Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

A Joy to Fly to Phuket (SilkAir MI756/753)

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • A Joy to Fly to Phuket (SilkAir MI756/753)

    The past weekend, I did a short weekend trip to Phuket for a laze and relax birthday getaway via SilkAir. Tickets booked quite some time back were of a very reasonable price, almost similar to the budget carriers. This would also be my first time flying on SilkAir's new B737-800 aircraft as my previous trips were all on MI's Airbus family.

    Checked in at Terminal 2 at the self check-in kiosk but the kiosk could not print the boarding passes and was directed to the desks. No worries as the boarding passes were printed on the normal stock instead of flimsy paper. SilkAir still has colours on its economy boarding passes!




    Terminal 2 FIDS




    Some of the aircraft on the tarmac, majority of which are from the SQ family.








    The B737 which would be flying me to Phuket.




    Departure Gate F40.






    04 August 2016
    SilkAir
    MI 756
    Singapore (SIN) - Phuket (HKT)
    B737-800
    9V-MGJ
    Economy Class
    Flight Time: 1H24M



    9V-MGJ for the short-haul to Phuket.




    Boarding commenced soon after security at the gate was cleared.




    Welcomed at the door and passed the Business Class cabin. Business Class seats are basic recliners, similar model to those used by a number of airlines as well on their narrowbodies, such as Malindo, Garuda, Vietnam Airlines etc.




    Economy class cabin.




    Economy Class seat is of the same model as those on Jetstar, but with a tad more padding and legroom. However, I find the seat pitch has shrunk slightly from the Airbus fleet. The Airbus fleet has up to a couple inches more legroom.

    My past and future travels

    My Travel Map

  • #2
    On the seat armrest is a radio channel controller. Ii seems that SilkAir also offers in-seat music channels on its B738s, but using your own earpieces, in addition to the SilkAir Studio wireless streaming IFE and dropdown TVs with silent TV shows. However on such a short flight, I am not too bothered with the IFE. Seat wise, other than the limited legroom compared to the Airbus fleet, recline was also not too generous, However, seat cushioning was comfortable enough and there is an adjustable headrest.




    Inflight magazines. Newspapers were also offered by the crew after boarding was almost completed. Some pillows were available in the overhead bins if required.




    View from the window.




    Boarding almost completed. It was almost a full flight in Economy, but rather empty in Business. 4 crew would be serving in Economy with a further 2 upfront in Business. There were 2 male SilkAir cabin crew on this flight, my first experience with them since SilkAir started hiring male cabin crew.




    A think refreshing wet towel was distributed after boarding was completed.




    Doors closed and safety video played via dropdown screens. Flight time would be a short 1.5hrs.




    Taxi to the runway.






    Departure from Rwy20C.











    Video of the takeoff from Changi.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ-7yBBR2Y8
    My past and future travels

    My Travel Map

    Comment


    • #3
      With no time to waste, meal service was started. Due to the full flight, 3 carts were rolled out (front, mid and rear of economy) and meals were distributed. TV shows were also shown on the dropdown screens.




      Meal tray consisting of a main, fruits and water. On offer were Chicken with fried rice or Fish with pasta.




      The chicken with fried rice option was very tasty! This was quite unexpected as I did not had too memorable meals on my previous few SilkAir flights. Had an orange juice to go along.






      The fish with pasta option was equally good as well! Quite impressed with the meal offerings on this flight.




      It was getting really cloudy down below.




      As it was a day to my big day, my travel partner had also placed a request for birthday cake. This was presented to me after the meal service, with the economy crew all coming over to wish me a happy birthday. However, as we had just started to descend, it was a quick photo shoot of the small cake before the crew offered to pack it up for me.




      The BSI blue mood lightings were switched on for the descent.




      Descending into a cloudy Phuket.





      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLdjGNidFe4


      Approach and landing on Rwy27.



