SIN-LHR-BCN-LHR-SIN on QF Premium Economy and BA Y...and Nancy Bird Walton (PART III)

[yflyer]

This is the 3rd and final part of this 3 part TR (Part II can be found here), and covers London to Singapore in Premium Economy, which was operated by A380 VH-OQA, Nancy Bird Walton. What can I say? On one level, it is just another plane, one of a whole fleet of A380's which are the backbone of the Qantas longhaul fleet, and I doubt many of the passengers on the flight were aware of anything different about this flight or plane.

But anyone who follows the aviation industry will know about this particular aircraft, and I have always wanted to fly on it.

For more on this plane and the events and the people around it, please have a look at http://qf32.aero

I only noticed the registration number after I landed in Singapore. When I arrived at Heathrow the evening before the flight, it was just another QF A380 flight home to Singapore, one of many I have taken in the past.

[yflyer]

After checking in at T3, which is an older and smaller terminal than T5, I passed fairly quickly through security, and through a bazaar-like shopping area. Then, it was through a maze of corridors to the BA lounge, which is the designated lounge for Qantas flights.

The entrance to the lounge was understated, to say the least. I have been to hospital wards and corporate datacenters with a more welcoming entrance area.



But once the doors opened automatically, you were in a different world.



A spacious, comfortable lounge ahead, with showers and the Elemis Spa to the left.

I headed straight in.





Beverages...a wide selection, including Fullers' London Pride Pale Ale, as well as our local favourite, Tiger Beer!





Two soups, sweet pumpkin and tomato...



Starters, salads and sandwiches...



Mains, including pasta, chicken tagine, cous cous, rice, and wonderfully soft baked potatoes...

[yflyer]

There is a separate wine bar area.







And a work area.



I decided to take a shower, and proceeded to the shower and spa area.

It was only then that I noticed the complimentary 15 minute spa treatments offered at the Elemis Spa within the lounge.



The Spa closes daily at 9pm. It was now 9.25pm. Argggghhh!



I decided to have a quick shower before boarding. The bathroom was immaculate, with fresh towels provided for each passenger.



The shower stall itself had a very impressive shower, with good water pressure and multiple additional shower jets right down the front.







Thoroughly refreshed, it was a short walk to the boarding gate, where boarding had just commenced.

[yflyer]

Boarding began on time, although we pushed back a few minutes later than scheduled to allow time for some paperwork and documentation to be completed.



It was now March, so a new set of movies had been loaded on to the IFE. Qantas keeps their movies very current. I could have spent the entire flight catching up on new movies that I had not yet watched.



As on the outbound flight, pre-take off drinks were served, and not long after take-off, dinner was served. On this flight, there was a choice of chicken with vegetables and potatoes, or lamb tagine. I ordered the lamb tagine, which was delicious. Cabin service was exceedingly warm and efficient throughout the flight, with two flight attendants dedicated to the premium economy section.







I had an emergency row seat in the premium economy section this time round, and this gave me the opportunity to take a few pictures of this comfortable seat. A few more degrees of recline, and this could pass for an older regional business class seat. While a modern lie-flat J seat is ideal for sleeping, I found this seat very comfortable, and had no problems sleeping in this seat. In fact I slept for at least 5-6 hours uninterrupted on this flight.



This aircraft was in the older layout, with premium economy right at the rear of the upper deck. On my outbound, there was a small economy class section to the rear of the premium economy section.

During the flight, snacks were available in the rear galley.



Snacks included these beautiful chocolate lollipops.

[yflyer]

After dinner, I fell asleep and remained asleep for at least 5-6 hours. When I awoke, it as about 8 hours into the flight, with about 4 and a half hours flight time to go. As it was about 7am UK time and 3pm Singapore time, I decided to remain awake for the rest of the flight, in order to ease the jetlag upon arrival.

I requested a snack, and was offered either a gorgonzola calzone or a sandwich. I opted for the sandwich, which was a very tasty beef ciabatta with sweet onion and mustard.



It was then time for breakfast. Instead of the continental breakfast with cereal that I had on my outbound flight, I opted this time for the full hot breakfast.



The eggs were a little dry and overcooked, but otherwise this tasted fine.

We were now approaching Singapore.



When the lights came on and window shades were raised as we approached Singapore, I took the opportunity to take another picture of the seat, fully reclined.



There was no view from where I sat, only the emergency doors on either side. I went up to the door and snapped this picture through the small window in the door.



As I mentioned at the close of Part I, I found the QF premium economy experience outstanding, and this flight has reinforced this opinion. Qantas have a winner here.

The aircraft touched down smoothly just after 7.30pm, and taxied quickly to the gate. By the time I deplaned, it was growing dark outside.

[yflyer]

Every time I have flown on a QF A380, I have always glanced at the nose wheel or the name on the plane prior to boarding, to see if it was VH-OQA. On previous flights, it was always some other plane. For some reason, on this flight, I did not look when I boarded, only when I landed.

Would I have felt different on the flight if I had noticed beforehand? Good question! I have no fear of flying, but given how often I travel, once in a while I wonder: will this flight be routine, like so many others, or will it be "interesting", and by "interesting" I don't mean an op-up...

I would like to think that had I known it was VH-OQA, I would have slept even more soundly, or perhaps stayed awake to try and discern if there was anything different about this aircraft. In any case, to me this is a special plane, and I am glad I got to fly on it.

That wraps up this three part TR -- thanks for reading!

[j.lin]

Great report, thanks for sharing !

[Carfield]

Thanks for sharing and Qantas' Premium Economy looks like a very good product with more of a business class touch, than an upgraded economy class product. I am shocked to see that there is linen service, as well as most of the drinks are served in real glasses and cups, other than the plastic and paper variety offered by BA and CX.

No wonder QF PE is very popular these days!

Thanks,
Carfield

[yflyer]

j.lin: Thanks for the feedback -- appreciated!
Carfield: Yes, agree. I was pleasantly surprised at how close to business it was. Quite different from PE on BA, CX and AF. The QF PE cabin was completely full on both flights I was on.

[Genius1]

Don't feel too bad that you missed the spa treatment closing time - treatments are only available to BA pax in First and Club World, and BA Golds travelling longhaul on BA.

[yflyer]

Oh ok...wonder why they don't offer this to Oneworld FF's as well. Years ago, when they still let KF Gold enjoy the Virgin Clubhouse at LHR, I did enjoy a short complimentary spa treatment there. But that was a long time ago...