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Down Under to Perth via SQ

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  • Down Under to Perth via SQ

    With the many public holidays these couple of months, I had been making short trips around to take advantage of them and the latest over the Vesak holiday was to Perth, the Western Australian city which I had not visited before, even though it is a very popular destination for Singaporeans. Flights on SQ were booked early at very reasonable prices.

    Checked in at T3 and had to get the boarding passes manually printed due to the ETA requirements.




    Departure gate was at the A16-20 cluster.








    Would be flying SQ's A330 on this red-eye to Perth





    06 May 2017
    Singapore Airlines
    SQ 225
    Singapore (SIN) - Perth (PER)
    A330-300
    9V-SSH
    Economy Class
    Flight Time: 4H43M



    Boarding was called and we boarded the aircraft. Earphones and newspapers were available at the door for self-service. Greeted during boarding and directed towards the rear of the aircraft. A pillow and blanket was already placed on each seat.






    Crew assisting with the boarding process.




    Was seated at 59A tonight. Legroom was pretty decent without the footrest obstruction.




    Hot towels being distributed. Wonder how long more this will last with the rumours that hot towels may be cut in Economy. Surprisingly the flight was not full considering the upcoming mid-week holiday, probably about 70% filled in economy. Guess it was the examination season for the kids.




    Inflight magazines and stuff. For this month, SQ is celebrating its 70th anniversary.




    The cheapo quality earbuds.

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  • #2
    Slightly less than 5hrs to Perth tonight.




    Doors closed and safety video played.




    Taxied to Rwy02C for departure. We were apparently the first aircraft to use Rwy02C for departure as the ATC switched the runway directions. There were still a couple of arrivals on Rwy20C during our taxi.




    Departure from Rwy02C.






    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOUIxgK4a9U


    Amenity kit comprising of socks and toothbrush set was handed out.




    Menu was also provided. Celebratory theme on the menu cover.




    For the frequent SQ flyers, you would have noticed that the beverage listing and descriptions has been condensed. I wonder what the crew's reply would be if I asked them what are the "Other Cocktails" available.




    Breakfast would be served before arrival into Perth.




    Breakfast menu for the return sector SQ224.




    Peanuts and a round of juices/water was offered before lights off.




    Over Indonesia.

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    • #3
      Visit to the lavatory. All the usual amenities remains.




      View of the cabin before lights off.




      A bottle of drinking water was offered, compliments of a senior crew who is an acquaintance. Settled for the night and managed to get slightly more than an hour's nap on this very short red-eye.




      About 1h45m before arrival, cabin lights were switched on and hot towels were distributed, followed by breakfast service.




      The 2 meal choices were Singapore Fried Carrot Cake or Cheese Scrambled Eggs. I would have liked the carrot cake, but chose the eggs instead due to my slight allergy to crustaceans. The meal came with cut fruits, yoghurt, and roll with butter and jam. Also, it seems that SQ has reverted back to the use of glass tumblers instead of the flimsy plastic ones it introduced in economy a while back.






      Fruits were fresh, and the portion of the main was sufficient. Tasted of the typical aircraft breakfast though.






      The Singapore Carrot Cake option was generously filled with plump prawns though. Tried a bit and it was tasty!




      Caught "Bridget Jones's Baby" during breakfast.




      Soon we were already descending and approaching Perth in the dark for an early arrival.






      Landing on Rwy21 slightly ahead of schedule.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl1Bzg_m_KA
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      • #4
        Parked beside a Garuda A330.




        Disembarking.




        A very comfortable flight with the usual excellent SQ service on this red-eye. It definitely helped to make this short red-eye flight much more bearable.

        We were the first international arrival in the morning, and hence immigration, baggae delivery and customs was swift and painless. A vast difference from arriving into Melbourne or Sydney during the peak hours.




        Perth International arrival hall.




        We took the Airport Bus 380 on the 20min ride to the city for a mere AUD$4.60 per person, right almost to the hotel doorstep. Reached CBD in the early morning during dawn.





        Stayed at Citadines St Georges Terrace ApartHotel and fortunately was allowed early check-in. Dropped our luggage and went to the Subi Farmers Market, which was only opened till noon, before returning to the hotel to rest.













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        • #5
          The CBD area in the early evening. Typical of Australian CBDs on weekends, it was almost deserted.




          Grabbed a simple dinner at a Japanese eatery.




          Headed towards Elizabeth Quay during sunset. Nice view of the CBD at dusk.




          Bell Tower.




          Ending the day with sinful desserts at Koko Black!




          On a Sunday morning




          Heading to Fremantle by train.




          At Fremantle








          Trying the best Fish and Chips in Perth at Kailis.




          They even have Fish and Chips flavoured gelato!

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          • #6
            There was a May Day Festival and March.












            Fremantle Market.






            Having a break at Gino's.




            Dinner at Grill'd back in Perth. The burgers are fantastic!




            Day trip out of Perth. First stop, Cavesham Wildlife Park.






            Quokka!

