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sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Trip route:
Singapore – Hong Kong - Singapore
Airline – Singapore Airlines
Flight no. SQ 856 Dep: 9:40 – SQ 861 16:00
Date: September 27th October – Return 28th October.
Aircraft type – Airbus A-380 Super Jumbo (Whale Jet)
Flight duration – 3 Hours 40 Minutes

Background Info:
With the economy showing signs of improvement I had another business trip coming up to Hong Kong in a short span of time. As Singapore Airlines now flies the Super Jumbo (lovingly called the Whale jet) to HK, I thought I will give it a try as this was my first time on this type of aircraft. The ticket price was the same for the A380 as well as the other type of aircrafts flying to Hong Kong so the obvious choice was the A380.

As I had already pre-checked in online, I arrived two hours prior to departure at the airport. Since I had quite a few sales/marketing materials for my meeting I had to check in my luggage, but the queue for the internet check counter was very long thus defeating the purpose of checking in online.

Internet Check in Line –

Soon the ground staff realized that the line was way too long and they opened up a few more counters. I think as the economy is picking up steam slowly I guess most of the airlines/airport authorities are still waiting and watching and have not yet matched their resources for the upturn.

I cleared the immigration and reached the gate holding area to prepare for boarding. SQ A380 departs from Terminal 3 at Changi airport.

The A380 that will take me to Hong Kong -

Just beside the A380 I found the 747 original jumbo parked

The aircraft layout map clearly explains the seating configuration–

Boarding was announced and we had separate queues for upper and lower decks. As I had booked my ticket in advance, I managed to get the upper deck.

On the aerobridge there is a slight steep gradient when you board the upper deck; nevertheless it is fun.

The advantage of flying on the upper deck on SQ is that close to three fourth of the cabin is allocated business class and the rest for economy there bygiving a slightly exclusive feel even if you are flying economy class. Besides that, the upper deck seating configuration is bit generous - 2X4X2. Hence aviation freaks like us can sit at the window seat comfortably and also jump over the only person next to you if you want to use the rest room.

The other key feature is that if you sit at the window you also get a personal storage space where you can stuff all your things without having to get up to retrieve the same from the overhead bins.

This feature of course has a slight disadvantage as you can’t tilt your head onto the window and sleep (that is my favorite position to sleep on an aircraft) because of the gap on account of the cabin luggage.

But one can be innovative as seen in the picture below

Air Side Action at Changi Singapore from the aircraft –

The aircraft itself has massive wings, and sometimes you wonder how this giant thing can fly in the air. I did not give too much thought about the physics of flying and scaring my-self. Take off was smooth except for some continuous creaking noise during the climb out stage. I am not sure if it was the cabin stowage or the aircraft struggling to be airborne. Once we climbed out, seat belts were switched off and head sets and menus were distributed.

Drinks and peanuts were served.

Very soon my special breakfast meal arrived; it consisted of masala dosa, vadai with chick peas and paneer.

The toilets were well maintained and clean all through the flight.

Soon we were approaching Hong Kong and the usual preparation was done for landing. Getting in Hong Kong is always a wobbly affair and I have never had a smooth straight landing thanks to the cross winds. The aircraft kept wobbling sideways till we managed to touch down and I could feel that the pilot had to push the plane nose hard down to execute the landing.

Return leg – Hong Kong - Singapore

After my overnight meeting in Hong Kong it was time to fly back on the same whale jet that had flown me in earlier.

Air side action at Hong Kong Airport -

The flight back to Singapore was pretty much routine.

My aircraft back to Singapore

Dinner and drinks were served which was quite filling and tasty.

As I was looking out of the window I saw another parallel aircraft flying a few feet away from us, which if I was not wrong was a Garuda flying to Jakarta.

Overall a good flying experience with Singapore Airlines .Even though they are feeling the heat of recession like all other airlines, they have managed to retain their standards. Two weeks back I had flown the same route on Cathay Pacific but was overall disappointed by the service. To read that report please click here:

http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=8127

Appreciate all feedback.

Sri_Bom