amolkold

SQ 422
SIN-BOM, 5h00m
Boeing 777-200
Seat 18K, regional J

On this 777, SQ has just business and economy. There is a large business class cabin at the front separated from a smaller business cabin at door 2L. I decided on the smaller cabin at the back, which turned out to be a good choice since there were only 4 of us compared to about 14 in the front. I was able to get a window seat and an empty aisle seat next to myself.

I guess this gate had just 1 jetway, so all passengers boarded at door 2L. This was the main reason I chose a seat on the starboard side, to avoid heavy traffic down the port side aisle during boarding.


Smaller rear J cabin


Row 18


18K


Bulkhead Row 17, for comparison


View from 18K

I was welcomed by an Indian FA, who had the biggest smile of the trip so far. No matter whom the FA flies for, if he/she has a great smile, it’s definitely a positive and welcoming feeling. I could be flying Allegiant Air in Y, it's still good. Though it helps if it comes from a SQ girl in J.

She offered some champagne and confirmed my Book the Cook meal selection. For both my ex-SIN flights, I went with Singapore Chicken Rice. A great decision. I was also given an “amenity kit,” which on SQ is just a sorry set of eyemask and odd-fitting booties to put over your feet. I know this is only business class, but I expect better. Some airlines, like Turkish, have better amenity kits in economy.

The regional business class seat itself is comfortable, more so than the old J seat, though it is an angled lie-flat product and not fully lie-flat like the new business. There are various places for storage but they all seem to be pretty useless. Rather than have one large storage place in the seat in front, SQ decided to place two small storage units that can’t really hold anything. The charging port is awkwardly placed in an area on the side of the seat, although they did put a good-sized space to keep a laptop computer.


Charging port/laptop slot


Seat control panel within the armrest. Apologies for the blurriness


Reading light, off and on.


Flowers in the lav. A nice touch.

Before takeoff, the FA came by to ask what I’d like to drink after takeoff, as I expected (I’m getting used to the SQ J routine). Since Mumbai is India, I asked for my Masala Chai that was previously unavailable, but due to the heat in the cabin (no individual air vents on SQ), asked for it iced. The FA acted as if I had requested the ice to be flown in from the north pole, commenting that “I don’t know if I could do that.” This despite the menu clearly saying that Asian teas are “[a]vailable hot or with ice.”


The disappointing thanda cold chai tea. I'll stick to hot from here on out.

Our Boeing 777 took off toward the southwest with an incredible amount of thrust, pushing me back into the comfortable J seat. Somehow I think that Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor was part of the Boeing and Rolls Royce design teams … “MORE POWER” followed by lots of grunting. This plane is the anti-A340.

As soon as the seatbelt sign turned off, the sound of seat belts clicking open emanated from the galley and jump seat areas. Given the late departure and supper service, the FAs put on a quick service. Here’s the menu, for both this flight and the return:

Delicious starter. You can't go wrong with salmon on a plane!


I don't know why I took this picture. In my tired state, I must have forgotten that I took one before digging in.


AMAZING S'pore Chicken Rice. Look at those chili sauces!

A great meal – I definitely recommend the Singapore Chicken Rice for a BTC meal. After my setting was cleared, I put the bed down for 3 hours of solid sleep, or about as solid as one can get on angled lie flats. They’re not bad for a nap, but I wouldn’t want them on 8+ hour flights.

I was awoken as we made our initial descent into the Mumbai area, approaching from the east. I think. It looked like the east. It was dark. Frankly, I’ve never seen BOM during the day so I have no clue what it looks like. We parked next to a TK flight from IST and exited to a busy terminal. Immigration went quickly, mostly thanks to a dedicated business class line (though not that much faster than the line for the special type of Indian visa I hold).


Too early of an arrival. I had half a mind to ask the captain to figure-eight around the Arabian Sea for 20 more minutes.


I'm going to need more boxes for #13

I left the confines of the airport and entered the already 32ºC/89ºF temperature outside. At 5:30am. A quick location of my ground transport to take me to my family's home a couple hours away. I conked out for the extremely bumpy, hot, and loud car ride. Horn OK Please.

I left Los Angeles early on a Tuesday morning and arrived India early Saturday morning. Given the time change, it took in the ballpark of 84 hours to make a journey that normally takes less than 30.

Welcome to India. Finally.

-----
Post-Script:

A few months ago, in the dead of winter (which means 55ºF/13ºC at midnight in L.A.), I was discussing over drinks with a friend about how damn far India is for those of us in the states, particularly from California.

While those on the east coast have recently had more non-stop options, we on the west coast don’t share this. For us, it’s either a long flight to Europe followed by a long flight to India, or the same way around Asia. After a day’s journey, and upon landing in that twilight zone of the clock known as “midnight to 5am,” you simply move your watch a half-hour ahead, switching PM for AM. Lord help you if you’re seated behind the wings.

During that discussion, I pondered what was the furthest journey one could make to or from India. I pulled out my iPhone and brought up our friend, the Great Circle Mapper, and typed in the local LAX for its airport info. The farthest airport was on the island of Reunion, with the true farthest point a bit south of that, in a spot in the Indian Ocean along the PER-JNB route. Like a true travel nerd, I noted that island for the future.

I then searched BOM’s airport info, and was amazed when I saw that the farthest airport from there was none other than IPC – Mataveri Airport on Easter Island, in the South Pacific. The same island that, at the time, I’d be visiting in 2 weeks time. I searched the same information for IPC, to find that its farthest airport was in western India, very close to where I would be heading within India using ground transportation.

The travel geek in me lighted up; on two consecutive trips, I would be at 2 antipodal points of the Earth – from a tiny, isolated island in the South Pacific, home of the world’s most remote airport; to the densely populated motherland, considered one of the cradles of modern civilization. Excuse me while I say – HOW EFFING COOL IS THAT?!?