wilsnunn

This is my first foray into the world of Trip Reports here on FlyerTalk, I have had much enjoyment reading those written by others and it is now my turn to attempt to add to this ever-growing collection.

Background: I am currently a PhD student in the final stages of my doctoral studies, and I had a conference to attend in Kuala Lumpur. I am very lucky to have a generous travel budget and an expenses policy that allows for Premium Economy on flights longer than 6 hours. In addition, my wife’s family are based in Singapore and Malaysia so attending this conference is a perfect opportunity for a trip to see them as well.

Unfortunately (or as it turns out, fortunately!), the conference is in the middle of the UK school summer holidays, meaning that Premium Economy fares between LHR and KUL were at least Ł1250 when I booked this trip back in January. Some wrangling with the finance department at my institute lead them to allow me to travel in business class - on the condition that it did not cost them more than the ticket in premium economy would have; cue some intense ex-EU ticket searching!

I was lucky enough to come across the cheap SOF-DOH-SIN fare on QR and actually managed to book SOF-DOH-SIN-DOH-ARN for the same price (Ł1200), with the hope of at least 2 sectors on the hallowed QSuites. Along with this I purchased tickets on BA in Club Europe for LHR-SOF and ARN-LHR to fit around my flights on QR.

In order to visit family and be in KL in time for my conference I had also booked the following:

• SIN-KCH on Scoot to visit family
• KCH-KUL on MH in business to get to my conference
• KUL-TGG-KUL on MH in business as a day trip to visit a close friend who lives there
• KUL-SIN on MH in business to get back to Singapore in time for my wife to arrive and have a week there before flying back to UK

Part One: UK to Singapore

—London to Sofia—

14 August 2019
LHR-SOF on BA890
Scheduled: Dep: 8:15am & Arr: 1:25pm
Actual: Dep: 9:29am & Arr: 2:11pm
Plane: G-MEDM (Airbus A321-231)

An early morning lift from my mum’s house in the Berkshire countryside to LHR before a short queue at the Business class check in desk to drop my bag and swiftly though Fast Track security at T5 south and then into Galleries South. A pastry or two and a nice cup of tea to keep me going and a read of a newspaper (I do miss having the Financial Times in the lounges there.) At 7:55am I headed to the gate (A5) as the screen in the lounge was saying that the flight was boarding. After a rather long wait in the queue to board, I settled down into 1A (having nabbed it at T-72h). The first officer informed us that due to the fact the plane hadn’t been at the gate and had to be brought from a hanger we were delayed and also lost our ATC slot so take-off was delayed until 9:29am.


Menu on BA890

I opted for the avocado omelette wrap and was pleasantly surprised although there didn't seem to be much basil in my concassé (I am not normally a fan of breakfast on planes.) After my tray was cleared, I enjoyed a short nap followed by an Earl Grey tea before landing into SOF.


Avocado omelette wrap with tomato and basil concassé


—Afternoon in Sofia—

With a number of hours to kill in Sofia but the added annoyance of having to carry both my check-in and hand baggage with me (I now know that they have lockers at the train station in central Sofia), I opted to spend the afternoon in and around the area known as the “Square of Religious Tolerance”; the only place in Europe that has places of worship for four major religions so close together - Eastern Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, Muslims and Jews. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon and I worked through four and a half hours with no problem at all before grabbing a meal at a local Bulgarian cafe. The easy to use and very cheap metro from the airport to Serdika made this the perfect place to spend the afternoon before heading back to the airport for my night-time flight to Doha.


Square of religious tolerance. Clockwise from top left: Cathedral of St Joseph, Sofia Synagogue, Cathedral Church Sveta Nedelya, Banya Bashi Mosque


—Sofia to Doha—

14 August 2019
SOF-DOH on QR226
Scheduled: Dep: 10:30pm & Arr: 3:20am
Actual: Dep: 10:34pm & Arr: 2:45am
Plane: A7-AHE (Airbus A320-232)

Arriving back to SOF on the metro from Serdika, I headed to the QR check in desk where there was a document check prior to the actual check in desk. After my passport was scanned I was pointed towards the Economy check in desks and told to have a great flight, I asked if I could use the Business class check in desk (given I was both travelling in Business and I am OWS so can use the business desk anyway) and the agent was very apologetic and said she hadn’t noticed my class of travel.

