Trip Reports - MEL-SIN-LHR SQ First/Suites 747, A380.

Ok, so it is the week after Easter 2008, and I find myself in seat 3D of SQ 228 MEL - SIN...a 747-400 service and casting my mind both back and forward...

I have been watching this thread (and other trip reports online) and enjoying the commentary. But not much emanates from Australia. Maybe I should hit the keyboard.

I represent a significant Melbourne (Australia) professional services firm, needing experienced staff – like many firms of my ilk at the moment in an Australian economy booming along…so the thought of recruiting from London suddenly takes on an attractive bent.

To be honest, my commute from MEL to LHR starts with my patriotic friend – Qantas. I am a regular and Platinum Frequent Flyer, which equates to the highest ranking OneWorld status – Emerald. QF9 returning on QF10 MEL-LHR-MEL via SIN is known as the “Kangaroo Route” and flying in Business Class I have already made a reservation. (As an aside I admit to casting an eye over Emirates EK407 direct from MEL-DXB then connecting to LHR or BHX…the Airbus A340-500 and B777 service on the upstart newcomer appeals).

But the news hits me a day or so later…Singapore Airlines announce the first flights between SIN-LHR on the Airbus A380.

Wow! Timely.

The Airbus has flown between SIN-SYD for a few months now but living in Melbourne we are yet to see the world’s biggest bird in active service until Qantas starts flying to Los Angeles in a few months (mid 2008). So maybe I should re-examine some flight options…

It gets off to a poor start – www.singaporeair.com has a pathetic option flying MEL-LHR. The A380 service (SQ322) doesn’t even show. Glancing at expertflyer.com alleges seats in both business and first but I cant generate a connection on the website. A couple of other internet booking engines also show no availability, and even a call to SQ Reservations brings the “no availability” response.

But I am not deterred.

I can SEE seats showing in both business and first class all the way from Australia to England. So I dig out a number for American Express Platinum Travel in Sydney. Their first response to my request for availability is negative – “please check the individual sectors” I implore…and after a few moments of silence…

“Hmmmm…look’s like we can do it…strange it doesn’t show from MEL-LHR but breaking the sectors will be ok…”

YES! (Thanks Angela!)

No need for a stopover and the Airbus is available within the first 10 days of its service.

Now to work out what class of travel.

It IS for business. Australia to the UK and back in a week. Easily worth Business Class.

But the A380 has those suites…and I really should compare them to Emirates A350 service MEL-DXB. And besides, it IS the biggest bird in the world…so maybe First Class. DEFINTELY First Class.

First Class on the SQ A380 is actually booked in R class as opposed to F…”Singapore Suites”….Hmmm…..5 seats showing as available…including 1A.
Angela needs an answer…

Book it!

And confirm 1A at the bottom of those stairs. (What IS the preferred seat on the A380 – any suggestions??)

Done.

Phew.

Break into a smile.

Laugh..

Indeed, a wide toothy satisfied grin that lasts and lasts!

First class, Melbourne to London on a top flight carrier in the renowned SQ First class, which includes the simply named but powerful “Singapore Suites” on the new Airbus.

Ok, so that is the history…

With one omission…having got so far into the booking and suspicious of my smile, my wife has decided she CAN leave the country for a week, and leave the kids with their grandmother and a nanny…and she is currently sitting beside me with a somewhat bemused smirk to her face as she enjoys the legendary Singapore Girl Service…

Now to the Trip itself. Starting on a 747-400, sector: MEL-SIN.

Taxi to the airport booked, and arrives at home on time. Farewell to the (young) kids. A pleasant trip until just prior to the airport when the driver bemoans some problem with his mobile phone. My wife, ever the humanitarian, humours him and offers an option to assist his complaint about unfair billing.

A lengthy wait at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport First Class Checkin 90 minutes before departure. While grumbling about the delay, I am told by my unflappable wife to “settle down”. But there is something about an airport terminal, no matter the location anywhere in the world. Surely a psychiatrist’s dream…Humanity at both its best and worst. People…Rushing. Savouring. Swearing. Panicking. Arguing. Hugging. Waiting. Accepting. Hoping. Dreaming. Wishing. Accepting again. And finally holding boarding cards and confirmation of a journey...

Through Fast Track immigration and security without comment or delay. In Melbourne the Duty Free is shoved into your face…you must go THROUGH the shops to get to the departure lounges. My wife succumbs to purchasing a new noise reducing headset (after closely examining the perfume counter).

Down an escalator and finally we reach the Melbourne SilverKris lounge. Veer to the left and arrive at the First Class lounge. Nothing special here.

Couple of options for food, drink, and seating. Sport on the TV. 2 other passengers in the lounge. Quiet but bland. Boarding can’t come quick enough.

And soon enough the boarding call comes and we find ourselves tracking to the Gate. No special privileges for anyone, and economy, business and first class passengers all pass the same “Boarding Dragon” checking passports and boarding cards. And just the singular aerobridge.

