I had the pleasure of taking a holiday to marvellous Singapore and enchanting Bali a few weeks ago. Here's my account of the flights between these destinations.

I had very little choice when it came to booking a flight as my friends and I decided to go on holiday with very little notice and the cheapest ticket we could find for our routeing was with QF. I must admit that I was quite looking forward to this as I hadn't flown with them before and I was also able to gain points and miles through my BA Executive Club membership.

29/05/02

LHR-SIN

QF10

B747-400

I arrived at LHR's T4 with several hrs to spare and made my way to the BA/Qantas ticket desk. The three of us in my party were BA Exec Club members including one gold member and we requested a seat allocation at a bulkhead or exit row. We were told that this might be possible and to check again at the gate.

Check-in was fast and efficient as we checked in at the BA Exec Club desks. We were given seats 52A to C, and proceeded to the departure areas. I must admit that T4 is now looking tatty and very overcrowded. The light and airy feeling one gets at Gatwick North, for eg, is sorely lacking at LHR T4. Let's hope that things will be better at T5. The departure gates are particularly tatty and ours was way too cramped for 300+ pax.

Boarding commenced on time but I was rather shocked at the lack of a PA system used for boarding announcements which were replaced but the shouts of the gate staff! Very crude! We asked about our seats but.......you guessed it, no chance!

Our aircraft was in good condition and was fitted with the new seats in economy that feature a PTV with a handset that comes out of the armrest. The entertainment system was good with a choice of programming and games. Here Qantas beats BA.

The seats were fairly comfortable and almost identical to BA's seats in World Traveller. However there was no footrest. The 33 inch pitch is better than BA's 31 inch. But both carriers should take a leaf out of American's book and increase this to between 34 and 36. I flew in American's "More Room......" last year and it truly makes a difference.

Shortly after our smooth take off (I love the power of those RB211's!!), despite some violent vibration on rotation, our first meal was served. There was a choice of chicken or paaaaastaaaa (as the Aussie cabin crews said) and I opted for the paaaastaaa. It was good but overall the meal was far inferior to BA's World Traveller product. I never thought I'd hear myself praising BA but, there you are....when you try others....

The flight attendants were pleasant but not overly so and again not as caring as BA's crew. I also found their personal presentation to be inconsistent. Some of them looked $1m dollars and others as if they'd been dragged backwards through a bush, the Australian Bush in this case!

I watched The Shipping News which I enjoyed tremendously. Kevin Spacey and Judi Dench give masterful performances. Then to sleep until I woke up somewhere off the east coast of India. I was surprised to have slept for a good stretch as I normally don't in cramped conditions. We were then served breakfast with a choice of cooked or continental and this was acceptable. Again I was thinking of BA's meals and trays - much better!

Our descent into SIN was fairly smooth and we touched down at Changi on schedule. What a marvellous airport this is! Our aircraft was due to continue its journey shortly to Melbourne but for us this was to be a two day stop.

01/06/02

SIN-DPS

QF30

B747-300

Saturday evening came all too soon after a magical stay in wonderful Singapore - I was very impressed. If you live there you are very lucky! Such order, such discipline - I love it! Still, beautiful Bali awaited...........

We were checked in smoothly and efficiently for our flight and I ended up in 24K. When we got to our gate I was very pleased to see a venerable 747-300 ready to fly us to Denpasar. This flight then continued to Sydney.

Due to the different config this a/c had economy seats starting from row 23. The old lady was in fairly good condition inside and had gleaming RB211's under her majestic wing.

Old and pretty tatty seats here I'm afraid and no PTV's. The cabin crew were pleasant - but that was it! Take off was about one hour late but great on this old bird and there was no vibration like in the 400's. Why do they do this?

We then had a meal served and it was the same chicken and paaaastaaaa we had from LON two days earlier! There were some spectacular thunderstorms several miles west of us en-route and the lightning displays were awesome to behold.

Our descent into Denpasar was fairly smooth and we landed about an hour late.

Ngura Rai international is not the best of airports is it? It seemed very busy but looked quite tired! Immigration took its time and the staff were not nearly as nice as in Singapore.

Still made it to our palatial hotel in Nusa Dua for a well earned 7 days rest on this beautiful island in the care of the wonderful Indonesian people.

08/06/02

DPS-SIN

QF29

B747-200 (yes!)

Check-in at Denpasar was not smooth and the passage through immigration and customs was laboured! As I mentioned before the airport is not good. The catering options in the departure areas are pretty grim and the toilets were awful!

We boarded on time and it was then that I spotted the 200. Imagine my joy to see this beautiful bird months before she was due to be retired and knowing that I was to fly on her! Her RRs were shining even on this overcast day. Her interior and seats were surprisingly in better condition that the 300 I'd flown on a week previously and the seats seemed to be a different blue. Anybody know why? I was in 43H which was acceptable up to the point when three "world travellers" with back packs who had obviously not washed and forgotten to pack the deodorant (or re these things uncool?) sat behind us. The stench of rancid armpits was unbearable to the point where I was about to alert the cabin crew when some kind lady sprayed her expensive perfume into the cabin and that did the trick for the next two hours.

I can't recall the meal that was served but again it was acceptable and the cabin crew on this flight were particularly rude. There were no PTV's and the headsets were of the old type where the contacts kept coming loose.

Our arrival in SIN was smooth.

08/06/02

SIN-LHR

QF9

B747-400

What a joy it was to spend five hours at Changi. We even experienced part of an Acapella festival that had been laid on to entertain passengers. How do the management of the airport do it? They have such wonderful facilities and there is such an air of tranquility everywhere. And as for the cleanliness! I would gladly eat off the toilet floor!

Our 400 for the return journey had the new seats but lacked PTVs which was most annoying! We were in 61A-C and although this was ok we were next to a main galley where cabin crew seemed compelled to bang every piece of equipment all the time!

Our departure was smooth and I managed to sleep for quite a while after our
meal, snack and breakfast.

Our approach to LHR was straight in and very smooth.

All in all I was disappointed with Qantas and have to admit that BA's World Traveller product is far better and one which I shall be sticking to when I can.

My next trip will be with Westair/Aeris in Sept - stay tuned and happy flying!