Part 5
Route: CMB-SIN
Airline: Sri Lankan Airlines
Aircraft: A340-300
Seat: 3C
Flight number: UL302
Class of service: Business
Scheduled departure time: 07:25
Scheduled arrival time: 13:55
I had located the Business Class check-in desk and pleased to note that there were only around 4 people in front of me. However, the queue moved very slowly and I realised that it was taking just over 5 minutes to check-in each passenger. As I waited in the business class check-in I grew more and more nervous. I had been keeping an eye of the FT thread about this fare and had read of difficulties that some have encountered with itineraries including Sri Lankan, Singapore and BA. I had flights on all three airlines on this ticket and I was about to find out whether I was going to be one of the unfortunate ones. In time that was not out of keeping with other passengers, the lady tapped away at the computer until a baggage tag was spat out! Relief began to spread through my body as I was handed my boarding pass and lounge invitation. I was set to go!
The thing that really got to me about departing Colombo airport was the fact that the time spent to get to the departure lounge is mostly just standing around waiting to be seen. There is the security point to pass through as soon as you enter the terminal, the check-in queue and then the immigration queue. This is quite unlike what I experienced at Tel Aviv where there is little time really spent queuing as you are continuously being processed at many different points. Without a doubt, I would take a Tel Aviv departure anytime over this ordeal. I really felt bad for those travelling economy. For my flight, there was only one check-in agent processing all of the economy passengers. I would hate to think about how long they had to wait.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Sri Lankan Serendip lounge. It was a large lounge with more than enough space for the 15 or so passengers in there to really spread themselves around. They even have complimentary massage treatments in there too and a nice looking cooked breakfast buffet selection.
With a little over 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time of the aircraft, the lady on the desk approached to inform me that the aircraft was now ready for me to board. I made my way down and, having seen how many people were in the lounge, had expected the business cabin to be relatively quiet. Nope, there were only two empty seat – one of which was waiting for me! It did not go without notice that there was a rather attractive lady in 3A (Don’t worry – I shall not be going down
that road again!).
The cabin had three rows in a 2-2-2 layout. There were three deadheading flight crew with a female companion (they wore uniform but she was in everyday clothes), myself and my seatmate and I think that the others were all in the same party. The seats were of a recliner style and were more modern and comfy than I had imagined. I had in mind something akin to the Thai A300 seat.
By far the most impressive thing about the flight was the crew. There were absolutely fantastic. After we took off, they were around immediately with drinks and hot towels before commencing the breakfast service. This included fruits, yoghurts, cereals, pastries and breads along with a choice of three main courses. I opted for the herb omelette and thoroughly enjoyed it. Drinks were then frequently offered during the flight. I reclined my comfortable seat after breakfast and began to catch up on some much needed sleep.
Later on during the flight I headed up to the lavatories. The FA in the jump seat close by jumped up as I approached and went to open the door for me. However, it was occupied, so she walked to the one on the opposite aisle and discovered that that too was occupied. She said that I could return to my seat and as soon as one of them became available, she’d come and get me. I had not experienced that before! Another nice touch was that at the end of the flight the Purser came up from economy straight to me and asked what I thought of the flight. ‘Fantastic hospitality’ was my first response which genuinely seemed to please him. We chatted for a couple of minutes and then he shook my hand and thanked me for flying Sri Lankan. He did the same with the lady next to me and then with the head of the large party.
I know that it is cultural thing, but I must say that the uniforms of the FAs are not particularly flattering of the ladies. It fully exposes their lower torso and I believe what some may call a ‘muffin top’! Not really what I wanted to see at breakfast time but like I say, it’s a cultural thing right?
Route: SIN-SYD
Airline: Singapore Airlines
Aircraft: A380
Seat:11K
Flight number: SQ221
Class of service: Business
Scheduled departure time: 20:35
Scheduled arrival time: 05:55+1
Nervously I approached the transfer desk in Terminal 2. I had arrived in T1 but headed to T2 out of habit as my A380 Sydney flight departs T3. This was it – do or die! Have Singapore Airlines flagged my ticket? Had it been suspended like others have reported? Will I get to fly the A380 today or am I going to be waiting longer? How much is the ferry to Batam to take up Plan C? Where do I catch it from?