Soon enough however we leave the masses and turn to the left on arriving at the plane and are escorted to our seats. Bags whisked away and stored. Ushered into a haven. The famed SQ service has started.

The Cabin Service Director is David. A warm handshake of welcome. He will become an attentive and efficient helper throughout the flight.

And a champagne (Dom 1999) before takeoff is welcomed by me. My wife has a water.

Astoundingly we push back a full 10 minutes EARLY and taxi to an unusual runway for takeoff and are actually in the air at the scheduled departure time. A few minutes later the procession starts.

Newspaper. Magazine. Menu. (Drink). Amenity Kit. Pyjamas. Slippers. (Drink).

Without repeating the menu options available (see other threads) I have deferred from “Booking the Cook” and accept the proffered menu.
Caviar. Salad. Lamb loin. Cheese. Coffee. Sounds simple but exquisite. Impeccably served. With a smile and so effortlessly. My wife cant believe it! Frankly neither can I. Despite the efforts SQ still puts QF and EK to shame at the pointy end of the plane.

KrisWorld is as all encompassing as ever. I skip through “Four Wedding and a Funeral”, watching as much for Hugh Grant’s pathetic Englishman as for the gratuitous swearing that makes the movie.

Bloody good seats the SkySuites. (Except for the irritating inadvertent nudging of the seat controls while resting an elbow)

Turbulence hits after takeoff, and again 4 hours into the sector (mid Western Australia).

The flight takes an almost leisurely 6 and a half hours. Dinner and a snack served. Champagne constantly topped up. Only 7 of 12 skysuites occupied so plenty of personal smiling service.

Elton John and the Police pipes out their greatest hits.

My steak sandwich appears as ordered, one hour before landing. The soup accompaniment is exquisite.

Uneventful but so classy. Isn’t that what First Class means?

But what about Elton John? A dearth of music selections for those who prefer to rest aching eyes. Spice Girls greatest hits? Surely a joke. The weakness of KrisWorld? Surely the options cant satisfy even the most basic of musical tastes.

Dom bottle exhausted, approach to Changi announced more than haf an hour early, and the next leg is the one I’ve been waiting for. But first a visit to the new T3 . Just how bad IS that lounge?

Welcome to FlyerTalk. I'm glad you decided to "hit the keyboard".

What a quality first post by the OP ^ ^

I want to say welcome to FT but looks like you've been here for some time. Oh what the hay, welcome to FT frazz!

And a champagne (Dom 1999) before takeoff is welcomed by me. My wife has a water.

You have to get her off that habit, looking forward to the rest of the TR

....Continued...

...The truth is it ISNT that bad.

But first we had to reach it. Arriving at Changi’s Terminal 3, we taxied to what turned out to be the most remote arrival gate. First off the plane, but a fifteen minute walk to the SilverKris Lounge. The Skyrail is the only sensible way to move around a space that large.

A check of duty free pricing at a couple of the retail outlets along the way didn’t reveal anything special in terms of pricing or range.

As to the lounge, we knew we had reached it when we encountered a wall of cream jacket wearing attendants hovering around the entrance, and indeed prowling for potential customers.

A review by an attendant of our boarding passes for the next flight (the A380 – SQ322) required us to check at reception for the passes to be “re-issued”. An immediate moment of disquiet…surely it cant be a last minute aircraft change…we had taxied past the A380 on our arrival, and it appeared that all was in order.

Our bags were carried for us around to the lounge proper. My wife was escorted to the depths of the First Class section of the lounge while I was led to a seat to deal with the new boarding pass requirement.

In the end, no issue at all. The passes issued in Melbourne were exchanged for ones printed with a barcode on the pass. Seating the same. And most importantly, confirmation that we were flying as scheduled.

I meandered around to the lounge. Fluorescent purple lighting is a little off-putting, but the space itself calm and comfortable.

Spacious. Inviting. Plenty of both food and drink, and in the mid evening we were there, not in any way crowded. The Raffles Class area, when explored, was busier and somewhat crowded. WiFi worked easily – attendants handing out scraps of paper with connection instructions for those interested.

Early reports of lukewarm showers proved groundless. A myriad of shower heads and controls allowed total control of the water, but I felt the lack of ventilation and subsequent fogging of the shower area was simply poor design.

As for over-zealous attendants snaffling cups of coffee before they were finished, I saw no such behaviour. All in all, a very pleasant ninety minutes in the lounge.

No boarding call was made to actually board the aircraft, but we noticed the departure gate filling up (we could see departure gate A2 from the lounge). We couldn’t actually see any departure information where we were sitting in the lounge, so we gathered our bags and headed downstairs to reach the gate. Through security, and the “Fast Track” line was non existent but we seemed to pass through slower than the “Slow Track”.

The lounge itself was clearly in the advanced stages of boarding. Two lines, “Economy” and “Premium”. Both the same length with about 50 passengers each line. No apparent privileges here at this stage of boarding. A slow progression until we were cleared by the Boarding Dragon and funnelled into a VERY wide aerobridge down to the aircraft.