Security screening was deserted, and I was through very quickly and into the Preslav Lounge for a short rest before boarding. The lounge was rather basic but still a good place to sit and wait with a drink and a packet of dried sliced bread circles(?!) before the flight to Doha. Boarding was from gate B6 and I headed there just after 9:40pm for a scheduled boarding at 9:45pm. Checking the boarding passes at the gate before the “holding area” was the same agent who had mistakenly directed me to the economy check-in desks earlier that evening and she once again apologised profusely and actually ensured I was the first to board!

After boarding I was taken to my seat 3A, made myself comfortable and was promptly introduced by name to the cabin crew member who would be serving me, handed the menu for the flight and offered a pre-departure beverage of anything that took my fancy; I opted for the signature lemon and mint drink which was very pleasant. Given that the flight is only just over 2000 miles (or according to GCMap.com exactly 2000 miles!) the route was served by an A320, but it is still equipped with very comfortable reclining seats (no flatbed this time but QR do have some which operate this route).


Menu on QR226

Dine on demand is a wonderful thing! I asked for the Bulgarian chicken and the cheese plate to be served right after take off so that I could sleep - and indeed within a few minutes of the fasten seatbelt light going off, I was presented with a tray with what was a very tasty chicken dish and the cheese was served very quickly after finishing my first course.


Bulgarian style chicken kavarma


—Day in Doha—

On arrival into Doha I headed straight through immigration and into an Uber headed to the Souq Wagif Boutique Hotels by Tivoli that I had booked for US$28 through the Discover Qatar stopover program. Check-in was quick and I taken to my (apparently upgraded) room.


My room at Souq Wagif Boutique Hotels by Tivoli

Following a very comfortable sleep, I set off to explore Doha. Having been to Doha a few years ago I knew my way around both the souq as well as the city centre and given the baking midday sun headed to Doha City Centre mall for lunch before heading back to my hotel to do some work and subsequently joining the interesting and, most importantly, free evening tour of Souq Wagif organised by the hotel and buying one of my favourite sweets, Qatari halwa (I highly recommend everybody to give it a try when in Doha).


Souq Wagif. Clockwise from top left: a row of stalls, a giant dullah (Arabic coffee pot), the bird market, a giant copper pot used to make the very tasty Qatari halwa


—Doha to Singapore—

16 August 2019
DOH-SIN on QR946
Scheduled: Dep: 2:25am & Arr: 3:45pm
Actual: Dep: 8:41am & Arr: 9:42pm
Plane: A7-AME (Airbus A350-941)

Rebooked onto QR944
Scheduled: Dep: 7:15am & Arr: 8:15pm
Actual: Dep: 7:39am & Arr: 8:32pm
Plane: A7-ANA (Airbus A350-1041)

Another Uber back to Hamad International Airport just before midnight, quickly through check in (having purchased some things that were not suitable for hand carry I checked my hand baggage in) and security I headed to the Al Marjoun lounge and enjoyed the upstairs buffet and discovered the (in my opinion) very enjoyable “So Jennie” drink – Qatar Airways’ signature non-alcoholic champagne. Unfortunately, after dinner I was informed of a delay of my flight and told more information will only be available at 4am. After a short sleep I went to the desk to find out about the status of my flight and was informed that there was a long delay and take off would not be until 8:15am, owing to a technical issue with the plane. I was asked if I wanted to be moved to the earlier flight; an opportunity that I jumped at – on the condition that it would still be a QSuite equipped plane as I was very excited to try the seat. Unfortunately owing to the delay, I would miss my connecting flight booked separately on Scoot for Singapore to Kuching. Thankfully this was not too much of an issue as I could stay with family in Singapore and travel to Kuching later that weekend. In addition I am now awaiting my €600 EC261 compensation which has been confirmed by Qatar Airways.

Boarding was from gate E20 - a bus gate - after taking the business class bus to the plane I was very happy to be greeted and taken by my QSuite. Having not had a proper sleep in the lounge, I opted to eat what turned out to be a slightly disappointing assiette of cold cuts as a quick bite, followed immediately by sleep.


