Early this month, I revisited Hokkaido for the autumn, making the 4 nights trip over a public holiday. This trip would be flown on a mix of mainly LCCs as well as a finale on my 1st ever flight in SQ Suites. Itinerary would be SIN-DMK-CTS-KIX-SIN. As SQ has upgraded one of the 2x daily flights to KIX to the A380 for the peak travel season, Suites availability was widely open for redemption, with 4 seats or more available on most days. KIX is definitely not a premium-heavy destination. However, before sharing on my Suites experience, lets first embark on the flights up to Sapporo on the AirAsia group.
The flight up to Japan was booked on a combination of Thai AirAsia and Thai AirAsiaX, needing a transit at Don Mueang. Did self check-in for the flight at Changi Terminal 4 and boarding passes for both flights were printed. Baggage were dropped off at the self-drop counters and would be checked through for the connecting flight.
Most of the departures from T4 were from the AirAsia group.
Passed through the centralised security screening into the departure hall. This afternoon, the terminal was busier than usual with travellers heading off for the weekend getaways.
Using my Priority Pass, I visited the Blossom Lounge, which is both a SATS Premier Lounge and a Plaza Premium Lounge. Other than CX passengers, all other full-service airlines' premium passengers in T4 are sent to this lounge.
Seating was plentiful and there were different seating options, such as individual pods, solo seats, sofas and dining areas.
There is a manned bar.
And a decent buffet selection.
Salad bar and cheeses
Alcohols, juices and snacks.
4 hot dishes and a soup.
Noodle bar offering Laksa and Vegetarian noodles.
Sandwiches and desserts.
Beverage area
Something to bite before the flight. The laksa was actually pretty good!
02 November 2018
Thai AirAsia
FD 354
Singapore (SIN) - Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK)
A320
HS-ABI
Economy Class
Flight Time: 2H15M
Upon reaching the gate, boarding had already commenced and we proceeded immediately to board. No surprises that it would be operated by one of the A320 workhorses.
The usual LCC black leather seats.
Boarding in progress
View out the window.
I was seated at the emergency exit row, which offered a comfortable legroom as compared to the rest of the tight rows. My Premium Flatbed fare had allowed free selection of the extra legroom seats on the A320 sectors as well.
Inflight magazines.
Boarding completed, and it was a very full flight. Only empty seats were at the emex rows.
Safety demo performed manually and we taxied out to the runway. Even though the taxi distance to Rwy02C was short, we had to hold for some time to allow aircraft ahead of us to depart and land.
Finally holding for departure. There was an SQ A330 beside, which was held at the position for quite a while since we started taxi. Not sure what went wrong with the aircraft.
Departing from Rwy02C.
Weather was not too good and it took a while before seatbelt signs were turned off. However, the bumps were light.
Service started and pre-booked meals were distributed.
My fare was inclusive of a meal and I pre-booked the ML Noi’s Basil Fried Chicken on Rice. It tasted meh… Lots of rice but miniscule proteins in a very watery sweet-tasting sauce. Nowhere near the authentic Thai Basil fried chicken, and this coming from the Thai unit of AirAsia. Came with a bottle of water. The catering standards on the various AirAsia units seemed inconsistent as I find the catering quality on the big brother Malaysia AirAsia to be superior, even for the same dishes.
The Thai Green Curry with Rice which my friend ordered was probably only slightly better.
Setting sun
Lavatory was basic. The single lav at the front of the aircraft was unoperational and the almost full flight had to use the 2 at the rear. Luckily it was only a short flight and not many passengers had the urge to use the lavs.
Cabin view
Soon, we were descending into Don Mueang and landed on Rwy21R.
Parked at the gate. No bussing needed this time round.
Disembarking and a look at my comfortable emex row seat.
Disembarked from the FD A320.
Thanks for this FR.
I guess Air Asia was much cheaper than legacies for that trip up north.
The catering doesn't look good, I'm not surprised the taste wasn't there...