Feb 15: Singapore – London

Fortunately, the soundproofing in the hotel rooms were adequate, and day 2 started off a bit earlier than I had hoped, waking up at 4:45am (which funnily enough equates to 7:45am at home, which is normal). Fortunately, I managed another few hours of sleep before packing for my lunchtime flight to London, which would be on the A380.

There was an opportunity before boarding to explore Terminal 3, and to visit the Star Gold lounge. The lounge is pretty spacious, with lots of seating, and a decent food & beverage spread. The lounge was quiet when I visited, with no more than about a dozen people in it, but I can imagine it being very busy in the evening, when all the flights to Europe & Australia/New Zealand depart within a 2-3 hour span. There was chicken korma, fried rice, vegetarian braised noodles, as well as scones/puddings out when I arrived, but did notice a cream of corn soup and salad leaves out later.

After going through security, I made it in time to hear my section being asked to board. While walking along the aerobridge to board, I noticed that the A380 still held a lot of aura and mystique through the number of people taking photos of the plane.

My seat was on the upper deck, and I must say that being on the upper deck feels less crowded, but not more exclusive, but that might be due to the fact that the upper deck on the A380 is pretty big, as opposed to (say) a 747. Being in a window seat on the upper deck means that carry on storage is limited, but there are side compartments for storage, that is, except for my row. Fortunately, I was able to find space in another compartment, so all worked out well. The in flight entertainment is improved from other planes, with an even wider range of audio/video options available, as well as laptop power. In addition, the seat has built in network, USB and video in ports, and the screen has LED lights on the bottom to assist laptop users. If only Connexion by Boeing was still around…

Departure and take off was a bit late, but for a 13 hour flight, we should be able to make up any delays. After takeoff, my seat mate found another seat further back for her to spread out over, so it meant I had a seat block to myself, which is a good thing.

Shortly after takeoff, there was a drinks service, followed by lunch. Unlike the previous flight, there were significantly less special meals ordered, so service was quicker. Today’s lunch menu choices were of baked fish, beef fillet or chicken korma. Since I had chicken korma earlier, and not a fan of fish in the air, it was the beef. While the fillet was well done (but understandable, given how airline catering works), and the metal knife was useless when it came to cutting up the steak, it was seasoned well with salt & pepper, and despite being well done, was still tender. This was followed by what seemed to be Valentines Day themed (& branded) Drumstick, which was basically a chocolate flavoured Drumstick with raspberry sauce down the middle of it.

After lunch, I attempted to watch a few movies, but alas, there were no new movies that kept my attention for more than 30 minutes (no, not even High School Musical 3), so I gave up and explored the other selection of movies available, and settled on Blades of Glory, which I ended up fast forwarding through sections, but managed to watch the whole movie. After trying unsuccessfully to watch a few more movies, I found the Opera & musicals section, from which I selected Pavarotti’s 30th anniversary concert at Hyde Park and the Andrew Lloyd Webber tribute, both of which were enjoyable. It was amusing to note that Oliver Stone’s movie on George W Bush, W, was listed in the comedy section of the guide.

For some reason, the second meal, a light meal, was served around halfway through the flight, and snacks were served closer to touchdown. Maybe they were trying to assist the adjustment to London time by serving the meal at lunch time GMT, and snacks around afternoon tea time.

The final couple of hours were tedious, but I suspect that was due to the fact that I had been up for 18+ hours by that point. It didn’t help that we had to do a lap in a holding pattern before we could land. However, the landing took us over Central London, so it was cool to see London lit up (at 6pm!) However, being on the top deck meant that windows were curved upwards, so photo taking was difficult.

Immigration & Customs were a breeze, and I was out in 20 minutes. However, it took another 30 minutes to find the correct place to catch the bus to the hotel.

The hotel, the Travelodge Heathrow Central, was opened just before Christmas, so it was new (or at least newly renovated). The room is of a decent size, and the amenities are few, but for rates of ₤9 & ₤19, it’s very good value.

Overall, the A380 was a quieter ride, and the in-flight entertainment was more comprehensive, but due to the curvature of the plane, and the side bins, leaning against the window for sleeping is impossible, so it might be back to the main deck for sleeping.

Day trip to Manchester tomorrow.