Pre-flight
Seoul Incheon is one of the best airports I've been to so far for plane watching. The windows are seamless, large, clear and full length and the planes that come in are just varied and quite interesting. I did not take much photos pre-flight due to the early nature of this flight but I saw S7 Airlines, Emirates and Vietnam Airlines while waiting at the gate, together with the expected Korean Airlines and Asiana aircraft.
It was a blessing that we had checked-in online. The line at the counter was completely clear and the normal check-in line wasn't too long as well. Incheon was bright, clean and airy which was a small comfort amid the bittersweet feelings of leaving Korea. Security was speedy and automated and we passed into Departures without event.
Incheon is truly a great airport. Unfortunately, I was too occupied in Kugane Maruyama's Overlord Light Novel Vol. 14 to pay any attention to taking photos of the airport. Ooops.
Well…I was able to peel myself off of books to snap this single photo of our gate.
Boarding started on time and I was in group 4, reserved for passengers from row 45 and above. This time, there was actually good stock for the boarding pass. What an improvement.
flight
I walked through a glass jet bridge after snapping this incredible photo of our aircraft at the gate.
Our aircraft for the journey, 9V-SHE, a 0.7 year old, brand new A359 in Singapore Airlines' regional configuration.
I love these shades of blue and grey, they give the cabin a cool and sophisticated look. The slimline seats did bring up some dread in me, which, was not fully unfounded.
Soon after, I settled into my seat and started to peruse the IFE which was filled with near unlimited entertainment-movies, music and TV shows alike. They even had Avengers Endgame. That more then exceeded expectations.
Out of my window, taxis in a LOT Polish Airlines 788 from Warsaw. I'll likely be flying with them to London soon. Their airfares are very affordable.
The seat had multiple pockets for phones, sweets, literature and other devices. I especially liked the cubby in the middle for storing my Galaxy Buds Case and mints. There was two plugs per every three seats so we'll have to share which proved to be no issue, since no one used in-seat power for the entire flight-at least in my section of the cabin.
All in all, Singapore Airlines' hard product is truly class leading.
A very disgusting surprise was found upon opening my tray table. That slightly tarnished an otherwise excellent first impression.
As luck would have it, a flight attendant passed by with a hot, fragrant oshibori service. So, I was at least able to clean the table and utilise it as a reading surface.
Earbuds were also placed on each seat. They were very average. Good enough to watch a movie with but hopeless for listening to SQ's vast library of music. Natural by Imagine Dragons experienced weak lows, hollow bass and lacked instrument separation. Singapore Airlines does provide an adaptor so
Tip: if you'll like to listen to music, bring your own device.
Browsing through Singapore Airline's amazing library.
Soothing music as we taxied to runway and took off.
Passing through some scattered islands on the edges of Korea as we climbed to cruising altitude of FL410.
Sidenote: are these considered archipelagos?
Steep right bank to align the aircraft towards Singapore.
A Christmas themed lunch menu was handed out by the crew shortly after takeoff.
Lunch consisted of an international selection of smoked salmon with fusilli pasta and vegetable salad for starters and main of barbecue chicken with mashed potatoes in a delicious festive tasting sauce. Desert was an orange jelly and a bun.
The Korean selection was mostly the same with Banchun and Bimbimbap in lieu of salmon and chicken. I decided to go for the international selection. Korea taught me that I have issues with eating Korean food.
A sea of clouds as we finally reached cruising altitude and the WiFi was finally turned on.
Prices on SQ are not as competitive as on AirAsia X. Prices started from 4 USD for 10MB of data compared to free on AirAsia. That's not a big problem though, The IFE is more than sufficient entertainment.
Lunch was served with pasta bun, water, jelly and the Christmas chicken.
The pasta was quite bland, although the texture was good.
The bun tasted like how a bun would taste like but the chicken and jelly was really delicious.
I loved the sauce and the chewy texture of the main dish while the jelly did not taste like condensed sugar but actual orange.
The real metal cutlery was a nice touch to round off the meal.
I wished Singapore Airlines had the same attitude to bread as Thai Airways. Over at Thai, croissants are handed out and crew comes around routinely during the meal to offer refills. That really struck me when I flew with them from Bangkok back home.
Prepare to be devoured.
Snow capped peaks from the mountainous east of Taiwan
Passing by a Taiwanese city. I think it's Taidong…
It was at this moment, about 3/4 into the flight that my back began to feel sore. The regional product is great. 6 hours sat on economy is all I can handle.
I tried Singapore Airline's older economy product on their A380 to Beijing back in 2015 and I was comfortable for over 8 hours. This is definitely a regression.
Went for a walk, around the plane, ended up in the toilet. Great amenities SQ, I'll take some hand lotion and mouth wash.
Soon after, we started our descent into Singapore. Currently overflying Batam island on final approach into Changi Airport.
Cutting through the clouds.
Ships off the coast of Singapore.
Tip: for views of the Central Business District on final approach, select a seat ending with "A".
Post-flight
Taxing to gate and soon, goodbye.
Air Mauritius A350. That's rare…
And that's the end of the Korean holiday.
Going through security was fast and uneventful and thanks to Krisflyer Gold status, we had priority baggage. We went from plane to taxi in less than 20 minutes.
