SIA A359 to Brisbane (SQ255 SIN-BNE in Y), and the Sky Deck at The Star Brisbane

[yflyer]

After a number of trips to Australia on Scoot in the last year or so, it was a real treat to fly Singapore Airlines to Brisbane last week. I flew SIN-BNE in Economy on SQ255 last Monday, and spent time in Brisbane before heading to a few other cities in Australia.

While in Brisbane, I stayed at Queen's Wharf Residences, which was part of The Star Brisbane, a new hotel, casino and entertainment complex, in the Queens Wharf precinct along the banks of the Brisbane River. The complex, and the new Neville Bonner Bridge across the the Brisbane River, were just opened in the 2nd half of 2024, and have transformed that part of the city.

While my schedule in Brisbane was pretty hectic, I did manage to squeeze in one run, as well as a couple of memorable meals.

From Brisbane, I went on to Melbourne, Adelaide and then Sydney, flying these sectors on Jetstar and Virgin Australia, with my return SYD-SIN flight on SQ coming up later this week.

[yflyer]

SQ255 to Brisbane was an early Monday morning 12.45am departure, which meant I got to Changi Airport just after 11pm on Sunday evening, after spending time watching a memorable Arsenal vs Newcastle football friendly at Singapore's National Stadium (Arsenal beat Newcastle 3-2).

There was a beautiful SG60 floral display in the Changi T3 departure hall. It was nice to have something related to Singapore on display, rather than some corporate sponsored display, whether Star Wars, Avatar or Miffy.



As SQ255 served only a refreshment after take-off, and a full breakfast prior to landing, I popped by the Krisflyer Gold Lounge for a quick supper before heading to the gate.



The lounge was serene and peaceful at that hour of the evening, about 11pm...it was probably a lot busier earlier in the evening, when all the flights to Europe, UK, Japan and South Korea were departing, not to mention the evening flights to Australia.



I devoured a bowl of SQ's delicious signature laksa, and washed it down with a glass of G&T.



OK, now I was ready to fly. I headed to the gate...

[yflyer]

At the gate, SQ's medium haul configuration Airbus A350-900, registration 9V-SHC, a 6 year old aircraft first delivered in February 2019.



On time boarding, starting with Business Class, then PPS and KF/Star Gold members.

Earbud headphones by the door for economy pax (I ignored those, as usual.). I miss the days when SQ had a selection of newspapers by the aircraft door.



Inside, the J cabin was configured with SQ's latest medium haul J product, arranged 1-2-1.



The Y cabin was configured in standard 3-3-3.



The row 55 emex row seats, and row 56A preferred seat (with no seat in front)...



My seat was in the last row of the plane, row 70.



These seats in the middle bank last row could recline, but subjectively, the recline felt slightly less that the regular seats. But at least there was no passenger behind you, so there was no need to put your seat upright during meal service if seated there.



This was a full flight, so I didn't have a lot of choice for seats. If I had a choice, I would have picked the 2nd last row and not the last.



No underseat obstructions, and no foot rests, on this aircraft.



This seat had easy access to the bathrooms in the rear of the plane.



Unlike the 787, the Airbus A359 flushes were also fairly quiet, and could not be heard from the last row (Whereas some 787 toilets flush really loud).

[yflyer]

A wonderful selection of IFE programmes on Krisworld.



Music selections were great too, with good audio quality as long as you used your own headphones, ideally with an airline adapter.



Both USB charging and A/C power sccket at your seat.



Hot towel service...



After many recent Scoot flights, I was revelling in the comparative luxury of SQ Economy.



I felt a shiver down my spine when they played the safety video...I had watched this so many times before on memorable SQ flights over the years...



There was complimentary wifi onboard for Krisflyer members.

[yflyer]

A smooth take-off into the night sky. Very short flight time of 6 hours and 40 minutes to Brisbane today.



After take-off, a hot refreshment: A choice of either Margherita or Pesto pizza...



The pizza slice came piping hot, and was quite tasty...



I asked for a G&T with a lemon slice...



Then drifted off to sleep...

[yflyer]

Breakfast was served 2 hours prior to landing...



There was a choice of Asian-style vermicelli (i.e. Bee Hoon) with chicken, or Western-style eggs, with sausage and potatoes. I went with the vermicelli.



This was very tasty, although I think the presentation of the chicken could have been improved. Was it too much to ask for a little garnish, say a little spring onion/parsley/coriander (Apologies to the coriander haters) and a slice of red chilli maybe?

Still it tasted very satisfying, and it was nice to have fruit, yogurt and a bun too

[yflyer]

Lights came on, and window shades were up.



It was bright sunshine outside.



20 minutes to go...with an arrival time of 9:58am, 20 minutes ahead of scheduled arrival at 10.20am.



Nice views of the coast as we made our final approach...



...with long sandy beaches clearly visible out the left side windows...

[yflyer]

A smooth landing, with a lot of crosswind on approach, and a short taxi to the gate.



As I deplaned, I noticed the pitot tube covers placed over the pitot tubes at the nose of the aircraft. This was because the wasps at Brisbane airport were known to build nests in the tubes, which would then cause problems with airspeed indications.



