TR: SIN-CDG-LHR on A380. LHR-SIN on 77W.

[9V-SIA]

Introduction

My Dad turned 80 earlier this month.

He has never flown Suites on the A380 nor F on the 77W.

So he decided, while his health is still good, to try them.

And he asked me to accompany him. The crosses we have to bear, MAN Flyer!

This TR is purely about the flights and the on board experience.

I will try and finish it by next weekend, before I leave for EWR.


Changi

Check-in at the dedicated F facility at T3 is always a pleasure.

1. No queues
2. Dedicated immigration counters ensure speedy entry air side
3. You enter air side right in front of the escalators/lifts that take you to the premium lounges

Leaving First Class check-in, heading towards immigration desk, the view of T3 glancing to your right..



The Private Room (TPR), together with the F Class Lounge, occupies an L-shaped area at SQ's

Premium Lounges in T3: F is one limb of L-shape, TPR is the other limb

• F Class Lounge overlooks A1 to A8 departure gates.
  
• TPR has tarmac views, the only SQ Premium Lounge at Changi to do so.

To access the TPR, one has to walk the length of the F Lounge.

I'm standing at the corner of TPR looking at the entrance. F Lounge is to left of the floral

arrangement at centre of picture.

Reception is in the foreground on left, magazine rack to the right ( of coat hanger stand ).



Pan right at the TPR in all it's splendor. White marble columns mark the entrance to the Dining Room.

It was nice and peaceful compared to the F Lounge, which was very busy. Some have been

underwhelmed by TPR. I like it.



For me, the highlight is the ability to see the action on the tarmac.



I didn't eat anything from the menu, having BTC'ed.

On hindsight, I think in future, I'll eat here and skip supper on the plane.

That seems to be what everyone else in R/F seemed to do.

Legends on SQTalk have posted nice pics of TPR here..

TPR ( non edible section 1 )

TPR ( not edible section 2 )

TPR ( edible section )

TPR ( showers )

[9V-SIA]

The Cabin

We were the first to board so that I could try and get some pics before the cabin filled up.
Hello 9V-SKD!

We were stopped short of the walkway into Suites by this ?technician who assumed we were

boarding in Y.

Waited a while till my Dad brought to his attention that we were in Suites.

He was very sheepish and let us through.



Door 1L..

There were actually quite a lot of ground staff moving around the cabin

so I took this picture at dawn over Europe somewhere.



The layout of Suites is 4 rows in 1-2-1 configuration.

Except that the middle seats in rows 1 and 2 are removed to accommodate the staircase from

business class on the upper deck.

I think by putting the Suites downstairs, each Suite is more roomy

compared to putting it on the upper deck as EK has done for their F.

The cross section of the A380 is tear dropped/triangular shaped so the lower deck is wider.



And a view of the cabin from the galley..



Shot of the middle row seats from above.

Note the crossbars.

If you are not traveling as a couple, a roller blind deploys downwards to give you your own

private cabin

Also note that the staircase is in front of row 3 ( where the "toilet vacant" indicator is )



May I take your jacket?



In Suites, you have a personal wardrobe next to your cabin



Finally, the galley..

[9V-SIA]

The Suite

Take your seat. Sorry I can't believe I actually forgot to take pic of the whole seat!

Most comfortable SQ seat.

1. Soft ( by SQ standards )
2. Well contoured.
3. Good recline so one can properly lounge in it.
4. I like the retractable armrests too.

Place your hand luggage under the foot rest in front of you.

The foot rest also serves as partner's seat for you to dine

together, hence the seat belt provided.

By the window are the magazines/safety pamphlet

Dining table is half deployed




Then comes the champagne, but in my case, still water!

Everything to the left of my seat disappears downwards when the bed is deployed.

The whole panel drops down to form the support for the bed.

The mattress flips forward from behind the seat back.

So apart from the dining table, other things that disappear include..



..power/headphone sockets..



..and this storage compartment. So don't put anything here that you may need while in bed mode.




The "dining light" is found above the front window & "reading light" is above the rear window.

They look like air vents and are very good. Adjustable to shine on any part of the compartment.

Which is more than I can say for the lights in the F or J seat...



The seat adjustment. Simple controls. As I mentioned before, very good recline

so you don't need to deploy the bed to get comfortable like you do in the Diamond business class seats.



Note the dining light above the window.

I wouldn't store anything valuable like passports/wallet by the open windows though..

[9V-SIA]

Supper

Deploying the table. It slides smoothly out from the side and folds open.





After looking at the menu, I regretted having BTC'ed the Kyo Kaiseki.

There were choices I would have happily eaten but I was thinking about my waistline.

I figured the Japanese option would have the least calories.

Here is the menu..



Starter



Close up of the cold soba



Main Course



Dessert



Aside from being beautifully presented, it was delicious!

After supper, the meal was quickly cleared and the bed deployed.

Note the position of the power/headphone sockets when the bed is deployed

And no Top Gear, only Autocar on my flight.

Neither was available on the return flight



Dad stayed up to enjoy the stellar service. We had a great crew that night.

Look how the whole module ( on my side ) disappears when the bed is made. Dad's bed yet to be made.

Tried the Bose headphones provided but I still prefer my Seinnheisers.

My ears don't get overheated unlike these Bose wrap-around-the-entire-ear types



I was told the evening flight is full most of the time.

PAXs appreciate the fully lie flat bed. They hit the ground at LHR ready for meetings.

I have to say that it was the most comfortable bed I've ever had the privilege to try.

But, as a friend pointed out, it's actually narrower than the F bed on the 77W! But it's longer in R.

Note to self. Future TR: Face off with NH and JL F.

