April 2, 2004
Singapore to London
British Airways 18 First Class
747-400 G-BNLU Seat 2A
1135p-620a Flight time: 12:48
Our arrival at Singapore’s Changi Airport was right on time and so transiting passengers were left with an hour and a half to disembark and stroll about this beautiful airport. Changi’s got it all, from a multitude of stores and restaurants to a fitness club. Why – there’s even an in-airport game show! For BA’s First Class clientele, there’s also a very nice lounge, operated jointly with Qantas. Singapore is basically a mini-hub for Qantas who operate flights to points all over Australia along with a few European capitols. At this hour of night, Qantas was particularly busy and as such, so too was the First Class lounge.
I’ve described this lounge in my
previous Trip Report so I won’t go into detail here except to say that the circular buffet offered a particularly tasty mushroom soup. Even though I wasn’t all that hungry, I’m a big mushroom soup fan and just had to try it out. Good stuff!
Later, back on board the aircraft, the ambient cabin temperature still hadn’t improved. Unlike Melbourne where the announcement about this problem led us to believe that the problem lay with inoperative equipment at the airport, this time the Captain came right out and admitted that this aircraft had experienced a problem with one of its APU generators on the flight out from London and that so far ground crews had been unable to correct the problem without taking the aircraft out of service, which of course would inconvenience the passengers to a far greater degree than a little excess heat while boarding. We were assured that once the engines were started, the cabin environment would return to a more comfortable temperature. I listened to all of this with interest as I furiously fanned myself with enough vigor to create something akin to prop wash for my surrounding passengers, none of whom complained.
A few minutes later, we were informed that the Government of Singapore had placed five individuals aboard this flight whom it did not care to have visiting Singapore. British Airways however, upon further review of these individuals’ backgrounds, elected not to be the carrier of choice for their journey back to England. This meant offloading their combined thirteen pieces of baggage, an endeavor that delayed us a further forty five minutes. Sigh… when it rains, it pours.
During this extended delay, I pulled out my menu, waved a bit of cool air over myself, then perused the upcoming dinner and breakfast selections:
Singapore to London
DINNER
Appetizers
Blue crab and mango salad with chermoula dressing
Smoked meats with Parmesan cheese
Soup
Roast Tomato Soup
Salad
Fresh salad leaves with your choice of Balsamic olive oil or Caesar dressing
MAIN COURSE
Roast Loin of Lamb
Presented with white beans au gratin
Sautéed Chicken
Served with braised peas and caramelized bacon
Fresh Pasta
Topped with your choice of chilli, fennel and tomato sauce or green pesto
Peppered Smoked Salmon
Offered with a grilled vegetable salad
LIGHTER FARE
Bacon Roll served with tomato ketchup
Stuffed potato skins
Roast tomato soup with a side salad
A selection of finger sandwiches
A selection of cheese and fruit
** ***** **
DESSERT AND CHEESE
Lemon and Raspberry Sorbet
Presented with tuile biscuits
Ginger Cheesecake
Served with marmalade coulis
A Selection of Classic Cheeses
Somerset Camembert, Capricorn Goat, Yarg, Hereford Red and Cashel Blue Cheese
Selection of Fresh Fruit
Chocolates