My first experience of the QSuite - accompanied by my new favourite "So Jennie"



Menu on QR944


Assiette of cold cuts

The QSuite is certainly a very impressive product and as somebody who rarely flies long haul business class, I was exceptionally happy with it. My other recent experiences of long haul business class have both been on BA and this was certainly a very big step up.

As landing approached, I ordered the beef steak sandwich which, despite the beef being overcooked and tough, was very pleasant and I was surprised to have chips (fries) for the first ever time on a plane.


Beef steak with Cheddar and onion chutney in black olive ciabatta bread


—36 hours in Singapore—

Landing in Singapore and being greeted by my mother-in-law meant only one thing, we were heading straight for durians. Saturday was then spent with family before my newly booked flight to Kuching on Sunday afternoon.


Durian time


That is the end of the first part of my Trip Report; Part 2 will detail my travels within Singapore and Malaysia whilst Part 3 will be my journey back to the UK.

wilsnunn

Part Two: Travels around Singapore and Malaysia

—Singapore to Kuching—

18 August 2019
SIN-KCH on MH642
Scheduled: Dep: 12:50pm & Arr: 2:15pm
Actual: Dep: 1:02pm & Arr: 2:14pm
Plane: 9M-MXX (Boeing 737-8H6)

I arrived at Changi terminal 2 from where I was staying with family, checked in my bags at the MH business class desk and headed through immigration and off to the somewhat basic SATS Premier lounge. I had planned to only be at the airport for a short period before my flight so had time only for a quick snack before heading to the boarding gate. I always appreciate the fact that this lounge has “iced gems”, one of my childhood favourites; my wife’s family tell me that these are a “traditional Singaporean sweet”, I can only assume that they were brought to Singapore by the British as I was always told they were a traditional British sweet!


Little gems (photo not mine, taken from Pintrest)

Having enjoyed my iced gems, I headed to gate E7 (quite a walk from the lounge) through security and into the holding area at the gate before boarding began. Boarding commenced with an announcement for all priority and business class customers to come forward, in front of me in the queue to board was a mother and young daughter who was promptly told “families with young children have not been asked to board yet” and was sent to the back of the queue, which I found rather unfair! Given that I had only booked this flight at very short notice, the price of tickets was rather more than I had hoped and even my seat in economy had cost close to the price of business class had I booked it a couple of months in advance, with no Avios availability on the flight and LCCs being a similar price I was happy to at least be able to have food, baggage allowance etc included.

Shortly after take off I was presented with a portion of particularly nasty looking chicken biryani but was very pleasantly surprised when it tasted rather nice. I was happy to be in seat 5A which is a bulkhead seat behind the business class section, so I at least had some room for my legs and was able to have a short nap in relative comfort.


Chicken biryani


Leg room in row 5

Upon arrival in Kuching, I picked the slowest queue at immigration (not quite sure how I always manage that in Kuching) and ended up being the last person through immigration despite being one of the first economy passengers off the plane, I assume were Malaysian citizens so were able to use the faster queues. Incidentally my wife’s uncle and aunt had arrived into Kuching from KL at a similar time, so I ended up queueing with them. Once through we were greeted by yet another collection of cousins and had a fantastic evening with family.


—Kuching to Kuala Lumpur—

19 August 2019
KCH-KUL on MH2547
Scheduled: Dep: 5:45am & Arr: 7:25am
Actual: Dep: 5:59am & Arr: 7:27am
Plane: 9M-MLG (Boeing 737-8FZ)

Given that I had had such an enjoyable evening with family the day before when arring into Kuching (with more family arriving later that evening from Singapore too) I did not manage to have an early night and waking up to get to the airport at 4:40am was not an easy task. Thankfully once I had properly woken up and the driver had taken me to the airport, there was no queue at the business class check in desk and immigration was much faster leaving Kuching than it was when entering. I briefly visited the (deserted) Golden Lounge for some fresh juice and then proceeded to board and settle into my seat (1A). Breakfast was noodles with prawns, which whilst not being the prettiest was still enjoyable, but certainly not luxury. The short haul and domestic MH seats are, in my experience, rather old but are still comfortable and still a large step up from European business class seats (which are just standard economy seats) such as Club Europe on BA.


