AKL-SIN - the start of a long but fast journey
27 June - am

I felt fortunate to be able to fly the inaugural, including the rare double inaugural. I didnt have a lot of time so decided to do it all in one run to/from AKL (Auckland). As an FTer I naturally looked into routing options and was happy to see that going via BKK both ways was not only cheaper but also nets me nearly 10,000 additional miles. The good thing was the connections work quite well, unlike some other alternatives.

So my routing was to be AKL-SIN-BKK-SIN-EWR-SIN-BKK-SIN-AKL (all on SQ). Some 33,000 flown miles in just over 4 days (and in the process earning me over 80,000 miles)! The fellow FTers (and another aviation fan we met) doing the trip also had long itineraries - coming from such places as YVR (Vancouver), CGK (Jakarta), PER (Perth), YUL (Montreal) and SIN (do I really need to spell out this one? )

Make no mistake, this trip is no mileage run. For me the chance to be on the historic first flight was reason enough - the miles, PPS sector credits and upgrade vouchers earnt along the way are just the icing on the cake!

I had an early start on a cool winters day in AKL, to catch the morning flight to SIN. As usual I didnt get much sleep the night before, having woken up far too early. Wondered how I would cope, but brushed aside all dark thoughts with the prospect of the journey ahead.

Given the itinerary, with multiple short transfers and limited time not on planes or in airports I decided on carry-on only, no checked luggage. I am sure there would have been issues had I checked bags. As *G I could take 2 X 7kg carry-ons plus items of personal nature. I brought 2 bags, one as empty for souvenirs.

Since I had time up my sleeve I took the Airbus to the airport. It went in record time - less than 30 minutes. Since I normally leave on the early side - to minimise stress due to traffic hassles, next bus being a 30 minute wait, etc; I arrived very early indeed. Oh well at least check in is open.

Carry-ons through x-ray and straight to check-in counter, where I am told "sorry the computers are down, it will be 5 minutes before they come back up". Some 30 minutes later the computers are on-line again and so I get checked in. Felt sorry for the check-in agents, particularly for economy where there were now long queues backing up past the xray machine. Pay the departure tax and head for customs & immigration. A fairly average wait and soon enough through to the NZ lounge.

As always the NZ lounge at AKL international is great and this time of day on a weekend isnt over-crowded (although surprisingly full enough). I do the usual things, freshen up, grab some coffees, check email and do a couple of posts to FT. Notice from the history list there was a FTer here either now or recently. I scan for FT tags and likely looking characters but give up none the wiser.

Eventually I looked up at the departure screen and got a shock. The flight was listed as "CLOSED"! I didnt here any boarding announcements, although there was the possibility I was too tired and not listening properly. Was my trip ruined before it even began? Could I talk my way onto the flight even if it is closed? So off I raced down the pier to gate 6. Phew still boarding. ^

Boarding continued for quite some time (so the closed message was obviously an error) and we eventually left about an hour late. The pilot apologised, and explained the overnight flight SIN-AKL was very late.

The 10 hour flight was fairly uneventful other than arriving late. Food quality varied from poor to good, IFE great, seats great, service average (below SQ's par). Routing was over Sydney, Alice Springs, Kimberleys (sorry forgotten the town name), and Indonesia. (A fairly average routing - sometimes due to jetstreams the flight passes north of Brisbane and Darwin, and on other occassions near Melbourne or even Hobart, and Adelaide.)