Lahore to Singapore (LHE-SIN) on SQ 777-200ER
(config 2 class non-spacebed without avod)

After a late check out (thanks Holiday Inn) I head to the airport. Again the setup is a bit unusual. There is a covered open air foyer that passengers and family/friends can use. This is crowded with people and bags everywhere. There are few spare seats. There are a couple of shops, restaurant and even some tv monitors scattered around. There are plenty of ceiling fans but they just move the hot air around rather than providing any cooling.

Only once check in is open (some 2 to 3 hours before departure time varying by flight) can you enter the terminal proper. There is a security check to enter the terminal. This doesn't seem to be concerned with liquids etc (naturally since some bags will be checked in).

Then to check in. This was pure chaos. Each airline only had a couple of counters to deal with their flight. Signs about economy vs business/elite routinely ignored. Plenty of people using the paid services running to jump queues.

Still I was checked in fairly quickly. I only wanted to check in for this flight since the following flights I will credit to another FFP to maximise their value. They checked me in for the next flight, but not the one after. Oh well, something to sort out in Singapore. Check in gives me business class tags to put on each carry-on. I'm also given an invitation to use the CIP lounge.

Then off to immigration. Signs breaking up into lines for women, children, Pakistan men, foreigners, were ignored by all. Eventually my turn. There is a delay while the officer figures out if the entry by someone with a similar name means anything before letting me proceed.

Then security. There are 2 xray machines, but only one is manned. There is a queue to deposit carry-ons here. I see why the bag tags as each is hole punched to show the bag has been checked (except this step takes place before putting on the xray. Supposedly no liquids of any kind. No mention of gels so I keep those and only throw out the liquids. In dozens of bags that go through before I have a chance to collect mine I do not see any liquids being removed from any bag. Then queue for WTMD, or rather queue for men. The few women pax have their own WTMD which has no queue.

Finally, some 20 minutes later I am through. I wander about to find a currency exchange but apparently the only one is landside. Doh. Pakistan rupees are hard to change elsewhere.

I head upstairs to the lounge. There is one lounge for PIA customers and one for everyone else. The entry part is smoking and inner part non-smoking. The literature is very old, some of it dates to 2004! There is one computer with old software (windows 98) and extremely slow dial up. There are a couple of tvs. There is a small offering of snacks, and water is on offer. No alcohol of course. An attendant wanders around offering tea or coffee.

The flight is announced from gate 22, immediately corrected to gate 24. The monitors show gate 24, but downstairs there is no one at gate 24. Yup we board from gate 22.

As with the flight over it is fairly full (totally full in business class) and most passengers are flying to/from Karachi. A reasonable proportion of those who joined in Lahore were on the same flight as me coming over. The crew is also the same, although they stopped over in Karachi.

The flight back is quicker than on the way over, but the tailwinds are much more moderate and so we arrive on time instead of early. For a couple of hours over the Bay of Bengal there was a spectacular light show out the left hand side of the aircraft. At any given moment multiple lightning flashes lit the sky.

Watching this I didn't get as much sleep as I needed and so was tired arriving back in Singapore. We have a long taxi around 3/4 of the terminal complex yet again.