me.

 

Emily instructed the ground staff to inform the lost property office to deliver my jacket to the SIA SilverKris lounge in T2 where I would be waiting to catch my connecting flight. It took about 20mins for the staff to contact lost property and all the while she stood waiting patiently at the helpdesk as the staff called lost property. I apologised for taking her time and told her it wasn't necessary for her to stay. She insisted, saying she wasn't in a hurry. She made sure everything was sorted out before taking me over to the Skytrain even though she wasn't going over to T2. That's service beyond the call of duty! I thanked her again for her help and and she said it was her pleasure. We said good-bye to each other before going off on our own ways.

 

The cabin crew on today's flight exceeded all my expectations and made my final 747 flight the most memorable SIA flight I've ever had the pleasure of being on. The crew displayed exemplary First Class service. Each crew member displayed their own warm personality and genuine hospitality. I was well looked after from the moment I boarded until well after I had disembarked. Special thanks to the wonderful First Class crew; the lovely Emily, Tony and Mr. Ong. I will be sending in a letter of praise to SIA to commend all three cabin crew members on Flight SQ228. If there were ever a perfect flight then this would be it.

 

 

From left to right: IFS Ong Choon Boon, LSS Emily, myself and LS Tony

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Mate, another brilliant trip report. As always I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It certainly does look as though you had a magnificent cabin crew