Singapore to Osaka Kansai (SIN-KIX) Raffles (Business) Class on SQ 777 continued
Gradually the lounge emptied, for this red eye flight is one of the last of the night for Singapore Airlines, until it was time for me to also leave. The onward flight had gate E28 - not the closest gate (it is closest to Terminal 1) but not too far away either.
By leaving the lounge fairly late I miss the queues at gate security and straight through. I am asked to swap my aisle seat for a window to allow a couple to sit together - I say sure. I may have thought about declining for a daytime flight, but for a redeye a window is fine be me. Boarding was already well underway so I head straight on to my new seat. I have some water and they take my order for breakfast.
The flight is full and we push back a few minutes late. With the number of late night departures from Singapore, sometimes a small delay at the gate can end up as a half hour (or more) hold on the apron. Fortunately that is not the case tonight. Nevertheless by time we are airborne I am already asleep.
About 2 hours 20 minutes before arrival we are woken for breakfast (cabin lighting put on and anyone other than those who requested to sleep through is tapped on the shoulder). Given only about half the passengers (at least in business) have asked for breakfast there is no need in my view to start so early, especially on these short red-eye flights. Id like to see breakfast start say 80 minutes prior to landing, giving a valuable extra hour sleep.
Breakfast is merely okay. They forgot my special coffee order and I had to ask for it again. By then it was cold
By chance the timing coincided with sunrise which seemed so peaceful in these cloudless skies.
Later on we see the early morning light over Japan. The sun shining on the cliffs. Shadows marking out valleys while ridges bathed in soft light. A thick mist filled one valley system marking it out like a white sea complete with bush clad islands from a few hills in the middle poking through and complex "coastline" highlighting the rugged terrain.
The further north we go the more coastal towns and cities we fly past, and the fishing boats and container ships are visible below as we descend over the waterways into Kansai.
We have a straight in approach and short taxi. The gate is close to the main terminal, yet we have to walk away, up a level, take the train to the main terminal, then down a level, to arrive at immigration/transfers which was only a few metres away from the gate Id started at. Hey, maybe Auckland Airport is mimicking their layout (with the addition of more shops)?
Id arrived shortly after Air Calin, which has lots of passengers connecting through to Paris. I am not sure why but the transfer queue was hardly moving and I contemplated clearing immigration (which had no queues at all), going up a level and then back through immigration. Nah - it wont take long. Sure enough the queue starting moving much more efficiently again. Perhaps the screener had needed to go to the bathroom? Once through security it was the same process in reverse, take the train, down a level, then backtrack to the lounge. For some reason the Silver Kris Lounge is not on the main concourse between shops like all the other lounges, but instead down this back alley which is devoid of everything.