Dec 22 Osaka- Singapore SQ985
Dec 23 Singapore- Perth SQ223
Jan 09 Perth- Singapore SQ226
Jan 10 Singapore- Osaka SQ986

Being that there's no direct flights between Osaka and Perth the Asian airlines are the only show in town. I usually take Malaysian very happily but this time they weren't in the ballpark for me so I was more than happy to give my yen to SQ. I've also taken Thai before as well as Cathay so it was interesting to compare. SQ come out tops I reckon only because of Changi Airport. Wow, this is what airports should be. Marvellous. ^

Apparently Dec 22nd is the busiest day to fly all year. Arriving at 8am, the circus that was Kansai that day left me a quivering wreck. The crazy system they have in Japan makes you put your check-in bags through the X-ray machine before you enter the actual check-in area. Designed pre 9/11 Kansai can't deal with this and the result is out of control queues where you haven't got a hope of working out where one line starts and the other ends. I tried to find the end of the queue but probably ended up pushing in somewhere. My apologies to anyone I jumped in front of. The were was a diamond at the end though. Once I got through there was no line to actually check-in so I was able to get everything done in double quick time. I was in such a dither what with the queue and an exploding suitcase that the clerk had to remind me to check my bag through to Perth. The 48 hours before check-in of SQ rocks. I requested right down the very back of the 777 and got it.

After that I was in desperate need of a beer and a ciggie so I ventured downstairs to Lawson (Japanese convinience store chain) only to find it had shutdown. Fortunately it had been relocated to the 2nd floor (domestic) and a beer could be had at a reasonable price. Sufficiently drugged I lined up again for security. Had a great chat to a bloke from Tel Aviv while inching forward. Travelling is all about these random encounters with people you'll never see again.

Got on the plane and found I was where I wanted to be and was pretty much the only person who didn't have anyone sitting next to them. You little beauty. Didn't have the AVOD system but was otherwise stoked with the seat. FA's were great, though I tend to avoid asking too much of them as a rule. Their job is hard enough without me being too much of a fussy bugger. It was a great flight because it was memorable for being not memorable if that makes sense. MH, CX and SQ are the same in that regard imho.

Arrived at Changi. Can't rave enough about that airport. Breezed through customs. Lovely. I wanted to take a mini-cab to my hotel but was informed there was going to be an hour wait. Bugger that for a game of soldiers so I jumped into a cab. Good choice, had a great driver, very chatty and told me lots about the joint. 16 bucks Singapore to my hotel, very reasonable I thought. I found the hotel (Robertson Quay Hotel- a recommendation from FT members) to be OK, the bathroom was a bit scungy, but the location was great. Had dinner at Boat Quay and then searched around to find a place where I could have a beverage or two. Eventually found a place close to the hotel that was having a deal on Belgian beer. S$6 for Leffe Brune. Winner. ^

Took a cab to the airport in the morning. A Merc ^ . Bonus (I'm easily pleased). My cabbie sample of 2 was good. At Changi the 48 hour check-in came into its own. Didn't have to do anything but go through security and then go to the gate. Wonderful.

The plane to Perth was chokkas as I expected. Wasn't too worried as I had my window seat for the spectacular ride down the west coast of Australia. Stunningly beautiful every-time. In my experience the only thing to match that has been the view over Siberia. This plane had AVOD- my first experience of AVOD... this rocks harder than anything is possible to rock.
I watched "The Office", first time I'd seen it, confirming the Poms as kings of comedy in my book.

Arrival in Perth was the usual dogs breakfast at customs. I don't know what other Aussie airports are like but Perth is bloody hopeless. I'm always glad to get out of the place. Immigration is great, perhaps they're softening you up for what comes next.


Coming back. Usually Perth is nasty at check-in. Maybe it was SQ, maybe just luck but it was by far the most pleasant check-in experience I've ever had at Perth. Incredibly friendly and helpful. Was a little late so couldn't get a window seat. Never mind, got an ailse instead. With AVOD there's no need to look out the window anyway.

At Changi I did the shower deal, very pleasant for a cheap price. Had a backpack implosion so had to go in search of safety pins in place of a zip. Hint #1- Changi doesn't have any shops that sell safety pins. I even went into Terminal 1 on my search. Had to settle for masking tape.
Hint #2- Lawson at Kansai has safety pins.

The plane back home had AVOD, so 3 out of 4 had it. Not that I watched it though, took a Serepax and half an hour later didn't know whether I was Arthur or Martha. Entry at Kansai was easy at it always is.

Anyway, I'm a once or twice a year flyer so not a real proper FT contributor so I hope you can enjoy the perspective of someone who is basically a ......... ^

nice to see you haven't lost your aussie accent

Very entertaining trip report. Love those Aussie expressions.

Funny thing about Japanese airports is that they seem to be the exact opposite of the super-efficient Japanese people. Check-ins are chaotic. Transits and transfers, especially inter-terminal, are a maze. Immigration lines are long.

I'll concur on the immigration, and add in excessively nosy Customs types and the weird "X-ray before checkin" thing mentioned above (which fortunately doesn't apply to carry-on), but other than that I've never had a problem with Japanese airports -- and off the top of my head I've been to CTS, SDJ, NRT, HND, NGO, KIX, OKA, ISG and OGN. Check-in is usually fast (especially if you use the machines), boarding at the gate is very efficient, elite status is well respected, bags come out fast with the handle already turned towards your hand, connections to onward transport are smooth, no irritating touts...
For domestic flights you can check in under 30 minutes before departure, and I've seen a Jumbo get loaded from zero to full and push back in under 15 minutes. Could I make the wild guess that your complaint is mostly directed at Narita, which probably is the worst of Japan's airports, especially during crush seasons like Golden Week?

I must admit I was a little surprised at how much of a mad-house it was because I've flown in Japan at that time of the year quite a bit before and it was never that bad. There was just a lot of planes leaving at that time (late morning) and it seemed all the check-ins counters being used were in the same area. Result- total chaos. An hour later it was calm again. Japanese airports generally get high marks from me right down the line. As Jpatokal said, domestic is a breeze. I've arrived at check-in 20 minutes before my flight once and they didn't even bat an eye-lid. I love Kansai just lucked out last time I guess.

I agree with you on that. Went last March. Was surprised at how fast customs was (esp given their feeling on drugs, I figured that would slow things down - I guess they get those people some other way). Very clean airport, fast checkin/out.

Multitudes of transit options to travel to city; most inexpensive (from 6 am to 6 pm).

Cheers

Hi.

Welcome to FT ^

Mate, try an international-to-domestic transfer at Sydney.

Immigration at MEL is just as sad or even worse than PER, particularly in the morning when all the jumbos arrive from LHR and Asia. It's not unheard of to leave the terminal for up till 60 minutes after arriving.