It was an hour's car ride to Farnborough, where I would be spending 3 nights for conferences and meetings. Stayed at Aviator Hotel, which was pretty stylish and comfortable as well.
View of Farnborough airport from my room. Aircraft were mainly general-aviation type, with the occasional B737 Business jets.
The daily buffet breakfast selection, which is English-styled.
Quiet town of Farnborough, with the occasional aircraft landings to disrupt the peace.
Huge portion of fish and chips at an eatery a 20min walk away from the hotel.
3 nights in Farnborough and it was back to London for another full day of meetings before flying back. London was having a splendid sunny skies, but unfortunately there was no time to enjoy it.
In the evening, I proceeded to Heathrow via pre-booked car. The ride took more than an hour in the evening peak traffic crawl… And I thought traffic in Asia was bad… This would be my first time using the newest terminal at Heathrow, Terminal 2, also known as The Queen's Terminal. Most Star Alliance airlines have relocated to this terminal.
Check-in, similar as in Singapore, is self-service using the kiosks followed by bag-drop. Counter check-in were only available for the premium passengers. Boarding pass is also of the flimsy paper quality.
The terminal was not busy at all at this time of the evening and there was no queues at the VAT refund (surprising!) nor at departure security. Hence in no time, I was through to the departure hall, which is filled with the usual shops and eateries similar to the other terminals.
Making use of my Priority Pass, I headed to the Plaza Premium Lounge to grab some dinner. The lounge was tucked away in some hidden corner (at the transfer area) and it took me actually quite a while to locate it, and the signages in the terminal are not helping much either.
Welcomed into the lounge by the lounge attendant. Lounge was not too busy and there were plenty of empty seats at the lounging area.
Dining area
The buffet selection. Not too big a variety but was sufficient. Quality was pretty good as well.
Dinner time! The hot dishes were very tasty, especially the Indian selection.
After dinner, I took a refreshing shower in the lounge, and relaxed a while with a hot chocolate and dessert.
It was time to head to the gate, which was a lengthy 15min brisk walk away to the midfield terminal. Most passengers were already at the gate and boarind would commence soon after.
Riding the whale again.
09 March 2017
Singapore Airlines
SQ 321
London Heathrow (LHR) - Singapore (SIN)
A380-800
9V-SKP
Economy Class
Flight Time: 12H10M
Boarding the aircraft.
Would be seated at the 2nd last row of the aircraft.
Seatback.
Another seat view. Luckily the middle seat remained empty, allowing a bit more room to stretch out.
Boarding in progress. Economy was about 80% full.
Slightly more than 12hrs to Singapore.
Started on Doctor Strange while boarding was still underway.
Hot towels distributed and safety video played.
After pushback clearance was give, we started te long taxi to Rwy09R.
Departure from Rwy09R over the illuminated London city skyline.
Video of the departure.
Service started with the distribution of amenity kits.
This was followed by a quick round of juices/water served from trays. I had an apple juice.
Menu for the flight. 3 choices of mains are offered for supper.
Only 2 choices for breakfast though, while Premium Economy would have 3 choices.
In the menu is also the meals for the incoming SQ308 from Singapore.
Supper service started not too long after.
I opted for the Indian main of mutton briyani. Had more apple juice and a tea with my meal. Interestingly, there was no wine glass on the larger supper tray, but wine glass was present on the smaller breakfast tray. This was also noted on the SIN-CDG sector. Wonder what's the logic behind this arrangement….
Starter and dessert. The smoked salmon salad starter was not bad.
Mutton briyani was delicious! Meat was tender and overall the dish was full of flavour. Guess it is hard to go wrong with curry-based dishes inflight.
Dessert was exactly the way I like it, rich and sinful. Overall a very satisfying meal!
Slept for almost 4hrs after supper and when I woke up, we only had slightly more than 5hrs to go. Started on my second movie, a chinese comedy.
Went to the galley to grab some snacks to nibble on with the movie. Had chips, popcorn, chocolate bar and packed fruits. Sandwichs and nuts were also available. Also noticed that the crew on both flight only did regular drinks run, and snacks had to be ordered from the crew or obtained from snack basket placed in the galley. Wonder if this is the norm on SQ long-hauls nowadays or that I slept through the snack run.
With 2.5hrs to go, started on my 3rd movie.
Took a peek outside. Somewhere over the Bay of Bengal.
2hrs prior to arrival, hot towels were distributed and breakfast was served.
Breakfast tray. I chose the noodles.
Fruits were fresh. Noodles were fine, though a bit on the salty side.
Overflying Penang island.
View of the cabin from the rear.
Almost there as we start the descend.
Descend and approach into Changi Rwy02L.
Videos of descend, approach and landing.
Taxi to Terminal 3 Gate A5.
Disembarking
A look at the whale.
Thanks for reading and comments are welcomed.