Kuching International Airport


Noodles with prawns

I slept for a majority of this flight, only to be woken up twice by the cabin crew asking if I wanted more water or juice – slightly frustrating when I wanted to rest before the conference.

Arrival at KLIA was very painless and my bags came out very quickly and I was able to take a Grab straight to my hotel to check in, have a quick shower and head off to my conference at the KL Convention Centre. I chose to stay at the Pullman KLCC which is where I often stay when in KL, it is clean, easy to get to both Pavilion and KLCC by foot and the rooms are very reasonably priced, furthermore with my Accor Le Club (or is it Accor Live Limitless…) Gold status I am entitled to an upgrade which normally results in a relatively nice room.


—Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu—

24 August 2019
KUL-TGG on MH1326
Scheduled: Dep: 7:05am & Arr: 8:01am
Actual: Dep: 7:22am & Arr: 7:57am
Plane: 9M-MXJ (Boeing 737-8H6)

On Friday evening at the end of the conference I checked out of my hotel and took a grab to the Sri Langit Hotel; this is a budget (and very low quality) hotel a short drive away from KLIA and meant that for my early morning flight the following day I would not need to worry about getting a taxi all the way from central KL. I would only recommend this hotel if you wanted to spend as little as possible because it was not particularly pleasant and there are a number of hotels closer to the airport for a small amount more but likely better quality.

Once at the airport there was a very long line for the business class check in desks (and a very large crowd around the economy check in desks) and only one seemed to be open, I hovered around the other desks and within a few minutes a handful of other desks opened and I was able to check in and drop my bags without any fuss. Immigration wasn’t necessary as I was flying domestic so I went straight to the domestic Golden Lounge where I had a very enjoyable breakfast of beef rendang followed by fruit.

The flight to Terengganu seemed to be half full of locals and half full of European and Australian tourists, most of whom I assume were heading to the numerous island resorts around Terengganu. I boarded, took my seat (1A once again) and as we headed to the runway, a Cargolux 747-8R7(F) (reg LX-VCL) took off in front of us, a nice surprise to see before our flight. I slept for 30 minutes before enjoying the view out of the window for the final 15 minutes or so. I was offered a tuna sandwich but having had a large portion of rendang in the lounge, turned it down.


View of Terengganu before landing

Upon arrival into Terengganu I was greeted by my long time friend and had a fantastic day exploring the sights of Kuala Terengganu as well as enjoying traditional Terengganu foods such as nasi dagang, laksam and keropok lekor.


—Terengganu to Singapore via Kuala Lumpur—

24 August 2019
TGG-KUL on MH1335
Scheduled: Dep: 4:05pm & Arr: 5:10pm
Actual: Dep: 4:15pm & Arr: 4:58pm
Plane: 9M-MXT (Boeing 737-8H6)

The return flight to KL was much the same as on the way out earlier that morning, I was once again in seat 1A and the plane was again half full of locals and half of European tourists (I didn’t hear any Australian accents on the way back). Having spent a large portion of the day enjoying the local food in Terengganu, I again turned down the tuna sandwich that I was offered on the flight.


24 August 2019
KUL-SIN on MH609
Scheduled: Dep: 11:05pm & Arr: 0:10am
Actual: Dep: 11:13pm & Arr: 11:49pm
Plane: 9M-MSA (Boeing 737-8H6)

As my final flight of the day was not on the same ticket as my other two (they were booked a few weeks apart once plans had been finalised) I had scheduled a long layover at KUL in case delays on the TGG-KUL flight scuppered my ticket back to SIN. This meant collecting my check in baggage and checking it in again at KLIA. I had hoped that there was a chance to “go show” for an earlier flight from KUL to SIN, but was firmly told by the airport check in staff at KLIA “you have a Z class fare so you cannot change it at all” despite my KUL-TGG-KUL ticket also being Z class but eligible for go show (not that it would have even been possible with my schedule). Given that I had such a long layover I went to the large Golden Lounge in the satellite terminal first and was able to get a good amount of work done before heading to the regional Golden Lounge closer to the time of my flight.

Two days prior, there had been a large IT system meltdown at the airport and many of the screens were not in operation, the boarding gate was shown by a piece of paper with the flight number and destination written on it, taped to a sign next to the appropriate gate! I am very thankful that this IT system failure did not affect any of my plans that day as even a small change in the first two flights could have meant the say wasn’t quite so enjoyable.

