NORTHEAST continued

I have a couple of hours before the next flight so I freshen up with a good shower, imbibe some dom and catch up on email and a bit more of this trip report. The time passes quickly.

I am flying up to Tokyo (NRT) and back on SQ via Bangkok (BKK) - on separate flights SIN-BKK and BKK-NRT vv of course to maximise mile and PPS earning and simultaneously minimise fare (win-win). The downside is no skysuites except on the sole daily 747 flight between SIN-BKK. However even the "old" F seats are mighty comfy and the SQ service on the 777-200 is just as good as on the 747-400.

For the first time this trip we leave SIN from a close gate and take off in the direction we're headed. The flight to Bangkok is short and sweet at about 2 hours, but unlike Jakarta is just long enough to watch a movie and the meal is also a fuller meal service. The cabin is quite empty so we have plenty of room to stretch out.

We arrive on schedule to Bangkok where we see a plethora of european and asian airlines lined up at the gates - LH, BA, LX, AY, AF, SK, CX, TG (duh!), BR, NH, JL, plus a lot of local and LCCs etc etc. SQ seems to switch between piers 4 & 5, and this flight had pier 5 so a short taxi past the golf course and domestic terminal to our gate. It is a short walk to the transit escalator, up to departures level and back towards pier 5 to the nice TG F lounge.

IMHO this lounge is the best of the many on offer at BKK, and for business class the 2-story TG lounge by pier 3 is the best but perhaps also the QF Qantas Club. There are many other lounges at BKK, it still amazes me how many there are in *A alone - UA, LH, SQ, TG (many), SK.

I catch up on more email and FT and then notice it is already past boarding time. Usually the lounge attendants inform the F pax individually about boarding but not this time (or perhaps they were just a bit slow?). When I got the boarding passes, and indeed on arriving into BKK, no gate had yet been assigned for the onward flight. So I turned left out of the lounge towards the main part of the terminal to check the departure screens for piers 4 & 5. Okay it is pier 4. A short queue at security. Several of the pax in front of me appeared to be travelling on a LCC based on the various fast food being carried, including soft drink that was in danger of being spilled over themselves or worse yet the screeners as they struggled to hold the food & drink while positioning carry-ons on the machine, emptying pockets etc. Once through and at the gate, I notice boarding is well underway. A short pause while they confirm on the computer I am indeed a transit passenger, and I board to my seat. The flight is moderately full, mostly through passengers from Singapore as the flight indeed is SIN-BKK-NRT. This presumably explains the use of lesser aircraft than the non-stops which are 747-400.