I spent Christmas with Santa: SIN-NGO-CTS-ITM/KIX-SIN

[9V-SIA]

Introduction



As I approached Hokkaido at the start of my holiday ( that's Hakodate in the background ), I was feeling pretty down.

It hasn't been the best start to the holiday, in the planning since June.

The snow was late.

I spent early December anxiously looking at snow reports and webcams.

All I got was..

Number of ski lifts operating: none

Looked at web cam pictures of the ski runs... grass!!!

A sprinkling of snow was forecast, but so was rain.

So two days prior to departure, I called the travel agent and went to Plan B.

A shorter stay in Hokkaido: Sapporo instead of Rusutsu; And a longer stay in Osaka.

This TR will take time, though shorter than Oslo..

[SilverChris]

Ooh, a 9V-SIA TR. Can't wait for it

[SQflyergirl]

Ooh I like.... Faster faster

[jhm]

I just woke up after a heavy NYE and I find the beginning of a 9V-SIA TR. A great start to 2011!

[SQflyergirl]

Fai Ti Fai Ti!

[9V-SIA]

Changi Airport T3

Ooh, a 9V-SIA TR. Can't wait for it

Ooh I like.... Faster faster

I just woke up after a heavy NYE and I find the beginning of a 9V-SIA TR. A great start to 2011!

Fai Ti Fai Ti!

Guys and gals. I'm sooooo relaxed after my trip so don't stress me OK??

Otherwise I'll have to take another holiday.

Oh wait... I'm flying to TYO in 8 days


Getting To Changi

Booked a Maxicab to take the 5 of us to the airport 2½ hours before departure.

Normally at this point I would say that Changi is the "Best Airport in the World" everything went smoothly.

But not tonight...



Check In

I was checking in at the business class counter when this guy walks up to the counter next to me and starts shouting at the poor agent.

Loudly, with liberal use of four letter words and "I'm a frequent flyer... "

His complaint #1: No one was supervising the queue. 2 PAXs jumped in front of him in the line.

There was no organization at Changi ( he is from across the big pond )

To the credit of the agent, she kept her cool and proceeded to check him in.

She informed him that he had missed his flight to SYD.

SQ231 he was booked on had left at 0035h that morning

And it was now 2230h....

Then his complaint #2: "I'm a frequent flyer. Why was I not reminded of my flight..."

By this time I had checked my bags, collected my tickets, and headed air side...

Silly man! And I'm being charitable here


SKL Lounge

Evenings will usually find the lounges packed but evenings in December are the worst.

There were many families on holiday and kids were being guested in by parents ( like me ).

Guests allowed in were strictly controlled.

Therein was my problem.

I have 3 kids from 1 wife.

So I could only guest in 2 of my 3 kids.

If you want to have 3 kids guested in, I suggest you take 2 wives.

Have 2 kids with wife #1 and 1 kid with wife#2.

Eventually we split up, 2 at DBS Air Treasures & 3 at SKL.

Security Check

After the kids had eaten their fill in the lounge, we headed for the gate.

Us parents have stopped eating before a red eye because its hard to sleep on a full stomach.

First sighting at Changi. Priority lines for premium PAXs.

How long has this been going on?



Boarding was smooth despite a full flight in Y. J was 24/30.

9V-STC. My first time aboard SQ's A333



Push back 5 minutes early.

I was asleep before the plane took off...

[9V-SIA]

SIN-NGO A333 First Impressions

There are many TRs on SQTalk starring the A333.

Here are some:

From the unofficial inaugural flight SIN-KUL-SIN.. pages 11, 12 & 13

SQ A330 Inaugural Flights


More recently...

SIN-CMB-SIN on New Regional J

So I will try not to repeat observations made already...

On the advice of the pros here, I opted for row 11.

It is the best row if you plan to sleep but my wife complained about the lack of storage space in front of us





And if you like to take pictures of the landscapes below, framed by wing and engine,

it's not a good row either because you're too far forward!



However, if you like to listen to crew gossiping, it's the best row!

The A333 is very quiet at the front.

Those GE90s hanging on a 77W drown out all gossip from the galley. Even in row 1 or 2.

But the A333....

A view of the cabin from the back



It was bright when I woke up and looked out the window.

It surprised me as we were arriving early into NGO... in winter.

Time for breakfast. The menu...





.. and my breakfast



Krisworld

The offerings on Krisworld in December were stellar.

So many movies I wanted to watch. But my IFE wasn't working.

Everyone else awake seemed to be engrossed in a movie so I informed the LS.

He re-booted IFE to my seat... which didn't work.

So he confidently announced that he had to re-boot the whole system.

I could hear the moans from my kids in row 37 when Krisworld for the whole plane crashed for the rest of remaining flight!

