A Plane, a Train, and a Run: SQ A380 Economy CDG-SIN, KL 737 LHR-AMS, Thalys etc

[yflyer]

This TR is a continuation of a recent trip I made, and picks up right after my flight on Singapore Airlines Premium Economy from Singapore to London. After that, I headed to Amsterdam and Paris before flying back to Singapore on SQ335 CDG-SIN, another A380 service, this time in Economy.

For the TR on the first part of the trip, SIN-LHR, on SQ Premium Economy, click here.

The highlight of my trip was undoubtedly the opportunity to check out SQ’s new Premium Economy product on the A380 on the SIN-LHR sector. However, there were a few other interesting experiences on the remainder of the trip worth recounting.

This trip gave me answers to a few questions:

1. When travelling within Europe, for example between Amsterdam and Paris, should I fly or should I catch a train?

2. What do other airline alliances offer compared to my chosen carrier alliance? I am familiar Star Alliance and Oneworld frequent flyer perks, and through Qantas have also experienced the perks of the EK programme, but I have never been a SkyTeam frequent flyer. What goes on behind the doors of the SkyTeam Lounges, and how do they compare with the competition?

3. What route would airlines fly from Europe to Singapore these days, given the conflict zones along the route?

4. Is it really possible to see the India-Pakistan border when flying overhead at cruising altitude?

5. And last, how could I fit in an invigorating run on this trip, with such a tight schedule?

If you are interested in answers to these, and a glimpse of several hotels and airline lounges on the way, read on!

(To skip straight to flight SQ335 CDG-SIN, click here.)

[yflyer]

Let us continue at Heathrow Terminal 4...

Earlier in the day, I had taken a taxi from Reading (Rhymes with “Bedding”, which is a town just west of London) to Heathrow T4 for my one hour flight from London to Amsterdam on KLM.

This is the airside area at T4. Lots of shopping to be done before your flight.

[yflyer]

I have never flown KLM before, and have no FF status with Skyteam, but fortunately, I was travelling with a colleague who was a a top tier frequent flyer with Delta and SkyTeam (They seem to treat their high tier FF's very well...), and he guested me into the SkyTeam Lounge in T4.



This is a large, two-level lounge, with partial tarmac and runway views. It was fairly crowded at the time we were there in the late afternoon / early evening.

[yflyer]

There were dedicated buffet and bar areas.







Both hot and cold selections were available in the buffet area.



Salads…



Hot selections. These had to be constantly replenished as the lounge was quite full, and the portions of food laid out at the buffet did not seem very generous compared to the crowd in the lounge. At several points of time, they also briefly ran out of plates, cutlery and even glasses.

That said, the hot selections were quite tasty, and top-ups to the rapidly depleting food supply did come out at regular intervals...

[yflyer]

Bar area, with quite an impressive selection of wines and liquor…





I was particularly impressed by the wide range of wines available.

[yflyer]

There was ample beer available for fans of the ongoing Rugby World Cup…



USA was playing South Africa at that very moment, and screens in the lounge were showing the match live…



It was not going well for the Americans…

[yflyer]

Workstations…



Salon and Shower area…







The upper level was almost a copy of the main level, with the same F&B available…



Notice the video game consoles. A fairly kid-friendly lounge.



There was a dedicated TV lounge on the upper level.



A very small number of dedicated resting rooms were also available.



Overall a very comfortable lounge, although it could get busy during peak hours.

[yflyer]

On the way to our boarding date, we passed by the gate for Etihad flight EY018, which was an A380 operated service. I had seen an Etihad A380 land at Heathrow around 2 hours earlier, when I was in the SkyTeam Lounge. I think Etihad has one of the most beautiful A380 liveries in the air today.



No opportunity to try out the Residences or First Suites on this occasion…will someone on this board get round to posting a TR on The Residence soon?

[yflyer]

After presenting my boarding pass at the gate for my KLM flight, I walked through a ridiculously long passage way and aerobridge to the door of the aircraft for the short KLM flight to Amsterdam, operated by that workhorse of the skies, the 737.



