Early 2020 AD. Timothy and I embark on a 21st century Odyssey. On the Majestic Princess from Sydney to New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji. Back to Sydney, then to Melbourne and flying back home.

We did this before the Big Coronavirus Disruption of Life As We Knew It. 

The first leg of our flight home would be on Singapore Airlines’ majestic Airbus A380, aka whale jet. We were very excited as it would be the first flight for both of us on the A380. We approached the gate by the time the boarding was announced and could almost immediately walk on. the plane was connected to the terminal using three jetways, the first lower level one for first class, the second lower level one for economy class and the third upper level one for business class.

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Flight SQ222
From Sydney (SYD) 16:10 to Singapore (SIN) 21:20
Flight Time 9 hours and 0 minutes
Airbus A380-800 9V-SKP
Delivered to Singapore Airlines in January 2012

We were travelling on one of Singapore Airlines older A380’s still sporting the old cabin and thus the entire upper deck was dedicated to business class. The seating was in a 1-2-1 configuration with very wide seats, Timothy and I could easily have shared one.

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On the seat where two very fluffy pillows, some socks, slippers and eye shades while other amenities where available in the toilets.

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The seat also had a number of different storage compartments next to the screen, as well as a mirror and a number of power and USB connectors.

In between the seat and the window you also had two bigger storage compartments. At the window side there were no overhead bins, they were only provided above the centre seats.

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We were offered a welcome drink and a hot towel before take-off.

After pushback and taxiing a bit we suddenly came to a standstill and stood there for a while until the captain made an announcement; apparently due to the torrential downpour over Sydney airport a bit earlier some areas of the plane where flooded and the baggage bins in the lower economy class cabin where leaking water with every turn the aircraft took. To be sure the mechanics had to check it out and give their approval, in the end it was deemed okay to fly so we took off with about an hour delay. Take off and cruise where very silent, the A380 is really a comfortable plane to fly on.

Once airborne we first received a water bottle followed by a first drink service, a Singapore Sling with some warm nuts for me.

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The meal service was performed without trays and every table was set separately.

The starter was the same for everyone but there were four choices of mains, I choose the beef while timothy opted for the lamb.

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Dessert also offered the choice between chocolate ice-cream (which Timothy took) and a strawberry cake (which I tried).

Bizarrely enough the cheeses where offered after the dessert, together with some fruits. It where fairly standard cheeses, but they tasted nice nonetheless.

The meal ended with some tea or coffee and some chocolates.

After the meal service it was time to play a bit with the entertainment system and have a short nap. While the Krisworld entertainment system has a huge amount of content it is quite slow to navigate, especially as the screens are not touchscreen and you have to use the remote. Business class passengers were also offered 30 mb of internet for free, which I tried and found very slow but it is a nice gesture.

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Getting the bed into bed mode was also not very easy, the seat would only recline a bit but if you wanted it fully flat you had to turn it over. We both had to ask the cabin crew for assistance; the blanket was also hidden behind the seat and the back of the seat was already pre made as a bed.

The bedding however was attached using velcro which didn’t work very well and made our clothes stick to the seat. The entire construction was not the most comfortable to sleep on, because some pf the flaps covering the opening between the footrest and the set kept on folding down and not offering a solid surface. In my opinion the lie flat bed of Swiss was more comfortable to sleep on.

After watching some movies and napping a bit we were served a second meal prior to landing, we had the choice between either noodles or a meze plate. It was a small but tasty meal.

We made up some time enroute and landed only half an hour late, our aircraft arrived at terminal 2 from which we would depart again, saving us a transfer.

Singapore Airlines provided us with a nice flight but the fabled service everyone claims they provide wasn’t really something we experienced. We did have the old business class cabin and it indeed felt worn and outdated so a new cabin was overdue. The cabin crew where all very friendly and did their work to perfection but they seemed to lack warmth. Nonetheless we would like to fly them again but hopefully in their new cabin.

What is your experience with Singapore Airlines, do you think they are as fantastic as everyone claims they are or do you agree that their fame is a bit overrated? Let us know in the comments below!