The flight to Singapore was very quiet and I was the only person in Business class, once again in seat 1A. The cabin crew were very nice and kept my glass of juice topped up throughout the short flight to SIN. I once again rejected the offer of food as I was still stuffed from all the food that I had eaten earlier that day.

On arrival into Singapore I was again greeted by my mother-in-law and again taken straight for durian. Mrs wilsnunn arrived early on Sunday morning from London via Doha and we had a great week together with family and friends in Singapore.

wilsnunn

Part Three: Heading back home to UK

—Singapore to Doha—

3 September 2019
SIN-DOH on QR945
Scheduled: Dep: 2:15am & Arr: 5:10am
Actual: Dep: 2:17am & Arr: 4:20am
Plane: A7-AND (Airbus A350-1041)

So the end of my trip arrived, Mrs Wilsnunn returned back to UK at the weekend and received an op-up from Y to J with QSuites on her DOH-LON leg which she was most happy about (and now believes in doing ex-EU trips!)

I headed to Changi earlier than I would normally have as relatives were taking me and I didn’t want to keep them awake, so was able to use the early check-in desks at The Jewel just as they were closing and have a quick walk around, although most places were closed by that point. Through immigration using the electric gates, which was the first time I had used them in Singapore, I was previously unaware that one was able to with a UK passport and straight to the rather depressing SATS Premier Lounge as both the BA and QF lounges had closed already, it will be fantastic when QR finally open their lounge at Changi soon. My visit was however brightened up by the presence of iced gems once again!

It was soon time to board from gate D34, and I was very happy to once again be taken to my QSuite by the cabin crew, this time it was seat 3A. I am not sure if there is any actual difference, but I certainly preferred my seat 9K on the flight to Singapore over this seat. As it was late, I didn’t need any dinner but chose to enjoy a quick dessert of apricot, peach and blueberry clafoutis with a glass of So Jennie before heading off to sleep in my Qatar Airways White Company pyjamas. Being rather broad shouldered, I opted to swap the medium size that I had been given for a large (my usual clothing size); this turned out to be a mistake as they were overly large and next time, I would pick a medium. After a sleep that lasted the entire night, I didn’t feel like a large breakfast so had the platter of seasonal cut fruits before landing into Doha.



Menu on QR945


White Company pyjamas


Apricot, peach and blueberry clafoutis


Platter of seasonal cut fruits

Having planned to meet a friend in Doha at 11am, I had quite some time before I needed to leave so headed to the Al Marjoun lounge for a shower and some breakfast before doing some work and then heading into Doha to meet with him. I somehow managed to flood the entire shower area (at the far end near to the quiet areas for sleeping) and having not put my contact lenses in I only realised after I got out of the shower and put my glasses on; I feel sorry for the cleaner who then had the task of clearing up the 1.5cm deep flood that had made its way out of my shower room and into the hallway! Using the premium immigration lounge to head out to Doha, the officer was very surprised when I told him that I would only be out for 3 hours in response to his “how long will you be in Qatar” question. I would have thought that it was more common for people to pop into the city, but maybe not.

In the Uber on the way back to Hamad International Airport after meeting with my friend (and my customary stop at souq wagif to buy Qatari halwa (cf Post 1)), I spotted the new Qatar National Museum which I plan to visit next time I am in Doha as I heard great things about it from my friend.


New Qatar Natinoal Museum designed to look like a desert rose


—Doha to Stockholm—

3 September 2019
DOH-ARN on QR171
Scheduled: Dep: 3:30pm & Arr: 8:45pm
Actual: Dep: 3:52pm & Arr: 9:00pm
Plane: A7-ALI (Airbus A350-941)

Back at Al Marjoun lounge I had a light lunch at the upstairs buffet – unfortunately the lamb dish that I had enjoyed so much on the way to Singapore was not there this time – before heading to gate C13 for my flight to Stockholm. This flight was one that QR advertise as being a QSuite route but when booked was not QSuites, followed by a short period where it was and then a few weeks prior to the flight changed back to their standard business class seating.