      My past and future travels

      My Travel Map

      Comment


      • #4
        A hard touchdown, slightly ahead of schedule.




        Video of the landing on Rwy27.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls8I5n7cYgg


        It was only a very short taxi to the gate where we parked and disembarked.




        It was a very pleasant flight on SilkAir indeed. Even with the full load, crew performed the service effortlessly and managed to serve a meal with drinks on such a short flight. Crew, though may not be as polished as on SQ, are all pleasant and efficient. Seats are ok for the short flight, but I preferred the seats on the Airbus fleet. However, still one of the best ways to fly short-haul in the Southeast Asia region.


        Luckily immigration queues at Phuket was not too bad at the time of the day and bags were out pretty fast as well. Phuket's international flights would be moving to a brand new terminal beside the current terminal next month.




        For this trip, I booked Ayara Hilltop Boutique Resort, which is near Surin Beach. It is a beautiful all-suites resort, with huge and comfortable rooms and fantastic staff. I could just spend the whole day lazing in the suite!
















        Surin Beach is just 5min walk away. Nice beach, but waves were pretty strong.



        My past and future travels

        My Travel Map

        Comment


        • #5
          Some of the great thai dishes we had.










          A short 3 nights stay and time to fly back home. Phuket Airport's current check-in and departure hall is really rather depressing. Small, old and crowded. Can't wait for the new terminal to open soon! SilkAir's check-in counters were quite empty even though the flight would be totally full in Economy again. However check-in queues for most other airlines were snaking and very long.




          Boarding pass issued.




          Departure immigration and security was not too bad and we soon ended up in the equally depressing departure lounge, with few shops and overpriced eateries.






          Departure Gate 4




          SilkAir's newest aircraft would be flying me back. The plane had arrived slightly early from SIN.




          07 August 2016
          SilkAir
          MI 753
          Phuket (HKT) - Singapore (SIN)
          B737-800
          9V-MGP
          Economy Class
          Flight Time: 1H50M



          A short wait for the turnaround later, boarding was called. Proceeded to board the 2-months old aircraft.



          My past and future travels

          My Travel Map

          Comment


          • #6
            Similar economy seats and comfort as on the previous flight.






            Bangkok Air ATR72 taxiing into the remote stand.




            Some of the selections in SilkAir Studio.




            Crew assisting in the boarding process of the full flight.




            Firefly arriving, MH departing.




            Boarding was efficiently done, and we pushed back ahead of schedule. Again, packed towels were issued and safety video shown.


            Taxi to runway.



            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL_xlpby7dY


            Take off from Rwy27 at the 2500m mark.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ebxFwIIr-o










            My past and future travels

            My Travel Map

            Comment


            • #7
              Short features were played on the overhead screens. Seatbelt signs were switched on for most of the flight due to bouts of turbulences.




              Meal service commenced and on offer were Nasi Lemak (coconut rice) with chicken, fish otah, french beans and omelette, or Fish in tomato sauce with pilaf rice. Went for the Nasi Lemak, which came with a container of spicy sambal sauce, and it was great! Very much better than the Nasi Lemaks I had on SQ, MH or AirAsia!! Easily match the better ones on ground!






              Overflying Kuala Lumpur.




              Starting the long descend and approach into Singapore. Due to traffic conditions, we slowed down a bit during the descend and approach, fadding on to the flight time.










              Landing on Rwy20C a couple of minutes behind schedule due to the slowed descent and approach.

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBt8Th08Vbw


              Taxi to Terminal 2.








              Disembarkation




              Again, a very short and pleasant flight on SilkAir. Service was friendly and efficient, and catering was exceptionally delicious! Great showing by SilkAir on a short-haul route.

              Thanks for reading and comments are welcomed.
              My past and future travels

              My Travel Map

              Comment


              • #8
                I wish MI would fly the 737 to TRV instead of the 319/320. But anyway great TR!

                Comment

                Working...
                X