Introduction:

After many a botched attempts to fly the whalejet on different airlines, I finally managed to snag a trip on board the A380, earlier this month (shameful rather considering the fact tht the 380 has been in service for almost 4 years now!!

I was in San Jose, CA on a business trip and had my return trip routed via LAX and SIN on UA and SQ. I also had the option of flying via SFO back to BLR on either AF or LH. But the option of flying on the upper deck in Y tilted the case in favor of SQ.

My inbound was on SQ via BLR-SIN-ICN-SFO. SIN-SFO flight was choc-a-bloc. I cud only get a middle seat for the SIN-ICN-SFO sector.

My flight from SJC to LAX was on a UA express CRJ. Pretty uneventful flight. Just a drinks service. I was able to check in only one of my bags , since my *Silver status gives me only 1 free checked in bag. Earlier this year it used to be 2.

My bag was through checked in till BLR. I was able to carry my other bag onboard as it was within cabin baggage sepcification, although I it travelled in the luggage hold and was delivered to me at the jetbridge in LAX.

After arriving @ LAX, I went up one level and started on my long walk to the Tom Bradley international terminal. Is there a better way to do this?! I do not remember seeing a train or bus facility.

The SQ check-in was just being set up and the lady at the counter told me that it wouldnt open until quarter past 12. So I headed up to the food court area and helped myself to a juicy steak at the Daily Grill.

It was interesting watching the going ons below. LY was checking in for their flight to TLV and by the looks of it the flight was going full. There were armed security guards at a distance, who were gone once the LY check in counters closed. OZ had wrapped up their check in, while LH had just opened theirs. The LY counter was taken over by TK.

On the other side there was a decent line forming in front of the BA counters that were yet to open.

Lines in front of the BA counter.


View from the food court - AS, TN and SQ flights


I headed to the check in counters for SQ. There were 3 counters for internet checkin passengers, 4 for Economy passengers and 2 for business and 1 for Suites. However of the 3 counters for internet, only two were operational and this led to the regular economy line being a lot faster than the internet checkin one  

Check in was done by a Chinese lady, who was very interested in exploring the links between Hinduism and Buddhism!! I checked in my second bag and was given my boarding pass for a window seat on the upper deck. I also requested for an emergency exit row for my MI flight from SIN to BLR. She was not able to process this and asked me to check with the staff at SIN, once I land there.

Security line was pretty long. However one of the TSA staff decided to do some standup comedy, while providing instructions and that helped us along!!  

Airside at LAX is pretty disappointing. Not many eating or shopping options.

TN 343 to PPT - Rangiroa



SQ was boarding from Gate 123. The gate was divided into 3 sections - lower deck Y, Suites and Business class and Upper Deck Y


A bad shot of the A380 - 9V-SKI


Feels strange entering from above the "letterings"!!  

We headed through the Upper Deck business class, to the cozy lil Y cabin at the end of the upper deck.

Love the baggage hold adjacent to the seat. Big enough to fit my laptop bag and then some more


The IFE and holder next to it


The IFE system was not turned on until we were airborne and was switched off more than 30 mins before we landed. SQ needs to upgrade its IFE offering. After the likes of EK/QR/CX and even 9W that provide touch screen facility, SQ's krisworld navigation was a constant battle between ur fingers and the contols!!

On the LAX-NRT sector the IFE had to be restarted 3-4 times. As with my other recent SQ flights, the F/As are pretty strict about no earphones during landing and take off. Have not seen this with other airlines, but SQ is pretty serious abt this. Anybody know why?

Mandatory Knee Shot:


Window Shot


TN and CX at adjacent gates


Take off was pretty smooth and the first thing that hits u is - man the engines are not revving as they should be!! You almost fear that the a/c does not have enough power to life the big fat jet off the ground!! It actually takes some time getting used to the eerieness of the cabin!!  

Once we were airborne, the crew came around distributing menu cards. Soon a drinks rounds with nuts.

The first meal :


I chose the fish option, which was delicious


The seat next to me was empty on this sector and that meant I was free to roam around  

Visit to the loo , which was clean and well stocked:


The cabin post the first meal - windowshades down.


View across the aisle from my seat 73A


The crew came around many time with drinks and snacks (fruits/bread/choco bars etc). I ordered for a cup of tea.

Tea served over the pacific. Notice the alternate seat lighting under the IFE display unit.


The first time I went to the galley, the stairs to the main deck were barricaded.The second time however I was lucky

Steps leading down to the main deck


The aft Y class in the main deck


Back to the upper deck  

Feels good climbing stairs at 35000 ft up in the air!! The only other time I had done this before, was on an LH 346 from DEL to MUC. The toilets in the LH 436 in Y class are one level below  

Upper deck Y cabin being woken up for breakfast/snacks



Unfortunately forgot to take pics of the second meal!! I chose eggs and sausages and it was pretty good. There was a Japanese option too.

Soon the a/c was being prepared for arrival into NRT. Once we landed , we taxi-ed a fair bit to our gate and then the /ac did something that I have never experience before.. a 360 degree turn on ground!! Not really sure why, but the ac turned full circle before heading to the gate. Just as we docked in, we could view the LAX bound 380 pushing back.

We exited through the upper deck.

Some pics of the a/c @ NRT



Welcome to Japan


After a transit time of around an hour and 20 minutes, boarding was announced.

images from the jet bridge


NH 767 at adjoining gate


Another view of the big bird


Upper deck to the right, lower deck to the left


The crew had changed at NRT for this 7 hour long flight back to SIN.

Once airborne the crew served dinner. I went for the Japanese option which consisted of cold noodles, rice and pork. Extremely yummy!!


Slept for a large part of this flight and beforeI knew it, we were descending into SIN and landed at around 3 AM local time.

Parting shots as we disembark



My onward flight to BLR was not until 1:30 in the afternoon and I had tried booking a room at the transit hotel in advance. However I got a response that the facility was completely booked and I should try again once I land in SIN. I headed to the T3 transit hotel, expecting the worst, but to my good fortune they had a room available - for roughly S$70 for 6 hours.

The room @ the transit hotel (BTW there is no window behind that curtain, just a plain ol brick wall!!)


Attached bath


Overall the trip was exciting thanks to the Airbus 380 experience!! The service was top notch, as you would expect from any SQ flight. The only spot for improvement was probably the IFE.