Project 61: Quadjets + RTW! Part IV (Back to SIN)
Flight routing
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Preflight
My waitlist for Business on Singapore Airlines just to access the upper deck wasn’t successful, so I went with the next best cabin – Premium Economy. This also allows me to end my 61-hour trip with the same seat number that I started with – 33A, so you might say this is in fact the preferred outcome!
Aircraft
I flew on the 9V-SKW, the youngest plane on the trip at 7 years 4 months.
Route
Initially, the captain reported good wind conditions and that we should only take 4.5 hours to arrive in Singapore. I thought that might make the 61-hour trip more like 60 hours, but ultimately, we departed much later than expected and it’s back to just under 61 hours.
Seating, IFE
There is a dedicated AC outlet for each passenger. Singapore Airlines provides wired ANC headphones, so I didn’t have to use my own.
Having been spoiled by Lufthansa’s flight maps, at least Singapore Airlines allows you to zoom in maximally at the virtual A380. Like Air Canada, I believe in-flight Wi-Fi is only free if your KrisFlyer account is tagged on the PNR, which is applied for my case.
Food
I went with the pan roasted chicken and it was very good, perhaps just behind the Lufthansa’s Business offering. Even the appetiser – smoked salmon salad – was probably close to the main meal sizing on Air Canada’s Economy.
Epilogue
I’m glad to complete this bucket-list of a round-the-world trip, on three increasingly rare quadjet plane types. Seeing how I did Singapore Airlines 747 farewell flight, perhaps the next time I attempt such an aviation endeavour is for their eventual retirement of the A380.
The compression of the multi-city visits also elevated (pun unintended) the fun-ness of the entire trip! Other than some short bouts of sleepiness while waiting, I generally managed to sleep through any jet lag. What sounded like a crazy-but-good idea turned out to be better than crazy!
Actual flight times:
• T 09:07 SIN-YVR AC20 B789 (16h9m)
• T 10:16 YVR (7h3m stopover)
• T 17:19 YVR-FRA LH493 B744 (9h4m)
• T+1 11:23 FRA (4h5m stopover)
• T+1 15:28 FRA-PVG LH728 A346 (11h29m)
• T+2 08:57 PVG (8h29m stopover)
• T+2 17:26 PVG-SIN SQ833 A388 (4h38m)
• T+2 22:04 SIN
Flight time: 41h20m
Layover: 19h37m
Total: 60h57m
Thanks for this cool Quad-Jet series! I flew on an A380 last week for the first time in years and it was just as exciting as the first time (of many). There's something just so impressive about this behemoth, and the cabins tend to be more comfortable with wider seats than average, at least in Economy and Premium Economy.
It's a shame that SQ put their Premium Economy cabin on the main deck. Most airlines have it on the upper deck and I like how it feels more special, especially with the bins along the windows.
Thanks again for sharing!
Today's the last day SQ is flying the A380 from Shanghai, not sure whether NS26 will see a repeat... It'll return to Hong Kong next year sometime in June/July though!