LONDON HEATHROW to SINGAPORE (LHR-SIN) on Singapore Airlines A380-800 in business
When the time came to board we were asked to remain in the lounge for a few more minutes as the gate area was too full. I waited about 15 minutes and having noted almost everyone else had left the lounge by now ambled down to the gate almost at the end of the pier and alongside the Qantas A380 which was also headed to Singapore.
No magical beep so I took my selected seat and settled in. Menu and headset were in the seat pocket already. Soon after I was seated I was offered pre-departure drinks, socks and my meal and drink orders were taken.
If I was only flying to Singapore I would have fallen asleep very quickly as I was rather tired but wanting to manage my total sleep time I forced myself to stay awake for supper and a couple of movies before drifting off. The kenyan coffee I had early in the flight did just enough to revive me.
I like flying in the A380 - it is quieter and I notice the higher cabin air pressure. The tail camera is nice too. The business class seat is basically the same as on 77W but slightly wider and the window seats have a little side bin good for putting papers or a purse in but not much else. The bathrooms however are both smaller than 77W and there are only 4 for 60 business seats, so expect to queue more for the loo - especially just after supper and at the start of descent.
We landed slightly late and taxiied past 2 Qantas A380s to our gate. I subsequently found out that the daytime departure from London to Singapore had hit severe turbulence over India to the extent a few passengers had minor injuries. I hadn't noticed any bumps flying to or from London.
I got a reasonable sleep but awoke before breakfast, the service of which commenced 3 hours before departure. This is a little earlier than normal - perhaps because of the full load, or perhaps they were expecting turbulence close to our destination.