The lady began tapping at her computer, stopped, raised her head and looked at me as her mouth began to open. Ahhh! Here it comes! Please just give me a boarding pass, please just give me a boarding pass, please! Her mouth continued to open:
“Do you have any bags to check, Sir?”
“Yes, they have checked them thorough” (refraining myself from adding ‘from Colombo’ fearing that it might alarm her to what she had in front of her)
“Do you have the bag check sticker?”
“It’s on that back of the ticket”
She then went back to tapping away at her keyboard. Was that it? Am I in the clear? She feeds a blank beautiful blue Singapore Airlines Business boarding pass into her printer (I was at the economy desk at the Business one was occupied) before it almost immediately spat it back out with my name, seat and flight details printed all over it! She ran through the formalities but to be honest I was not really paying attention. I just wanted that boarding pass in my hands.
A few moments later and there it was in my hands! I felt just like Charlie Bucket when he discovered his golden ticket! I did feel a bit like having a song and dance over it but will keep that for the Suites when (if?) I get there!
With Plan A still in effect, I decided that I’d venture back into Singapore to see the National Day celebrations. I joined the queue at immigration and waited. And waited. And waited some more! The queue was barely moving and I grew frustrated. I decided that I’d just stay at the airport for the six hour transit as I had some things to do. Cancelling Plan B and Plan C was first on my list.
I left the Singapore Airlines Business Class Lounge half an hour before scheduled departure and made my way to gate B7. The gate lounge was fairly empty and I quickly made my way up to the upper deck boarding door. I had opted for seat 11K which is the bulkhead window seat in the forward business class cabin, apart from the fact that this ‘window seat’ actually lacked windows.
I had heard before that this was the case but thought that because it was a night flight, that would be a worthwhile sacrifice for not having another seat so close in front. With hindsight, I really should have gone for a proper window seat on my first A380 flight. It would have been fantastic to look out over the wings and we took-off and landed. The seat did have a window but that was located behind the side panel of the seat. This meant that you had to lean forward and rotate your head around 110° and for all of that trouble you got a narrow view out of the window. Closing the blind required the skills of a contortionist!
Our departure was slightly delayed as we waited for some passengers from a late arriving flight and their baggage. I had the obligatory pre-departure glass of Champagne and made myself comfy in the extremely wide seat. I began to familiarise myself with the IFE but thought that it included views from external cameras. It seems that I was incorrect. The noise level within the cabin was very low including when we began our take-off roll.
A few minutes after departure, I began to make myself comfortable by raising the leg rest. It did not elevate as far as I wanted and the footrest was too elevated for comfort when in an upright position for dining.
Although a post-departure drink arrived relatively quickly, I had to wait close to 2 hours after departure to receive my appetiser and drink. The food was delivered but I had to wait 10 minutes for a glass of Champagne to accompany as it was not on the trolley. This scene was repeated a little while later when the cheese selection was offered. Now you would have thought that they would have a glass and a bottle of Port on the cheese cart wouldn’t you? Another 10 minute wait while this too was fetched.
My moderately sized hand baggage could not fit into the overhead compartment and had to be stored in the closet. When I requested it during the flight I had to wait about 10 minutes before I received it. I was quickly becoming frustrated with the service on this flight and was in a good mind to just go through the closet myself and retrieve it.
As we departed at 9pm for a 6am arrival, I would have expected service to be quick and efficient in order to maximise the time that passengers would have to gain some sleep. Sadly, that was far from the case. Dare I say that perhaps Singapore Airlines could learn a thing or two from BA’s sleeper service?
Unfortunately, I cannot provide a menu for this flight as it was retrieved by the FA before I could either photograph it or place it into my hand baggage.
Needless to say, I thought that my experience failed to meet the expectation that I had. Ok, the seat choice was my fault but it was the service that really disappointed. It was a full flight in economy and business (unsure about the suites) but that cannot be used as an excuse. They should be able to provide at least a satisfactory level of service no matter what. A couple of weeks ago, I really wouldn’t have believed what I am about to type: the service on that Singapore Airlines A380 flight was by far inferior to any of the others experienced on this trip, Aeroflot included!
There was a 30 second wait at Immigration and I was impressed to see that some bags were already revolving around the carousel as I arrived in the baggage hall myself! Sadly, my bag was not one of them. After a few minutes, it popped out and I was soon in the arrivals hall and heading for T2 Domestic.