Hello!
Today I shall review the SQ11 flight I took from LAX - NRT- SIN on board the Airbus A380 on Economy Class.
LAX - NRT
I boarded this flight at Los Angeles (LAX) on 16th July and arrived at Tokyo (NRT) the following day. It was about an 11 hr flight. I was hoping for an empty flight so that I could stretch out and have a good sleep.
It was about 70% full and I was lucky to have an empty seat beside me to put my handbag. I had the aisle seat, which was a good thing cos getting to the loo was so much easier. The leg room was fine for me (i'm 5 ft 4 ). I could recline the seat, adjust the "wings" of my head rest. They also provided a blanket and a pillow for every seat. I usually try to make myself more comfortable by placing another pillow/ towel/jacket behind my back.
There was good variety of shows on the in-flight entertainment system, and had watched Olympus has Fallen and Cirque du Soleil (I was a tad sad watching this after news broke that one of its cast,Sarah, had died recently during her performance in Las Vegas )
Food wise, I chose Japanese cuisine throughout the flight. I was served Soba and this was my first time using a pair of chopsticks on a flight! The flight attendants also pampered us with Haagen Daz ice cream (in a tub) after each meal. We could choose between chocolate and vanilla. They also provided complimentary drinks, and I really liked their Orange Spritzer (essentially orange juice and sprite). A steward offered me to try their Campari Orange. Their aperatif (campari) was simply too bitter for my liking and I gave up after a sip. They also served snacks like tuna sandwich and peanuts on board.
During the flight, I was asked to take their survey and I gave them lots of suggestions. Thankfully, there weren't any air pockets or terrible turbulence.
Overall, I felt the SQ A380 flight to NRT was pleasant .9/10
At Narita Airport
We disembarked the plane at Narita Airport. During our 1.5 hr transit, I went to the FaSoLa duty free shops to look for the Issaye Miyake BaoBao Bag. I saw several Fa So La shops in the terminal buildings, or what they call "Satellites",which were interconnected. Every satellite has a few FaSoLa shops selling different items and it took me about 20 minutes till I found the one with the BaoBao. When I saw the shelf, everything was gone, except for the pouches which cost about 100 sgd. ok so , too bad no more bags. I went off to hunt for Japanese Snacks! Tokyo Banana, Chocolat blanc et langue de chat ( French for white chocolate and flat cookie) , Ginza Strawberry Cake, Half Moon Crêpes, I bought them all! I almost bought Royce from another shop but I had too much to carry by then.
NRT- SIN
On the next leg of the journey to SG, another group of cabin crew served us. This time, the service was a little more robotic... no expressions from the stewardess, unlike those on the earlier flight. I felt that she was serving on autopilot. But, I do understand that everyone has those days They missed a couple of my orders for drinks but it's ok, I understand that they have lots of orders too..
Occupancy wise, this flight was more packed than the first leg. I was still assigned to the same seat and this time, I had a new neighbour! Thankfully, she was a nice person too. That meant that I could fall asleep in peace before we arrive in Singapore
The food came and I chose Japanese once again. The Haagen Daz ice cream they served came in one flavour- vanilla. I also noticed that the ice cream was made in Japan.
Ahh , the time comes when you need to relive yourself. At least, their toilets were rather clean and pleasant. As usual, soap, moisturiser and warm water was available. If you forget to bring your toothbrush set, don't sigh, they normally have a few in the drawers in the lavatory. If you are a lady and you freak out because you just realised there's some blood, you don't need to scream cos there're sanitary pads in another drawer.
It was another 7 hours on the plane before we finally reached SG safely. Home sweet home!
Overall, a decent flight 7/10
BUT, if I had to compare this to the Qantas flight from SIN- SYD which I took 3 years ago, I think SQ has lost out a little. I remember the Qantas flight I took from Singapore to Sydney in 2010.
On the Qantas A380, I simply liked:
a) how I could go the Q bar at the back to help myself to snacks whenever I was hungry or felt like munching on something.
b) how I could go to the upper deck to check it out!
c) how the cabin lights were lavender as it was really soothing :)
Nonetheless, I am really thankful for a safe flight back.
UPDATE
I must say something about the A380. After SQ317 had to make an emergency landing due to decompression, I told all my facebook friends not to take this jumbo jet anymore! Here's a tell tale sign that this jet isn't very safe. One of my friends was flying back on the super liner and during the flight, there was a noise coming from one the exit doors. Cabin crew placed pillows and blankets to dampen the vibrations in a bid to reduce the noise throughout the flight. Glad he landed safely. BUT, the constant vibrations are making the doors wear and tear faster. The bewildering question in my head now is, why isn't Airbus recalling their A380s ?? After what has happened to SQ317, don't they want to mod their faulty doors before one of them actually comes off? Shouldn't safety be no. 1 priority over operations cost? My advice: skip taking the A380 for now.
Here are some video clips and articles for further illustration
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279416/My-terror-27-000ft-Jet-door-blew-open-crew-plugged-gap-blankets-says-Briton.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ7CoGl9hTM
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/39-leaky-39-a380-door-eyed-singapore-airlines-064430709--finance.html
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