The boarding door for Suites is the first we reached, and here we were met with a warm greeting and ushered on board. Suites 1A and 2A are the easiest to reach being just inside the forward door. Bags stowed, jackets hung in the personal closet adjacent to each suite, and time to settle into the Suite itself.

Clearly better than the Emirates product in my opinion, although EK does put a “mini bar” in the suite.

But SQ’s product is exceptional.

The entire tripped turned out to be fourteen hours of flawless service, which started with the an introduction to the Suite. Wide leather seat was finished in beautifully crafted leather. High resolution wide screen TV made the KrisWorld offering come alive. More amenity kits, pyjamas etc were offered. Not that it really matters, but on the SkySuite 747 service, a stationary pad, pen etc forms part of the suite. Not on the A380, although they are available on request.

We departed late, about twenty minutes or so behind time, but the takeoff when it occurred was easy, smooth and quiet.

Noise. Or the lack of it. This aircraft IS quiet. It is noticeable for the lack of noise as you settle into the seat. Conversation is very easy.

The meal service started immediately the plane had become established in its climb (we cruised at 38,000 feet for the duration). I took the meal suggestion of Nancy Oakes from San Francisco’s Boulevard restaurant. She is part of SQ’s International Culinary Panel, and her recommendation included in the leather bound menu was:
Mild spicy red lobster with avocado salsa,
New England clam chowder,
Veal chop with garlic confit herbs butter baked ceps with cured pork, tomatoes and potatoes.
Mr Riggs The Gaffer Shiraz 2005 (McLaren Vale, South Australia).

I actually struggled to finish, and declined any desserts.

And so to the bed. My wife is a poor sleeper on planes. I am not, but I haven’t enjoyed a quality sleep on any aircraft.

And in fact, this one was better but still not deeply satisfying. Perhaps it is the elusive element of long haul travel.

The turn down service was a work of engineering. Like a children’s toy that starts out as a robot then turns into a truck, then into a monster, the suite was re-engineered by a crew member who pushed, prodded, held, slid, grunted, and suddenly had a full length bed ready. The seat is folded over and the bed in fact lies over the seat.

A blanket is offered, with a couple of pillows, and an extra length seat belt (you can “keep it very loose so you can sleep well” was the advice offered). The blanket could have been larger, the bed wider and more upholstered.

In fact, the bed is quite hard (some may say “just firm enough”), and even allowing for mild turbulence disturbing the sleep, I didn’t wake feeling totally refreshed. For my wife, it was the best sleep she has had on an aircraft, although as I pointed out to her, it damn well should have been.

But those are minor quibbles. With the lights out, the suite door shut, and lying in the bed on a decent pillow, who could be taken seriously with a complaint.

I had asked the flight attendant (Nick) to wake me 2 hours from London if I wasn’t already awake. No need to worry about sleeping too late, I was up and about approximately 3 ½ hours from landing. Decided to stroll back to my wife’s suite, and made use of the “ottoman” seat which faces the main seat in each suite. Complete with its own seatbelt, this could be used for dining together (which we didn’t do), or at least talking to a travel companion – the suite is great for privacy but when travelling with someone else it does restrict the ability to converse.

The bathrooms are substantial, complete with bench seat that lies above the toilet if required. Pity they don’t have windows. I noticed that although the first class cabin was only just over half full, all drinking cups, toothbrushes and shaving kits had gone from the bathroom by this stage of the flight. Perhaps a top up of amenities would have been in order as this is the time passengers start refreshing themselves for landing.

The rest of the flight was fairly mundane to be honest.

Breakfast for me was a selection of juices
Whole poached pear with ginger lemon zest and assorted berries
Choice of cereals and yoghurt
Egg Benedict

Landing was just about on time, after a rather slow circuit of London before lining up at Heathrow. A small grip is the early ending of the KrisWorld service, especially for premium class passengers. Why cant the service continue until landing, or indeed until the plane stops at the gate. It certainly wasn’t stopped to allow the collection of the excellent noise cancelling headsets - no-one made any effort to collect them prior to landing.

Heathrow is its usual self – luckily we avoided the carnage of BA’s Terminal 5, and got through Terminal 3 efficiently with a Fast Track immigration card. Our bags the 2nd to arrive on the baggage carousel, and onto Heathrow Express to our central London hotel. In fact, we arrived at our hotel just under and hour after landing. No-one could complain about that.

So what of the A380 experience? I need a couple of days to digest the flight. It was a great experience, however more as a novelty than anything else at the moment. I will advise my further thoughts in a day or two.

A small grip is the early ending of the KrisWorld service, especially for premium class passengers. Why cant the service continue until landing, or indeed until the plane stops at the gate.

On my last longhaul flight on SQ (SIN-ZRH in First) KrisWorld was turned on until we've reached our gate position in ZRH! So it can be done. I don't know what the standard procedure is.

Thanks for an interesting trip report.