A trip to the UK and Canada (VA, SQ A380 suites, and AC 787 business)

[HeavyElectricity]

I returned two weeks ago from a trip to the UK, coming back to Australia via Canada. I thought I'd follow the same process that I used for my previous two trip reports (A trip to Kakadu and Darwin and Around the world in NZ/LH/LX/SA J - including Chornobyl) and post updates here as I sort through and organise my photos/notes from the trip.

The main purpose of the trip was to attend a family wedding in the UK, but seeing as I'd visited the UK in both the previous two years, I was keen to tag on another destination. I'd been wanting to visit The Rockies for some time, and so I decided to come back to Australia the long way - via Canada.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

PER-SYD

Flight: VA556
Aircraft: A330-200 (VH-XFD)
Seat: 2A (J)
Departed: PER 03/08/2018 10:55 (10 mins late) AWST
Arrived: SYD 03/08/2018 16:44 (11 mins early) AEST
Duration: 3h 49m


Because I wanted to try the full suites experience to the UK, which isn't available from Perth, I decided to take the trip from Sydney. Some might consider this silly, but I really enjoy flying in "The Business" with Virgin Australia, so didn't seem too ridiculous to me (but most definitely a little over the top).

I bought this flight at Freedom fare rates using a promo code, and during a triple points offer. So it cost around AU$550-600, and I then upgraded to business using one of my Velocity Platinum complimentary upgrade vouchers. I earned 11,649 points on this flight, so more than enough for another freedom-business upgrade in the future .




Perth Airport was lovely and quiet on arrival. No cars/queues anywhere, and my Ola driver (Uber alternative) dropped me off with plenty of time to spare before the flight. I used the priority check-in desk so I could get a fragile tag attached to one of my checked two bags, as I was talking some gifts with me to the UK.

The VA lounge was very pleasant, and I had some hash browns and sausages for breakfast, along with a couple of barista made coffees.

On boarding I was welcomed and offered a pre-departure drink. I went with the sparking wine.

The flight crew made an announcement that take off was to be from the secondary runway, as apparently the main runway was out of service.

I encountered some issues with the IFE (same problem as I had on a previous flight!) where every ~10mins the playing video would exit to the main menu. It also happened at exactly the same time to others in the cabin. Unlike the previous flight where I had this issue, the cabin crew acted promptly when I notified them, and they reset the IFE in some of the seats, and the problem was soon resolved!

Drink and nuts were offered after take off:



Meal service was great. Had the poached chicken with goats cheese and couscous starter, followed by the Barramundi and sweet potato curry main. The Pinot Gris was suggested to me to have with the fish, which I enjoyed.






The orange cake dessert and coffee were also spot on:



I watched The Shining on the IFE, and continued to enjoy a few more drinks. Absolutely fantastic service throughout the flight! These VA domestic sectors really outdo a fair number of other airlines international business class.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

Pullman Sydney Airport Hotel

I made the short walk from the domestic airport to the Pullman Sydney Airport Hotel where I was to stay the night. I had managed to book it during an Accor Plus Super Sale for $155.

I was quite impressed with the hotel - the room was nice and spacious, with a funky bathroom area.





A tasty welcome gift was already in the room:



I was granted executive lounge access thanks to my Accor Platinum status - it's a smallish lounge on the second floor.

Whilst the evening drinks and nibbles were perfectly fine, there was nothing particularly special about them. Breakfast, however, was absolutely fantastic - I selected the smashed avocado with a side of bacon from the menu, and was very impressed with what turned up. It was even more tasty than it looks (and was presented beautifully):



After a lazy morning, I checked out and walked back to the domestic airport where I took the free landside bus to the international terminal. If I wanted to, I could have gone to Mascot station nearby and taken the train to the international airport, but it was a lovely sunny morning and fancied the short stroll instead (the weather in Perth had been cold and miserable for several weeks).

I'd definitely stay here again if I needed a room near the airport/Mascot, and if the rates are reasonable (not sure what they're like outside of the sale rates)!

 

[HeavyElectricity]

Sydney Airport KrisFlyer Lounge

I spent a few hours at the large window seats in the KrisFlyer First Class lounge. A nice and quiet atmosphere for a light lunch - I ordered the chicken satay and then later the beef slider (not pictured) from the menu, along with a couple of gin and tonics.