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            • #7
              Brief stop at Lobster Shack for tour and lunch.








              The main highlight, Pinnacles.


















              Facing the Indian Ocean.

              Last edited by ycp81; 18 May 2017, 10:43 PM.
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              • #8
                Last stop of the day, Lancelin sand dunes for some sandboarding.




                It was a beautiful sunset at the dunes.






                Dinner at a popular chinese restaurant at Northbridge.




                Night street sights




                Warm bowl of pho at Mama Tran on a cold morning.




                View of the shopping street.




                Delicious Bahn Mi at Le Vietnam.




                Back to the airport via bus 380 again to Terminal 1. The SQ check-in counters were deserted as we reached the airport only slightly more than an hour before departure since the airport is rather small and not too busy.




                Boarding pass issued.




                FIDS. Perth definitely is a much quieter airport than Sydney/Melbourne, in terms of international flights.




                Quick immigration and security later and we were airside. Our aircraft was parked at a distance away at the newer pier.

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                • #9
                  South African A343 from Jo'burg.




                  Eithad B789 arriving from Abu Dhabi.




                  Shops and cafe at the newer wing.




                  Seating area at the gate. The flight back did not seemed too full.




                  9V-SVB would be operating the flight back. It is the first re-retrofitted B772ER with "transplanted" economy seats from the B773ERs.





                  10 May 2017
                  Singapore Airlines
                  SQ 226
                  Perth (PER) - Singapore (SIN)
                  B777-200ER
                  9V-SVB
                  Economy Class
                  Flight Time: 5H00M



                  Boarding was called and conducted in groups. It was a long walk to the aircraft.




                  Earphones and newspapers were available at the door.




                  The economy cabin of this aircraft has recently been re-retrofitted with the "transplanted" 2006 Y seats, but upholstered with the 2013 colour schemes. I was seated at the 2-seater last row of the forward economy cabin. Legroom was pretty good.










                  Boarding in progress.

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                  • #10
                    Parked beside the Virgins.




                    Boarding completed, hot towels distributed, doors closed and safety video played.




                    Pushed back.




                    It was just a short taxi to the ruway and we soon departed Rwy21 heading towards the Perth City suburbs.


















                    Video of taxi and takeoff.

                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4Lqs3zyAL8


                    Perth CBD can be seen.

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                    • #11
                      Leaving the coast off Perth.












                      The IFE system on this re-retrofitted bird has also been upgraded to the 2006 product equivalent.




                      Bar service started soon after. Service was rather fast as I saw that there were additional 2 trainee crew in Economy, thus with 9 crew attending in economy to a less-than-full flight.




                      I requested for a Singapore Sling (the only featured cocktail in the condensed beverage menu) to go with my nuts.




                      Started with the animation "Sing".




                      While cruising high above the Western Australian coast.




                      Lunch service soon commenced.




                      My friend pre-ordered the Indian Vegetarian meal and was served first.

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                      • #12
                        The normal lunch menu for the flight.




                        Breakfast on the SIN-PER SQ213 sector. Similarly to what was served on SQ225 that I flew on.




                        Received my meal choice of Thai masaman chicken curry. It was accompanied with a smoked salmon salad, roll with butter, cheese and crackers and a dessert cake.






                        Starter was ok, the curry was not bad.










                        However the dessert was a tad disappointing. The cake was rather dense and dry, and tasted similarly to our traditional "Huat Kueh", a chinese-style dense cake that we have in Singapore. I would have preferred a creamier cake or an ice-cream.




                        Visit to the huge lavatory (disabled-access) on the B772ER. The usual amenities were present. Noticed that paper towels were not available in the A330 lavs (did not notice the paper towen compartments), but is present in the B772ER.




                        Cabin view.




                        We were already nearing Indonesia.

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                        • #13
                          Somewhere over the Indian Ocean.




                          Watching a second movie.




                          Starting descend into Singapore, but was put in a holding pattern for a couple of rounds, presumably due to heavy traffic.






                          Descending.



                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9GGEUqWmhw


                          Final approach and landing into Rwy20R, slightly ahead of schedule.






                          Video of the landing.

                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2D-FUTLS48


                          We were to arrive at Terminal 2. Taxi to the terminal.




                          However, we were allocated a T1 gate D41 instead. Insufficient gates at T2 I guess. We parked beside Jetstar A320s.




                          Disembarking. Airport staff had set up a cordon to direct passengers towards T2 and it was definitely a long walk to the T2 immigration.








                          A smooth and comfortable flight again on SQ. The re-retrofitted B772ER has definitely enhanced the old products to current standards at least. Service was good but catering was rather average and nothing memorable. However, still a more than decent way to fly in economy.

                          Thanks for reading!
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                          • #14
                            Thanks for the TR, ycp81! Very nice pics of the food, markets and sights in Perth.

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                            • #15
                              If you take SQ223 or SQ215 to Perth, you might get a Singapore Sling ice cream or Teh Tarik ice cream as SQ 70th Anniversary ice cream for dessert.

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