The Photos


After an all too brief interlude in Melbourne with friends and family it was time to drive myself to the airport again where I handed over the keys to my father’s car back to him. I said my goodbyes, yet again, to my folks and wandered inside to find the SQ check-in desks.

There was already one person at the suites desk and a free business class agent waived me over. She typed away for a while and asked me if I wanted my bags checked all the way to LHR. I confirmed this, even though I had an overnight stay in SIN.

Let us pause a bit as no doubt the astute members of my esteemed audience will notice I said the 'suites desk' was occupied. Let me explain how I managed to wangle this little feat.
As one of those FTers who makes plans for these trips well in advance I was able to secure a BMI miles and cash redemption in F on SQ from MEL-LHR which because of the availability meant a stop overnight in SIN. I booked these flights based on my desire to be in Oz around my birthday. I did this back in Jan which was two months before I purchased my AONE ticket.
It does help to plan ahead.
Yes I was telling you about the suites. Now when I booked the award flights both were showing as 747 equipment. A few weeks after the ticket was issued the SIN-LHR was swapped to a 77W. Result!
Then, miracle of miracles, the flight I was booked on from MEL became an A380 about 4 weeks prior to my flight date. The icing on the cake was that this was actually the inaugural MEL-SIN A380 flight. Chuffed is an understatement.

Funnily enough I had a call from SQ that morning saying that they could put me on the 77W service out of MEL later that evening which would then connect with the SIN-LHR flight. I thanked them for the generous offer but decided to stay with my A380 flight and an overnight stay in SIN.

So, back at the ticket desk, hmm, ah, hmm the system doesn’t seem to be letting me print a boarding pass for you Mr Moomba. Why don't you fill in this emigrations form whilst I get on the phone and sort it out. I did just that as I heard comments along the line of ‘I can see the ticket number in there but I am getting this message’. A bit more chatting and few more keystrokes and finally a BP was issued for this flight printed on Suites stock and a second one for the SIN-LHR on F stock.

The agent then informed me that this was the inaugural flight of the A380 and gave me an invitation to a gate party. She wished me a pleasant flight and sent me on my way to emigrations and security.

Both of these were quick, although I got caught at the final hurdle and was selected for the random secondary search.

On through the terminal I went and down to the SQ lounge facility at MEL.
I was welcomed inside and directed to the F side of the lounge. I was the only one there for a while and I was able to grab the first glass of Dom 1999 that they had in the ice bucket. The lounge had various hot and cold nibbles and top shelf liquor to indulge in.

It was quite a small lounge but as there were only 4 in Suites today it didn’t get too crowded. As I was sitting in the lounge one of the agents came over and asked to see my onward BP. She duly stamped this with an invite to the Private Rooms at SIN for the next morning. I don’t know why she did this as award flights on SQ don’t normally garner entry to the Private Rooms. I wasn’t going to question it though.

After a while I decided to wander up to the gate and check out the gate party. I showed my invite the check-in agent had given me and was let inside. There was a jazz quintet playing and they had oodles of Hanging Rock Pink Sparkling Wine and chocolate cake. I grab a glass of the champagne and took two sips before disposing of it in the nearest bin. Dom 99 it wasn’t! I've been spoilt for life drinking all this fine F class chamagne.

There was a queue of people waiting to have their photograph taken in front of the big bird. I joined the queue and eventually made it to the front. I stood next to a lovely SQ Girl and the photographer took our picture with the big bird out the window behind us. I took a couple of photos myself and then headed over to the desk to pick up my souvenir of the flight.

I sat down and listened to the band for a while and finally some staff started to check BPs against passports in readiness for the departure. The finally opened the gate and I wandered on down to the lower level and had my BP passed through the scanner and onboard I went.

Flight SQ228 LHR-SIN Seat 2A
Aircraft: 380
Departure time: 15:50

I was escorted to my seat and my sweater was hung in the closet by the crew member who asked me if I would like a drink. I said Krug please.

An amenity kit was handed out and I was asked if I would like large or extra large PJs. I said I think large fit me.

I was busy taking photos of the seat when one of the crew asked if they would like to take a photo of me in the seat. I declined. In the next few minutes every member of the crew in Suites class had offered to take photos of me.

We were informed of a flight time of 8 hours for this flight. Too short if you ask me. The first of many hot towels came around whilst I was sitting sipping my Krug on the ground. An order was taken for my after take off beverage as well. No prizes for guessing what I asked for.

We pushed back at 15:47 and I noticed the QF9 flight still sitting at the gate, even though they had started boarding calls a long time before our flight.
We taxied up to the northern end of the north south runway and took off towards the south at 16:01.

After the belt sign was extinguished the crew came around with a glass and the bottle of Krug and offered me cashews or pecans or a mix. I asked for some cashews only.
Menus were handed out closely followed by another hot towel service.