[9V-SIA]

I seem to wake up around the Caspian Sea whenever I'm Europe bound.



Still a long way to go. Not that I minded.

I wish my Suite experience could last forever.



I was offered something from the Light Bites menu, which I declined. Calorie management on my part.

There was breakfast to look forward to onboard. And roast duck rice in London for lunch..



The movie selection for May is very poor. There was nothing I wanted to watch except Leo in Shutter Island.

However, the TV selection had something new. Under the Red Eye Selection, the entire season of Glee season 1.

Give the man a Tiger, whoever made the decision to screen it



And here are all the episodes. Originally 13 episodes were funded.

But when Fox realized they had a hit on their hands, they added 9 episodes to season 1.

Hard to imagine they also bring us Fox News!



I love Sue Sylvester! What a character.. reminds me of my boss

[9V-SIA]

Breakfast

Time flew by as I sang along to the songs on Glee.

Sang quietly, I should add because the A380 is so silent.

Especially in the forward business class cabin

Breakfast was served over Ukraine.



Breakfast Menu



Fresh fruit plate



From the bakery. If I'd known how expensive the butter is, I would have taken it with me!



BTC Yi Pian Mi Fun



Four hours before arrival, the pilot announced that UK air space was closed because of an ash cloud from some Icelandic volcano.

We would be diverting to CDG till air space reopens... I didn't know whether to laugh or cry

[SilverChris]

..I wish my Suite experience could last forever.

..Four hours before arrival, the pilot announced that UK air space was closed because of an ash cloud from some Icelandic volcano.
We would be diverting to CDG till air space reopens... I didn't know whether to laugh or cry

That diversion also means more time in Suites, so you should laugh (assuming you're not in a hurry) *joke*

nice report so far!

[BOSqq]

Great trip report so far

I was actually on board that flight on the upper deck Y cabin. I was actually reading the news on KrisWorld an hour before breakfast and I realized on the top of the list in the Europe Regional News there was a news item saying that UK airspace including Heathrow would be close from 12 AM to 6AM GMT. Apparently, a couple of the other passengers realized this. One of them ask one of the crew whether we were still going to land in LHR, and she replied that there hasn't been any announcement from the captain, and that she will notify the captain. I constantly looked at the flight map just in case there was a diversion, but the only thing that changed was the estimated arrival time in LHR. So I thought we were only delayed until I looked at the flight map again when breakfast was being served and the map showed SIN-CDG instead of SIN-LHR

[9V-SIA]

That diversion also means more time in Suites, so you should laugh (assuming you're not in a hurry) *joke*

nice report so far!

Thanks!

At the time of the announcement before breakfast, not knowing exactly how long the delay would be, I must admit I was frantically working out Plan B.

Plan B was to disembark and get a hotel room in Paris to wait out the delay.

After all, the previous Europe wide air space closure lasted a few days.

Great trip report so far

I was actually on board that flight on the upper deck Y cabin. I was actually reading the news on KrisWorld an hour before breakfast and I realized on the top of the list in the Europe Regional News there was a news item saying that UK airspace including Heathrow would be close from 12 AM to 6AM GMT. Apparently, a couple of the other passengers realized this. One of them ask one of the crew whether we were still going to land in LHR, and she replied that there hasn't been any announcement from the captain, and that she will notify the captain. I constantly looked at the flight map just in case there was a diversion, but the only thing that changed was the estimated arrival time in LHR. So I thought we were only delayed until I looked at the flight map again when breakfast was being served and the map showed SIN-CDG instead of SIN-LHR

Thanks!

This is the second time an SQTalker has been on board without my realizing it.

[SQflyergirl]

Very nice report. Makes me "gian" lah....

After this week, I really need a trip somewhere!

[9V-SIA]

Paris

So we landed in Paris around 630am.

Out of seat 3A's window, I could see SQ334, the Paris bound A380, which landed 3 minutes before us.

I wished I was in a seat on the left side of the aircraft!



An CDG-based aircraft spotter, up early that morning, would have been rewarded with a picture of two SQ A380s taxiing one behind the other!

Unfortunately, SQ334 taxied to the terminal to disembark.

We taxied to the apron to await the reopening of UK air space. We were not allowed off the plane.

I got this shot of the Eiffel Tower from our parking bay

Note semi circular convex lens on the window



The crew were well trained. IFE was switched on and they came round with drinks and snacks.

3 rounds by my count. Time flew by and before we knew it, we left for LHR.

As you can imagine, quite a few aircraft were doing the same thing

so we had to circle awhile - 20 minutes, I think - before landing.

Disembarking PAXs lined up to get a shot of 9V-SKD so I guess the novelty hasn't worn off.

It hasn't for me, my 4th A380 flight.



There was no queue at Fast Track.

The chirpy immigration officer said I was her first visitor that day who was not in London on business but pleasure!

Our bags were waiting for us, as was our Just Airports minicab.

Well worth £38 in order to be dropped right at our doorstep.

A view of 9V-SKD ( behind the VS/SQ check in ) on our way to the the car park



Conclusions

Very good flight. Especially happy that I got more than my $$$ worth with extra few hours in Suite

( you will notice that I can only approximate the timings. I lost track of time on this flight )

Price is a bit too rich for me. You'll have to wait till my own 80th birthday to do another TR in R

But a great crew. I would say priceless crew. Maybe I'll fly again before I'm 80.

There's still one status I have yet to achieve which needs a Suite

[StarG]

Great TR so far (as usual)!
Looking forward to the next parts.

[UMD]

Wonderful TR! The Kyo-Kaiseki meal looked so delicious I wish I could have one right now.

[hsf]

Really nice!

[jadivindra]

Nice, thanks for shaing.