Hello there! This is the inbound leg of my Phuket trip. For the outbound leg from Singapore to Phuket, click on the routing above.
For the return flight, I will be flying on Thai AirAsia from Phuket to Singapore.
After a short 5 days in Phuket, spent visiting the numerous cafes and sightseeing the beautiful city, it is time to return back to Singapore.
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
The journey begins
I arrived at Phuket Int'l Airport approximately 2 hours before my flight. Amusingly, rows of luggage trolleys are lined up nicely skirting the railings of the departure kerbside.
The airport not crowded, in fact quite deserted, with only a small number of flights departing in the morning. And you would have guessed it! - the queues at the AirAsia check-in desk were nonexistent.
Ground experience - hkt
AirAsia operates quite a few flights out of Phuket at this time, most from the domestic terminal. Since this was an early flight, I grabbed my breakfast before heading to the airport.
A quick check at the FIDS after the passport control and security which I breezed through in a few minutes. How efficient!
On Level 4M of the airside, you will find a few shops like pharmacies and small eateries. This hidden level also features rows of seats for you to relax and watch the aircraft's movements. Perfect!
Managed to spot a majestic-looking Qatar A350-900 sporting its signature A350 Sunshades around the cockpit. ;)
Also watched a Scoot Airbus A320-200 arrive from Singapore.
A short walk leads me to level 1 bus gates, reveals where my flight today would depart from, Gate 81.
Also noticed that this morning's flight would be delayed by 10 minutes due to late arrival of inbound flight.
The bus gates are lined with duty-free shops, a few food outlets such as Dairy Queen etc. Also directly above was a sparsely furnished kids zone which honestly looked quite boring. Most probably only young children would be interested.
Boarding commenced 15 minutes after scheduled departure time, with those in Zone 1 (Premium Flex/Hot seats customers) boarding the bus to the plane first, and then no boarding groups were enforced after that. Passengers in zone 2 and 3 were allowed to board the bus together.
One thing that I could not help but to notice was the fact that AirAsia seemingly uses bus gates all the time even though there are aerobridges available. This is also evident in my previous flight, which I disembarked the aircraft via stairs. The aircraft was parked right next to a free aerobridge gate, and airasia did not use it, presumably to avoid higher charges.
13 June 2019
Thai AirAsia
FD376
Phuket (HKT) - Singapore (SIN)
A320-200
HS-BBF
Economy Class
17F
Flight Time: 2H
cabin & seat
Once again, my flight was operated by an Airbus A320, ®. With an all economy class configuration of 180 seats in a 3-3 configuration, the 28"pitched seats are not especially comfortable for flights more than 4 hours. Boarding was done efficiently with cabin crew warmly welcoming the passengers onboard. They however, like what I discovered on the previous flight, did not proactively assist passengers in the stowing of hand luggage in the overhead bins.
The cabin was clean. Take note of the numerous ad placements throughout the cabin. On the overhead bins and the tray table you could find advertisment stickered on.
in-flight experience
Boarding was done quickly. With the aircraft doors closed, safety demonstration done, we were all good to go.
A fast takeoff roll from Phuket leads us into the air, with a steep climb to our cruising altitude today at 37000ft.
After the seatbelt signs were turned off, I checked out the seat pocket contents. Each seat pocket featured an airsickness bag, the Santan menu for Buy-on-Board meals, and AirAsia inflight magazines, amazingly offered in both Thai and English. Not much difference from my previous flight.
The cabin crew sprung into action by serving pre-booked meals and offering buy-on-board options shortly after. They were friendly and patient with passengers. In addition to the meals service, they conducted a round of duty-free sales beginning with "recommended sale items" that were presented at the front of the cabin.
With nothing much to do (or see) without inflight entertainment, I chose the next best option by gazing out of the window and enjoying the view up at 37,000ft.
After a rapid cruise, we landed in Singapore safely, 18 minutes behind schedule.
ground experience - sin
The aircraft arrived and parked at Gate G2, which required passengers to go through additional security screening after disembarkation. Not sure why though, other gates did not have this security screening. Maybe someone can enlighten this confused koala in the comments. :)
Arrival in the newest terminal, T4, at the world's best airport. Singapore Changi!
Welcome to Singapore!
Till then, safe travels!
TheKoalaTraveller
The last time I have visited the international side of Phuket about 10 years ago, It was a complete empty space with only a very very select few shops and lots of seating benches... It definitely improved a lot I must say since international traffic has been increasing dramastically for Phuket. Thanks for sharing!
Indeed, the new Phuket International Terminal offers a wide range of amenities and shops, it is very spacious as well. Contrasting to the old airport terminal it is really a great improvement. Thanks for reading my FR! Have A Great Day!