Sorry for the delay in getting back to the report ...
As I was saying, I needed to get to Jakarta but wasn't sure which airline to take.
SQ offer reasonably priced fares if you are happy with heavy restrictions no refund, no change, 10% mileage accrual. And since I knew I would want to be travelling on those dates I decided to go for it. So I went for and Economy Super Saver fare, which basically means, if something goes wrong, I’m up the creek without a paddle. If need to make a change for whatever reason … well I can’t! But the fare was competitive with JetStar. Also given I needed to bring my suitcase, the inclusive luggage allowance helped. On top of the that, without lounge access, getting a meal on board was also a good thing!!!
I’m sure I could have scored some awesome deal flying another airline. But frankly as I’ve got older, I’ve got a whole lot crankier when it comes to travelling. Now that SQ are offering these Economy SuperSaver flights, I no longer need to fly JetStar. I can continue to fly Singapore Airlines. After all, she is a great way to fly! To Bangkok I will now always be looking to fly Cathay if they are available and the prices are reasonable (not always the case for either of these points) – Singapore airlines also offers flights with similar pricing. The main problem is that on this route JetStar is way more competitive. Offering fares of close to half the two main carriers. This must be down to the demand of the route. Kinda annoying, but I keep my eyes peeled like a hawk to the pricing of Cathay!
My general rule in Singapore is to get to the airport at least an hour before the flight is due to take off. So with the flight leaving at 6.30pm my aim was to get to the airport by 5.30pm. Having worked out my schedule from my work to Changi Airport. According to Google Maps (who of course I totally believe) it would a grand total of 24mins via ECP (East Coast Parkway) or 28mins via PIE (Pan Island Expressway). God forbid I should choose to take CTE (Central Expressway) and PIE route which could take up to 40mins. So if I really planned it out, I could leave the office at 5pm and just about make it to the airport by my 5.30pm deadline. Tight but dooable.
If I wasn’t cutting it so fine, I would normally go from work and take the MRT as the line is pretty reliable and actually if there is some nasty traffic on the roads, is pretty quick — less than an hour door to door. Bear in mind that if you are coming all the way from the west side of Singapore, the trains do not go all the way to Changi Airport (I already talked about this is my guide of the MRT). It stops at Tanah Merah, and you have cross over the platform to get on the shuttle service to Changi Airport (and the Expo centre). I suspect it’s because there is insufficient demand from Changi into town.
However, as I was right on the edge in terms of timings, I decided to take the (apparently) fastest ECP route. I then prayed that no one had an accident – including yours truly! Not just because it is an awful thing to do, but also because of the time scale I had to work within! Sometimes I try to save pennies by not booking a cab and just wait in line, but because I was running on such a close run thing, I decided booking was the only option. Depending on what I’m trying to achieve, I typically like using the GrabTaxi app but I also use the Comfort Delgro app. I don’t have a huge preference, but don’t like paying with cash and would prefer to use credit card.
Anyway, while beavering away at my desk, I suddenly realised it was already almost 4.30pm. Anyone who travels from Singapore knows that anytime between 4.30-6pm is a terrible time to get try and book a cab as everyone is trying to leave. So I desperately tried to finish my work and at the same time needed to get a cab.
My original technique was to book a Comfort cab as I like to be able to charge it to my EZ Link card – which is linked to my credit card… and thus I get miles from it
However, ever since GrabTaxi (now called Grab) allowed me to pay using my credit card, I am happy to just take whatever comes first. I went with Grab Economy and within a minute I had a booking and they were kind enough to upgrade me to Premium … but to be perfectly honest I couldn’t tell the difference. When I got to the pick up point, there was a nice BMW. Don’t ask which model as I’m not that much of a car enthusiast! Fortunately this was not a Friday departure, when it is really really busy. Friday traffic is usually characterised by people trying to go home, go out or go to the airport. Anyway, being rush hour it was still a bit of challenge to get a cab.
There’s not much to say about the journey other than it was pretty good. I have had some experiences in the past with taxi drivers who have absolutely no sense of highway code or speed limit. This driver had a good sense of both. And the journey did indeed take less than 30mins so I was actually at the airport around 5pm. And since I was in the cab, I decided to try and check in online which seemed to be a success.
Stay tuned for the airport experience ...