Instead, we all got to watch *Tron Legacy*

[9V-SIA]

Nagoya

Until I read a rare TR from milehighj

Random comments + photos..

.. and saw this photo..



.. I was under the impression that KIX was the only airport in Japan built on an artificial island in the middle of the sea.


Ever since his TR, I've been wanting to fly into NGO.

NGO sits at one end of Ise Bay and the a/c crosses the bay on final approach.

I expected an approach over water, like KIX, but was treated to quite nice scenery..

.. mountains..



.. coastline..



.. over water..



.. before landing at NGO



Then a short taxi to our parking bay between VN A321 and TG A333



Once we cleared immigration and got our bags, we proceeded to check in for our domestic leg.

Check in took longer than I expected.



Afterwards, we had about 3+ hours to kill before our flight to CTS which enabled me to explore a bit.

NGO was completed in 2005.

As with many new-build airports I've visited, it has 4 levels:

Level 4 =shops and restaurants
Level 3 = departures
Level 2 = arrivals
Level 1 = ground transportation

It's floor plan reminds me of BCN in that it is shaped like a *sword*.

I was unable to find a complete map at the airport but this is one of the *blade* and half the *handle*

White area=domestic / Blue area= international flights



More on NGO here: Chubu Airport Guide

Proceeded to the shops but many were surprisingly still closed.

Found a place where the kids had breakfast, overlooking the viewing gallery.

We were on the rooftop of the *sword*!

I went out to take some pictures...

[9V-SIA]

Viewing Gallery & Departure Hall

The end of the *blade* looking back at the terminal.

Skylight runs down the *blade* to level 1.



On either side of the skylight are the nicest walkways I have ever seen in an airport



The plane that brought us to NGO: 9V-STC.









Very international airport. NGO is Toyota's hometown.

In addition to a/c photographed, I spotted an AY A340, LH A340 and DL 744.

I watched this PR A333 push back, taxi and take off.

Note one plane taxiing to the runway and another about to turn onto it ( between the flood lights )

NGO is a very compact airport ( one runway but additional one is planned )



The domestic side of the *blade*..



..and *handle*. Empty now but later in the morning...



.. from the Departure Hall one level down, I took this shot.



Once airside, there's not much shopping except these shops that sell gifts and bento boxes to eat on the flight.

On our flight, they only served drinks



The Boarding Gate. Tarmac on right, skylight on left.

Above the ceiling is the walkway on Viewing Deck.

My 20" roller bag, which passed the main security screen, was checked into the hold as I boarded.



On the aerobridge. The last pic before I boarded the plane.

The Japanese are very strict about switching off all electronic equipment till the plane is cruising



You can see LH A340 out left side of aerobridge

[SQ218]

Excellent pics. Looking forward to the rest

[SilverChris]

Nice pics there KrisWorld seems to be more problematic nowadays, or at least, on my flights.

[HUGE AL]

NGO Airport is indeed one of my favorites.

[9V-SIA]

NGO-CTS

Excellent pics. Looking forward to the rest

Nice pics there KrisWorld seems to be more problematic nowadays, or at least, on my flights.

Thanks. Debut TR for my new LX5

NGO Airport is indeed one of my favorites.

I think it's great too. I like the scale. Small airport with big airport features.


NH 738 in Y from NGO-CTS

When we reach cruising altitude, my camera comes out and I start to snap.

My seat at the rear might not befit a Star Alliance Gold Member but I wasn't complaining.

It was empty at the back



I like the NH 738 we flew to CTS in.

For starters, it looked brand new. The colour scheme is very soothing



Slimline seats..



Hard shell back..



Thankfully not the fixed shell type though recline was still limited.

My son demonstrating full recline



Legroom was OK but I find it hard to slip my legs under the seat in front without standing up a bit.

As shown in the next two pictures, a variation of SQfg standard leg shot

Hope I don't run into copyright issues here



Thigh can't go any lower. Front of leg already hitting seat in front



And it's worse when there is a foot rest like on SQ 77W.

But the seats were soft enough and I found a comfortable position to sit in without having to shift about too much

They came round with head sets but what's the use?

When the screens "drop down", they ran some Japanese programme.

So I content myself with staring out the window and trying to guess where we were

by comparing what I saw with the map provided by the inflight magazine.

[9V-SIA]

NGO-CTS Part 2

Halfway through the flight, programming changed to Flight Map.

NH trumps SQ with their "3D panning" map..





..as well as multiple "zooms"









My estimates of our position was spot on when checked against the monitor!

Hakodate again..



.. and my last pic before I switched off my camera



Welcome to Hokkaido

[j.lin]

Thanks for the report so far

Question: are your family all taking business class? Trying to figure out why there is a split for lounge access.