SINGAPORE to JAKARTA in Business Class on SQ A345
On entering the first class lounge I first get some more boarding passes for following flights.
While I wait I freshen up, unsure of how much time I will have later. This is something I am in habit to do when travelling long itineraries – take a shower (almost) whenever I get the chance. For even if I think there will be plenty of opportunity later I have learnt from experience that the best laid plans can go awry due to weather or mechanical issues, missed connections, strikes, etc. Plus it just feels better travelling fresh, especially if tired as I was.
I had enough time left over to check emails and FT, while drinking some more Dom Perignon
I must have been more tired than I thought as I realised with a start that it was only 20 minutes until departure – I better go now. On the way out I check the monitor for the departure gate. Dang F54, quite some distance away. Still at least it isn’t F60 this time. So I power walk to the gate, making it just before it closes. Boarding is almost complete by this time so straight down the airbridge, onboard and to my seat.
Online I’d earlier picked the bulkhead row in the forward of the 2 business class cabins for that is the smaller one. It seems I made a lucky choice as there were some noisy babies in the second cabin – the front cabin was much quieter. The flight was reasonably full but I was lucky enough to have an empty seat beside me so plenty of room to stretch out.
For those unfamiliar with SQ’s A345, these are used on the ultralonghaul non-stop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles and Singapore and Newark (see for example my
trip report on the double inaugural SIN-EWR-SIN). Due to issues with weight and performance, SQ fitted them out with reduced seating meaning an extra several inches of pitch, in both business and economy classes. The Wisemen 3000 avod IFE is also loaded with additional movies from the non-A345 version. In between the ultralonghaul flights the A345s do some flights between Singapore and Jakarta. As long as you aren’t wanting to fly in first class (for SQ’s A345 has no first class) these flights are a good choice on this route IMHO.
But I digress. Shortly after I had taken my seat the doors were shut and we pushed back. During my transit the active runway had switched sides of the airport (but still in the same direction) which meant a short taxi.
I catch up on some sleep during the short flight, awaking near Jakarta as we encounter some turbulence. We turn past the city to land and descend past the edge of the runway, until ...
... with a roar of the engines on full power we suddenly climb sharply. An aborted landing in the final stages. This is an experience which lately I have had every year (at least once). I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised given the high number of flights I take it is bound to happen from time to time. However it is still enough out of the ordinary to jolt me awake and wonder what went wrong. Most passengers and crew are talking amongst themselves about it too. A couple of minutes later the captain comes on the PA to advise a sudden wind shear occurred (well, he didn’t use that wording but instead referred to a sudden strong tailwind). While there were thunderstorms in the general area the nearest looked to be about 50 kilometres away and so I couldn’t help think that there may have been another reason. We circled a big loop before coming back in to land on the same runway in the same direction some 20 minutes later.
We taxi in the long way around, past the rotting aircraft, to our position at the gate closest to the main part of the terminal.