Which is your favourite flight to LHR?

[banoffi]

hi all

Planning a London trip with 2 teenagers next June (haha, yes..trying to get redemption tickets!).

Which is your favourite SQ flight into London? There are 4 everyday, and which timing usually leaves you with the least jet lag?

It's our first time to London, and still undecided if we should fly in/out LHR, or come back via CDG. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated too!

We plan to spend 10 full days all in, probably 3 in Paris and the rest in London.

Thanks!

[cowie]

Depends. Flying Y, J, or F?

Consider flying out of CDG instead of LHR to avoid the UK Air Passenger Duty (aka departure tax). It can add up, especially if you're flying in a premium cabin. Having said that, chances of getting three redemption tickets at saver level would be easier out of LHR than CDG due to the number of flights out of those stations.

[banoffi]

haha hopefully J! definitely not F.... still debating if the kids should go on PE or J.

was hoping my LHR/SIn leg (either direction ) could be on the B777-300ER. of course, hopefully, by then one of the aircraft might've been swopped to a newer A350. (one can hope!)

[726]

Timing-wise, i'd go with SQ308 and SQ318 (new product) as IMHO this will lessen jetlag. I am neutral to the other two (SQ306 and SQ322).

The opposite direction, i avoid at all costs SQ317 and SQ305 (it was fine when it was 1300, but the timing was moved to 0900). My absolute favourite is SQ319 (new product, no PE) , but I also like SQ321. Back in 2000s when it was b744, my favourite was SQ320 (now SQ318) and SQ319 (then departs at 1830).

SQ318 will give you full meal (no breakfast). That is lunch and dinner.

[chisquared]

I would definitely go out of my way to fly the new product in J, especially if it's for a bulkhead.

I think SQ306 has been getting the new product more often than SQ318 as of late, however.

I haven't really thought too much about the most convenient flight times (I'm generally quite flexible, so I usually go for the flight that gets me the seat that I want), but I am interested in other people's thoughts on this.

[726]

SQ306 was getting new products-or it is, but there is a switch to a380. Not sure when. I used to opt SQ306 instead of the other flights, but I avoided SQ305 (and also SQ317).

[loldude333]

SQ318/319 have been getting the old products a lot recently. Do note that this pair of flights DOES NOT have PEY. I flew SQ318 into LHR 2.5 weeks back, it was old product. If you get a good rest early in the flight and stay up for the rest, you'll probably arrive in LHR ready to get a good night's rest. That was helpful for me, i had barely any jetlag! Flying SQ319 back tomorrow, fingers crossed SWU will be on duty (its the only 77WN) currently available.

If you go in J, difference between 2006 J and 2013 J is significant, but quite a bit less so than Y.

[banoffi]

Thanks all.

I am quite reluctant to land in LHR early in the morning, as it is unlikely that I will be able to check in to the hotel when I arrive in London. I am also reluctant to arrive late in the evening as it means one 'wasted' day (so to speak).

Not too particular as to how many meals they will be serving. But yes! really hoping to fly the new J product. CDG is currently only served by A380 tho, so if i am flying out of CDG, then I would have to fly in to LHR on the new product If i really want to try it. I did fly the A380 in J to Tokyo once and was very happy with it.

Do they often change allocation of the aircraft on the SIN/LHR/SIN route?

[cowie]

Do they often change allocation of the aircraft on the SIN/LHR/SIN route?

As much as I empathise with what you are hoping to do, it's really hard to say, one year out, which plane configuration you'd be getting on a particular flight. As it is, one of the 777-300ERs was just recently swapped for an A380 rather unexpectedly. While one can hope, when doing award redemptions one has to be flexible with expectations. I would suggest picking a flight for its timing rather than its configuration. The worst you will do is end up with the old 2006 seat, which still isn't shabby.

Agreed with your view on early landings. Adding to that: with e.g. a 6am landing, the crew will wake you up at 4am for breakfast. Even if you opt out, the smell of the food plus the clanging of cutlery will certainly stir all except the heaviest of sleepers. I much prefer a mid-morning arrival. That way, you can slowly make your way to the hotel and if an early check-in is not available, you can drop your bags off and have lunch. An early dinner and an early night later, you should be pretty fresh for the following day.

But if you can't avoid an early morning arrival, here's a tip that works for me and may work for you. Rent a car, grab breakfast and head over to the Bicester Village for outlet shopping. They open at 10am, but the tourists arrive quite soon after by the bus-load and often sweep everything off the shelves, so a headstart is important. Then drive the car to your hotel in London, and arrange for the rental company to pick it up. The guys I usually use is Avis Prestige, and they do one-way dropoffs in London for free, and pick cars up from the hotel for free too, even with their cheapest cars (usually a VW Golf, Audi A3 or Merc A or B Class). The standard Avis/Hertz/et al is cheaper, but you don't get sat-nav, the base cars are manual, returning the car is a hassle, and by the time you add it all up, there is no price difference. Shouldn't cost you more than £60~70, which is 2x the price of an Uber from Heathrow to central London.

Hope that helps.

[banoffi]

Thanks!! I do agree that with redemptions.. i have to take what i can get.

haha much as I would love an outing to Bicester, I doubt 2 teenagers just off a 13-14 hour flight would be happy to tag along. I am also a bit off outlet shopping - the past few times I have been to outlets, I have always found them a tad underwhelming.

[cowie]

I am also a bit off outlet shopping - the past few times I have been to outlets, I have always found them a tad underwhelming.

The American ones? Other than for picking up Ralph Lauren polo shirts for 75% off RRP (yes, I've been told I dress like an uncle) they are pretty boring, I agree. But the tenant mix at Bicester is quite different; you get a lot of European brands here. Good place to pick up Bally and Tods work shoes, and Paul Smith ties...

[banoffi]

yup - the American ones. The stuff is cheap, but then I'm sometimes buying for the sake of it, not because I really like it. I found that the prices in the US outlets were not much better than the dept stores in the cities when the latter had sales.

maybe Windsor/Harry Potter tour from Heathrow would appeal more to the kids? then we could stay in Oxford for the night before heading back to London.. *off topic*

[cowie]

maybe Windsor/Harry Potter tour from Heathrow would appeal more to the kids? then we could stay in Oxford for the night before heading back to London.. *off topic*

Windsor/Oxford is quite doable as a day trip out of London. Unless you have a specific reason to stay overnight in Oxford, that is...

But yes I think we're getting a little off topic heh!

[nykelaz]

My favourite has to be SQ306 (especially when it was still 77WR) as it arrives in LHR at 7ish in the morning. Most of the shops would be open by the time you clear immigration and get to the city.

SQ322 is my next favourite but it arrives at 5ish which is too early for most things.

[alian]

Actually I did SQ306 last Sep and I liked it a lot. Yes you arrive around 7am but then again that's about 3pm SG time so the body clock is not too off and may benefit the kids and they should be ready to start the day.

You could plan out some activities like the suggestion above to go shopping and eating then checkin to the hotel and get a good rest to reset the body and start a fresh the next day.

Was on 306 in the 77WN with the 2013 J - Managed to grab 11d and 11f with the missus and it was a superb configuration.

Now I mentioned this in a previous post but not much follow up - Do be careful with the new plane as the use the new microwave ovens rather than convectional ovens so the food is not so good and seems more dry. The stewardess also noted on this and advise us to be careful on some Book the cook options. For myself I ordered the Angus Beef Burger which was excellent on my SYD flight on a 773 bird but it did not taste as good on this 306 77WN flight. --- My 5 cents on the oven