Our three-week honeymoon in Europe came to an end in early January 2014. The main reason for choosing London as the stopover from Iceland was the decision to ride on the A380 on SQ. SQ has four flights from London to Singapore daily, two of them are on the A380 and the remaining on the B777-300ER. We decided to book the coveted Suites class on SQ317 using our miles. Taxes and fuel surcharges added up to SGD700 per pax, yikes!
The flight departs at 10.30 am and we checked in at a relatively empty Suites counter at 8.30 am and headed to the Silverkris lounge for breakfast. The first class section had a menu for ala carte ordering, however the menu simply describes what is available in the buffet section. We got the usual english breakfast items and sampled some juices. The assortment of soft drinks not found in Singapore was something we would miss very much. 30 minutes before boarding time, we were approached by the lounge attendant that our buggy ride is ready to take us to the plane!
Boarding the plane took no time at all, as we were shown a separate direct entrance to Suites.
Cabin was spacious, and the seat was comfortable. Each seat has its own enclosed cabin. The middle two seats (2C+2D, 3C+3D) are connected and most suitable for couples, though a screen between the two seats can be lowered if the seats were taken by strangers; our seats are 3C and 3D. During sleep time, the two seats combined to form the famous ‘double-bed in the sky’. Take note that the cabins are not fully enclosed, the doors only go up to about 1.8 metres, someone tip-toeing can definitely see what you are doing; so don’t get tooo comfortable, if you know what I mean. The steward came to introduce himself and gave me a tour of the A380 after I told him that this is our first time in an A380. After learning that this was our honeymoon, he nodded and said “This is certainly the way to honeymoon in style, Sir!”.
Some photos of the seat and cabin. As evident from the poor quality of the pictures, they were taken by my cheap camera. Please ask me if you plan to use any of the photos, thank you!
We were served snacks and champagne before takeoff. After takeoff, the amenities kit were distributed and the stewardess came around to confirm our meal choices. We used ‘Book the Cook’ to preorder the Lobster Thermidor and Monkfish. The meals were served in the following order: satay canapes, salad, bread, soup, entree, dessert, cheese plate, tea with pralines. My wife liked the satay so much that she got more of it instead of the salad.
Food verdict: nothing to complain about, we particularly liked the satay and garlic bread. The lobster thermidor tasted cheesy good and the monkfish was moist. We aren’t into cheese and wine so we can’t comment on either.
With the meal finished, the stewardess asked us if we would want to lounge on the bed instead. Of course we said yes! Pardon the poor lighting and quality of the photos.
We went to bed with about eight hrs left of flight time. It wasn’t comfortable, possibly due to depressurization problems. We were awaken 2 hours later and emergency landed in Baku and this incident was reported internationally. We were safe but extremely tired and how Singaporeans aptly described as ‘sibei sian’. We ended up sleeping on the floors of Baku airport while waiting for a replacement aircraft to bring us and the other 455 passengers back to Singapore. Not the best place to be stranded in due to the strict immigration regulations; we were only allowed out of the airport after our visa was approved after an estimate of 15 to 18 hours. After which, we boarded a bus to crash at a nearby hotel for around 6 hours before returning to the airport. It was another long wait before we were allowed to board the plane.
The replacement flight was coded SQ9317 and timed at 9 hours. Being exhausted from camping at the airport, the suites felt so much more comfortable when we finally re-boarded the plane. Here’s some photos of the first meal.
We went promptly to sleep after the meal and woke up 7 hours later for breakfast! Had this not been due to the delayed journey, this would have been the best sleep I had on a plane ever. Here are some photos of the breakfast. Being a hastily packed flight, the food choices are limited.
32 hours after our scheduled arrival, we finally arrived in Singapore. If not for the delay, the flight would have been a most pleasant one. The crew acted professionally in times of the emergency, which I appreciated.
absolute honesty 