KLM loves the colour blue. On this airline, everything was blue – the plane, the seats, the flight attendant uniforms…even the restroom lighting was blue.

I paused as I entered to snap a picture of the European Business Class cabin, which conformed to European norms by being laid out 3-3 just like Economy…



“Can I help you, sir?” the cheerful flight attendant asked me when she say me standing in the middle of the aisle. When she noticed the camera, she laughed and asked “Would you like me to take a picture of you?”

I chuckled and said “No, I just want pictures of the plane!”

I’ve always liked the Dutch – cheerful, not too serious and yet totally professional.

[yflyer]

Black leather headrest covers in J…



…and slightly more seat pitch in J. Of course I would assume the middle seats in J would remain empty as well.



In the Y cabin, the headrest covers were light blue…I feel duty bound to point out that part of the huge fare difference between Y and intra-Europe J has gone to value-added features in J such as a different coloured headrest (Black in J, blue in Y) and an on-seat coat hook in J...apart from that, and a little extra legroom, the Y and J seats are fraternal twins.



Seating was conventional 3-3, with acceptable seat pitch.



I picked the second last row, and was rewarded with the entire row to myself. (That's one more empty seat than the guy in J. Hah!)



Blue lighting in the bathroom…

[yflyer]

We were treated to a live safety demonstration…rivetingly presented in the rear section of the cabin by a statuesque blond flight attendant...



We taxiied out for a quick take-off, and on the way to our runway, passed a KLM Fokker F70, which KLM still operates on the same sector. If the timings had worked out, I would have flown on the F70 instead, just for the novelty of flying this rarely encountered aircraft.

[yflyer]

On this short sector, with a flight time of 45 minutes, around the same as the SIN-KUL sector, there was a surprisingly elaborate snack and beverage menu on offer.

You had a choice of sweet or savoury snack: either nachos or cookies…



And a choice of soft drinks, juices, beer or wine…



Impressive catering for such a short sector.

[yflyer]

We landed 10 minutes early at AMS, but spent 10 minutes taxiing to the gate in this huge airport, which got us off the plane right on schedule.

Overall, a very pleasant flight. I have never flown KLM long haul, and I am not particularly keen to try their 10-abreast 77W’s, but for short haul Y, well, I was impressed. An airline I would be very happy to fly with again within Europe, with or without FF status.

[yflyer]

After picking up snacks and drinks at the supermarket at AMS (Thankfully there were still a few F&B outlets and a supermarket open at that hour, close to 11pm), I took a taxi to my hotel, the Courtyard Marriott Arena Atlas, a very new hotel in the business district, just a short drive from the Amsterdam city centre.



This is a beautifully styled hotel, one of the more visually attractive Courtyard hotels I have stayed in.





Designer wooden staircase…



Self service convenience store next to the lobby…



...stocked with critical essentials such as beer and ice cream, all available 24x7…





Rooms were bright, modern and stylish as well…





Bulgari toiletries in the bathroom added an unexpected touch of luxury...Bulgari? In a Courtyard Marriott? A very pleasant surprise...

[yflyer]

The view from my room the next morning…



The area around the hotel is well connected by train…



There looks to be a nice walking/jogging path by the canal outside the hotel too.



There is single restaurant and bar which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.







A good breakfast buffet was served…not the largest selection I have seen, but both hot and cold selections were of very high quality.







One of the highlights at breakfast were the Dutch mini-pancakes, which the cheerful and chatty chef told me were called “Poffertje”…



When I asked him the best way to eat them, he said “Pour maple syrup on them, add bacon, and eat it all in one go.”



I was glad I asked…



These tasted amazingly good…what a wonderful Bacon Delivery Mechanism, I thought to myself…I headed back for a second helping…

Overall, I thought the Courtyard Marriott was an excellent hotel, and one that I would choose again, at least for trips where I did not plan to spend a lot of time in the old city centre.