I was in seat 2K for my final QR flight of the trip and whilst it was certainly a nice seat, I would have much preferred the QSuite; the seat felt very exposed after the privacy offered by the door on the previous flight. The cabin crew were once again very friendly and I was welcomed on board and referred to by name each time which is a nice touch.


Menu on QR171

This time I spent most of the flight working before watching a film on the IFE (which was certainly worse than the QSuite IFE) over a dinner of soup of the day which was spiced lentil, a staarter of prawn and scallop with olive oil and lemon followed by grilled veal fillet. The soup and starter were brilliant but the veal was overdone, chewy and I regretted not going for one of the other options, as always the presentation was very smart.


Soup of the day


Prawn and scallop with olive oil and lemon


Grilled veal fillet

(apologies for the pink tinge in the photos)

This flight was very empty in business class but looked to be very full in economy, the crew were also less attentive on this flight than they had been on the others, it was still certainly great service though. We arrived in Stockholm on time and the bags arrived very quickly although a fragile box that I was bring back to UK did appear very bashed around when I collected it from the special baggage area. Given that there were no BA flights back to London late enough for me to fly back on the same night, I had booked a room at the cheapest hotel that I could find near to the airport which happened to be the “Mĺby Park & Hotell” which I would recommend even less than the Sri Langit Hotel mentioned above, whilst it was very clean and there was a free bus transfer from the airport, the rooms are very basic and mine (advertised as such) had no window and only shared bathroom access.


—Stockholm to London—

4 September 2019
ARN-LHR on BA777
Scheduled: Dep: 11:25am & Arr: 1:10pm
Actual: Dep: 11:36am & Arr: 1:09pm
Plane: G-EUYK (Airbus A320-232)

The final flight of the trip was back on my usual airline - BA. After taking the free shuttle bus from the hotel back to the airport, I checked in and headed to the lounge. The offering in the lounge was very basic and I ended up eating a plate of hard boiled eggs as my breakfast. Whilst it doesn’t matter to me, it was interesting to note that they only served lactose free milk, something Mrs Wilsnunn would have very much appreciated as she struggles with finding lactose free or plant based milks in airport lounges.

Boarding was smooth and I made myself comfortable in seat 2A. Shortly after taking off, lunch was served; I wanted the Loch Fyne smoked salmon however even being in seat 2A they had runout by the time they reached me, instead I chose the handmade spinach gnocchi which was very tasty but no way near as well presented as the QR food that I had become used to on my past flights. Arrival at LHR was uneventful and I was quickly out through immigration and collecting my bags before being met by my taxi to drive me back home.


Menu on BA777


Back on BA


Handmade spinach gnocchi


—Conclusion—

Overall, this was my first proper business class ex-EU trip and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was certainly not as easy as the BA flight LHR-KUL in WT+ that I could have taken, but it was certainly a lot more enjoyable; I got to see Sofia, visit a friend in Doha and experience the infamous QSuites. The whole trip netted me 845 Tier Points to my BAEC account and brings me within touching distance of BAEC Gold for the first time. Mrs Wilsnunn’s experience of the QSuites was also incredibly good and I feel that ex-EU trips may become a lot more common in our household!

I hope that you have enjoyed my trip report, I am sorry that the three parts took so long to write, it is a very busy period of my PhD at the moment with job applications ongoing as well.

Thank you all for reading!

T8191

Selamat Datang, and congratulations on losing your Trip Report virginity! An excellent and informative start ... I’m poised for the rest! ^

roadwarrier

Pity about your delay in Doha. But, the hotel was very well priced - I did look at that option some time ago, but unfortunately my plans did not come to fruition.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

wilsnunn

Part Two is now live, I hope to post Part Three next weekend.

SQTraveller

Great report so far... what I really want to know is what are your doctoral studies in that allows you such a great travel budget?!??!?!?

wilsnunn

My PhD is in statistics but I specialise in an area that has been labelled part of "Data Science" and anything with data science in the title attracts a huge amount of funding at the moment, I am rather grateful for that!

wilsnunn

Part Three is finally up, sorry for the delay. Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed it.

onobond

Frequenting the TR area too infrequently, I found the way here by means of the link in another post you made today.

My verdict is that you impressed me, please return with another TR ^