Dinner from Melbourne to Singapore:
Appetisers:
Chilled malossol caviar with melba toast and condiments
Galantine of guinea fowl with onion jam, mesclun and hazelnut oil dressing

Soups:
Chicken and sweetcorn consommé with smoked chicken dumpling
Oriental thick soup with tofu, chicken and black mushrooms

Salad:
Salad of fresh baby cos, curly endive, raddichio, shaved fennel, shaved parmesan, dried cranberry, assorted tomato
Balsamic and extra virgin olive oil dressing
Mustard cream dressing

Main Courses:
Salmon-trout with salted cod-brandade and sauce vierge, fine mesclun and haricot vert

Thai style red curry roast duck served with selected vegetables and steamed rice

Grilled beef fillet served with bordelaise sauce, carrot, asparagus, shimeji and sautéed potato

Char Siew Mee
Egg noodles in rich pork broth with sliced honey glaced pork, chye sum and mushroom

Penne arrabiatta with sautéed vegetables and arugula lettuce

Desserts:
Lemon cream and strawberry salad, almond praline, balsamic-vanilla reduction

Vanilla ice cream with sesame tuile, strawberry salad

Cheeses:
Selection of assorted cheeses served with grapes, nuts and cracker

Fruits:
Fresh fruits in season

Finale:
A selection of gourmet coffees and fine teas with pralines

Wine List:
Champagnes:
Dom Perignon 2000

Krug Grand Cuvee

White Wines:
Pentaluma Chardonnay 2006 Adelaide Hills, Australia

Rudesheimer Riesling Spatlese 2006 Rheingau Balthasar Ress

Red Wines:
Chateau Cos d’Estournel 2004 Saint-Estephe

Mr Riggs The Gaffer Shiraz 2005 McLaren Vale, Australia

Port:
Dow’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port Portugal

International Teas (TWG):
Royal Darjeeling
Nuwara Eliya OP Ceylon
Earl Grey
English Breakfast Tea
Singapore Breakfast Tea
Paris-Singapore Tea
Alfonso Fruit Tea
Moroccan Mint Tea
Chamomile
Decaffeinated Earl Grey

In House Tea Selection:
ASIAN TEAS
Indian Masala Tea
Japanese Green Tea

CHINESE TEAS
Jasmine
Oolong

Gourmet Coffees:
Brazil Santos Bourbon
Colombian Supremo
Jamaican Blue Mountain
Kenyan AA ‘Kilimanjaro’

I was asked if I would like vodka with my caviar and said why not.
The caviar was not a nice as I remember and I am not sure of the correct accompaniments but SQ never seem to add a dollop of sour cream that the other carriers do. I do miss that little bit of tang when enjoying the caviar service on SQ. Gosh listen to me, it sounds like I do this all the time!

My soup was delish and came out very hot. The chicken dumpling was a challenge to eat given the utensils supplied. I was glad I had on the PJs.

Whilst on the subject, who models these things for SQ? The large were tiny and the crotch was around my knees or the legs would have ended just below my knees. The sleeves ended just below my elbows. Note to self. Extra Large on SQ.

The salad was up next and this was when I found SQ crew aren’t infallible. The salad came out with the mustard dressing and not the balsamic one. I didn’t complain as it was still quite tasty and besides I tend to always order balsamic as you may have noticed.

Next up was the beef fillet which tasted as good as it looks in the picture and was only slightly over done for me.
I switched over to the Mr Riggs Shiraz for the main course and it proved to be a memorable as the last time I tried it on SQ.

I was offered some dessert but asked to sit for a while before making a decision.

After a spell a crew member came back and asked if I was ready for dessert. He suggested the ice cream and I went along with that recommendation.
I also ordered a cup of the Blue Mountain coffee to accompany the sweet treat.

After dessert my nose had a hissy fit and a lot of sneezing and snorting was emanating from my suite. A crew member appeared with a box of tissues for me to keep at my seat. Now that is service with a capital SQ.

I asked for another coffee and this was soon delivered with a praline.
Once I had finished the meal a hot towel was delivered to my seat.

As usual all the alcohol and food turned Mr Moomba into Mr Snoozer. The F purser noticed my inability to keep my head upright and asked if I would like him to make up the bed in 2C for me. I said OK and watched as he folded the seat down and then brought the bed down from the wall. He then laid the sheets and duvet and tuned back a corner inviting me to hop in. He also gave me a bottle of water before sliding the doors closed and wishing me a good sleep.

I slept for a good couple of hours and in a more common occurrence of late for me I actually remembered by dreams. Oddly enough I was dreaming about flying on an A380.

I awoke around 1.5 hours out of SIN and went back to my seat where a crew member instantly appeared asking if I would like something to drink. I asked for a mint tea which was delivered a little while later along with yet another hot towel.

I was asked if I would like something from the refreshments menu.

Refreshment:
Light Bites:
Wok fried rice noodle topped with braised sliced beef, leafy greens and mushroom

Seafood ravioli, vierge sauce and steamed asparagus

Finale:
A selection of gourmet coffees and fine teas


I opted for the noodles and beef and sat and watched the sunset out my window.
The noodles were delivered with some water but I abstained from anymore alcohol for now as I knew I would be doing the SQ F thing all over again in 12 hours.

After I finished my meal the lead F crew member offered to take me on a guided tour of the aircraft. I quickly changed back into my civvies and he escorted me around the plane. Behind the suites is the suites galley and then economy right to the tail. Here we went up the spiral staircase to the upper deck. The back portion of this deck is also economy and further forward is the Business cabin. Right at the front of that cabin is the stairway that leads down to the suites. This was roped off at the bottom of the stairs and the crew member let me through. I thanked him for the tour and took my seat ready for lading.

We landed at 22:01 and I thanked the crew and made my way to immigrations where there I was the only person in the hall. I was quickly through and walking out and up to the Crowne Plaza Hotel which was where my bed for the night was waiting.

Catch you next time for the final leg of this portion of my RTW journey back to the UK.


The Photos