It was important to put the pitot tube covers on immediate after landing...



...and equally important to take them off before departing, hence the red streamers.

[yflyer]

Overall, an excellent flight on SQ 255 to Brisbane.



The economy hard product was state of the art, and the cabin crew were wonderful as well. It was great to be able to fly my favourite airline again.

I headed to the Airport train station...



...and caught the train to the city-- a quick and pleasant 20 min ride.

[yflyer]

It was a quick 30 minute train ride from Brisbane Airport to South Brisbane Station in the city, and then a pleasant 15 minute walk to the my hotel, Queens Wharf Residences, which was part of the new Star Brisbane casino, hotel and entertainment complex along the banks of the Brisbane River.



The Star Brisbane was still under construction when I was in Brisbane last year, and so was the Neville Bonner Bridge across the Brisbane River. Both The Star Brisbane and the Neville Bonner Bridge opened at the end of August 2024, providing convenient pedestrian access from the Brisbane CBD to the South Bank Parklands.



As my room was not ready at 11.30am, I left my luggage at the hotel, and headed to the South Bank for a walk, and lunch.



The weather was beautifully mild and sunny, so many folks were out enjoying the outdoors. I had a pretty decent fish & chips lunch at The Jetty South Bank...



...before heading back across the Neville Bonner Bridge to check in when my room was ready.

[yflyer]

Queen's Wharf Residences, which as the name implied was more of a residence and long term stay venue than a hotel, was located in a tall, modern apartment block co-located within the Star Brisbane complex.



The apartments here were available for short term stays. Mine was just 4 days. The only caveat was that there was no housekeeping service provided for this length of stay, which was fine by me.

My apartment on the 37th floor was brand new and very large.



What a beautiful apartment, with stunning views of Brisbane from the full length living room windows.



There was a separate bedroom...



...with attached balcony.



The kitchenette was very well equipped, with fridge, oven and dishwasher, along with crockery and tableware, and there was a washing machine behind a concealed door as well.



Complimentary coffee and tea making facilities.



Bathroom with shower stall.



Facilities available included pool, gym and sauna.



The restaurants and eateries of The Star Brisbane were within easy reach, as were the restaurants and bars of the Sky Deck, a semicircular open air deck 100m above river-level, within the Star complex.



This was an excellent place to say when visiting Brisbane, whether for business or pleasure.

[yflyer]

At dusk on my first day in Brisbane, I headed out for a run. I began at the hotel, and headed across the Neville Bonner Bridge.



This was a very nice time to heading out...the weather wasn't too cold, and the setting sun gave the sky a beautiful colour.



Across the bridge, I headed to Queen Elizabeth II Park, across from the Queensland Cultural Centre...



...then continued my run along the South Bank...



...along the trail by the Brisbane River...



...until I reached the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, which were popular with rock climbers.



That was my half-way mark. From the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, I turned round and retraced my steps back to the hotel, recrossing the Brisbane River via the Victoria Bridge, making a total distance of just over 6 km.



A very pleasant running route and my default route when in Brisbane.

[yflyer]

It was a very busy work week in Brisbane, and time went by quickly. During the week I had a memorable dinner at Donna Chang, which served modern Chinese / Sichuan cuisine in a very stylish and elegant setting. The service and ambience were great, but more importantly the food was top notch as well.

My dinner guest and I sampled the Raw Kingfish with chilli and finger lime...



Moreton Bay Bug...



...and crispy roast pork belly, and kung pao chicken, accompanied with steamed rice.



An excellent meal!

[yflyer]

On my last evening in Brisbane, I finally had the opportunity to check out the Sky Deck at The Star.



I had no idea what to expect when I went up there, so I was pleasantly surprised to find several restaurants and a bar there, connected by a long curving outdoor promenade....



...overlooking the river and surrounding area.



There was section of the promenade where the floor was glass...



Through the glass you could see the river and traffic far below.



My first stop on the Sky Deck was Cicada Blu...



This was a bar where you could sip a beer or cocktail...



...while taking in the stunning view.



I could have kicked myself for only discovering this place on the last day of my stay.

[yflyer]

Early the next morning, I caught Virgin Australia VA306 from Brisbane to Melbourne. This was 6.05am departure operated by one of Virgin's 737-800's, rego, VH-VUO.



These days, I am a fan of early morning domestic sectors when travelling in Australia. Although I had to wake up at an ungodly hourm, road traffic to the airport was minimal, the airport was not crowded, and the fare paid was fairly low as well.



I made a lowball bid for an upgrade from Y to J, which was successful, which was why I got to enjoy a breakfast of pancakes that morning enroute to Melbourne.



I thought my pancakes were quite tasty. Juice was was also offered as a pre-departure beverage and during meal service. I suspect sparkling wine was also available onboard on request, but as this was a work trip, and I had a full work day ahead of me, I thought it would be wiser to stay away from bubbles...



Flight time that day was 2 hours and 8 minutes.We landed 3 minutes ahead of schedule, at 8:27am Melbourne time.

I picked up my luggage from baggage claim and was in an Uber on the way to the city before 9am.