Review of Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore in Economy

Introcution

Hi all, welcome to the 5th part of this UK and Ireland series.

Today we begin the long trek back to Melbourne following the same route, though in reverse, as we took on our way to the UK. Once again flights were 100% full for all classes leaving no chance of an upgrade to occur. So without further ado lets set off for the second last flight of this series!

A reminder of the routing below…

Transport, Check-In & Security

Since we had a rental car in which we needed to return we were up bright and early, aiming to get to the rental drop off the minute it opened as we had heard that this process can take quite sometime during the Europe summer. 

Arriving at Europcar late due to google maps trying to direct us through some freight facilities we were relieved to find that we were the only ones dropping off at this time. It is also worth noting that there is a fee involved for late drop offs so I would recommend getting your car there early to avoid any extra fees.

Europcar is located offsite and they offer a free shuttle bus to all terminals, which involved a 5 minute wait at the car agency and a 20 minute drive to Terminal 2. 

We were departing from Terminal 2 today which from my understanding all Star Alliance group airlines depart from this terminal.

As we entered the check in area we got a nice view of a Virgin Atlantic A330-300 and their A350-1000

Once again there was no queue for check in so we used the economy lane rather than the Business check in counters which we were eligible for through my status. Singapore Airlines utilises the self check-in counters at LHR which actually worked very well making check-in a breeze.

We were through check-in within minutes and our bags were off to the aircraft. 

Thanks again to my gold status we were eligible for fast track security. There was only 5 others in the fast track lane so security was very quick. The normal security lanes looked a little busier than the previous time we travelled through this terminal but was still relatively short.

A quick look at the departures board was of little help as our gate had not been announced as of yet, however the SQ app confirmed we were departing from the satellite terminal.

We made our way onwards and were greeted by the large terminal 2 waiting area.

Having read good reviews on here about the SQ Lounge at LHR we wanted to maximise our time there so headed straight to the lounge. This was quite a hike as you have to walk under the tarmac all the way to the satellite terminal. I personally have no issue with this but it doesn't seem all that friendly for anyone who may need easier accessibility. And travellators only help so much. This was a bit of a theme I've noticed with LHR is that it is not the most accessible friendly.

We eventually arrived at the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge in which we were greeted by some lovely Lounge Attendants who were more than happy to help with some issues we were having with our frequent flyer numbers on our booking.   

We quickly found seats close to the window, the lounge was moderately full at this time as there were two SQ flights due to depart, however it emptied out within 30 mins of us arriving thanks to SQ305 departing.

The lounge offered a decent sized buffet as well as a bar which was open at the time we arrived at the lounge.

I grabbed a small breakfast as I knew I would be eating shortly on the flight.

I also grabbed a much needed coffee boost.

After enjoying something to eat I headed to the bar and grabbed a specialty cocktail which I forgot to grab a photo of but was very good. I enjoyed this while doing some plane spotting.

A United B767 just about to pushback.

We eventually left the lounge to stretch our legs a bit before the long flight ahead, I managed to get a good photo of our aircraft while we were wandering.

Boarding started not long after and was on time as well. It was a bit of a chaotic process as they were calling groups out faster than people could get to the boarding queue. As a result there was a mad rush of everyone trying to board at once. This did not delay our flight though and before long we were pushing back.

The Flight - SQ317

Our flight today was operated by 9V-SKP a 14 year old Airbus A380. The seat layout was the same as our trip to LHR so I won't go into to much detail this time. 

I was seated in 74E today, an aisle seat in the middle row in the back section of the aircraft.

The seat had the same features as the previous flight and the entertainment system had not changed it's options as of yet.

One thing I was surprised about was that we weren't supplied with hot towels during boarding and taxiing. This was not a huge concern for me but it is wort noting as this was the only flight with SQ on this trip that we weren't handed hot towels.

Shortly after take-off the aperitif service started, with a drink and a small packet of crackers to accompany. I opted for a whiskey and coke which I must say was a very generous pour of whiskey. I would say 2/3 of the glass was whiskey and only 1/3 coke.

Lunch began about an hour after the aperitif service and today's menu can be viewed below…

I opted for the pan fried prawns which I must say was absolutely delicious. I don't often go for a pasta dish while flying as I find they are often dry but today this was not the case. The pasta was creamy and the prawns perfectly cooked.
I had this alongside a Heineken.

Once the lunch was cleared there was ice cream handed out which I was also a big fan off.

After being quite satisfied with lunch I settled down to watch a few movies.

There was wifi offered on all SQ flights which I did try on the way to London but it didn't seem to work at all so I didn't bother attempting to connect for this flight, or the next one for that matter.

After a few hours into the flight I had my next surprise come along (well not really a surprise for me but something fun). Having only a few thousand points left on my Krisflyer account and since I was trying to get status with Virgin Australia I decided to use my last Krisflyer points to purchase a model aircraft. This was brought around during the duty free service onboard. 

The flight continued along smoothly  and it was not long until I felt a bit peckish so headed to the galley to see what was on offer.

I grabbed packet of chips and a kit kat to enjoy during my next movie.

As I mentioned in my previous report I was a little disappointed in the timing of the meals on such a long flight and I was hoping that this flight would be different and they would push back the breakfast service a little longer so there was not such a big gap at  the ned of the flight. This was not to be as sure enough, 6-7 hours into the flight the breakfast service began.

The menu for breakfast today can be seen below…

Opting for the scrambled eggs I was not surprised to find them a bit dry and tasteless as they often are on flights. However the potato and sausage was decent and fruit was nice and fresh.

Feeling rather full I tried my best to get some sleep, although with very little luck due to the timing of this flight. It was still only 6:00pm London time. I went to the galley at this time as well as they had stated there were amenity kits on offer upon request. I wanted an eye mask to try and help sleep however was told that there were non available on this flight. 

I gave up eventually on sleeping opting to have a coffee and watch the moving map 

The flight cruised on by and it was not long before we started our descent into Singapore. (Sorry for the poor quality image)

We touched down shortly after into a very hot and humid Singapore and began our 3 and a half hour layover.

And that brings our 5th leg to an end. 

Thanks for reading!

A look at the route below…