SQ A380 at the gate:

 

[HeavyElectricity]

SYD-SIN

Flight: SQ222
Aircraft: A380-800 (9V-SKK)
Seat: 3F (F)
Departed: SYD 04/08/2018 14:57 (3 mins early) AEST
Arrived: SIN 03/08/2018 21:20 (on time) SGT
Duration: 8h 23m

I was welcomed upon boarding and escorted to my seat, where the menu was already on display on the side console:


I commenced champagne consumption, and settled in to the suite. Pajamas, slippers, and an amenity kit were provided.

On take-off I was treated to lovely views of Sydney CBD and the harbour from my three windows :


More champagne and nuts were soon delivered:


Dinner service started with the table being set - so much food! I found it amusing that I went with drinking options to accompany the various courses (champagne with the caviar, white wine with the soup/salad, and a red with the lamb), but they didn't often clear the other glasses away - instead topping up all the different drinks - you'll see in the photos that the drinks collection accumulates .

Appetiser of chilled Malossol caviar with Melba toast and condiments, accompanied with more Krug:


White onion and thyme soup, accompanied with Riesling:


Baby spinach, arugula, green frisée, semi dried cranberries, goat cheese, and roasted walnut salad:


Book-the-cook main course of roast rack of lamb with natural jus, accompanied with 2006 Chateau Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estephe:


By this time I had eaten way too much - so skipped the dessert and cheese courses. I finished up with the Dow's 20 year old Port:

 

[HeavyElectricity]

SYD-SIN

I didn't attempt to sleep on this flight, as I was overnighting at Changi. For entertainment, I watched A Quiet Place, The Florida Project, an episode of The Man In The High Castle, and then an episode of The Wire.


The options for the pre-arrival snack meal were either chicken and mushroom congee or smashed avocado on toast. Not really feeling like either - I asked if I could instead have the dessert and cheese plate that I had passed on from the earlier meal service with a coffee, which they were happy to oblige.

Dessert of chai panna cotta with blueberry compote:


Selection of cheese:


All very tasty!


Before commencing our descent, I was chatting with one of the cabin crew and queried if they still provided a bear when making up the beds (as I was planning on a bit of sleep on the next flight), as it would make a nice gift for my niece - and she immediately suggested that she'd get me one now as they don't have to worry about reserving supply for a return sector when flying in to Singapore. Imagine my surprise when I was presented with a gift bag containing four bears just before disembarking! Great service!

 

[PLANT]

What gear you using for trip report?
Camera, laptop, phone?

 

[HeavyElectricity]

What gear you using for trip report?
Camera, laptop, phone?

Just my Nexus 5X phone purchased back in 2015 for the photos and notes. I then crop/rotate/delete/edit the images using the Google Photos website from my laptop. With the panoramic photos I create, I use a tool called "hugin" on my laptop - I'll be making some of those later when I get to the mountain photos!

I often regret not investing in a decent Camera (particularly with the Chornobyl trip), but I'm the kind of person who would drop/break or spill water on it on the first day, so I deter myself from purchasing one.

 

[craven morehead]

Signed on for this TR looks great so far

 

[PLANT]

Impressive with Nexus 5x...... Get the pixel 2 XL or 3 as I now have......

 

[HeavyElectricity]

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport

It took a very long time to clear immigration in to Singapore, even though the actual queues weren't that long (just moving very slowly). I collected my baggage and made the short walk to the Crowne Plaza hotel. The hotel and room was very nice, but by the time I'd checked in, made a phone call, and had a shower it was around midnight, and I was planning to get up around 5am, so really wasn't worth the ~270 SGD I paid - and I didn't end up using any of the hotel amenities (was hoping for a quick swim if I'd got there a bit earlier). If I was planning this one again, I'd probably stay at the cheaper transit hotel, or increase the gap between my connecting flights by another 6 hours.

Checkout the next morning was quick and easy!

 

[HeavyElectricity]

Changi Airport

As I was making my way towards the dedicated first class check-in area, I was intercepted by a "helpful" staff member and directed to the available first class check-in counter amongst the standard T3 check-in desks. I got a tiny bit of attitude and questions along the lines of "it says here you were already issued with a boarding pass" (in Sydney they explicitly told me I would only be issued with my first boarding pass if I was collecting/re-checking my luggage in Singapore), but it was eventually all sorted. No special invite to The Private Room that I've read some people receive - just a note on my boarding pass. Emigration was fairly speedy, but was a bit disappointed there was no priority queue.




The Private Room was nice, but maybe a little sterile - I could have heard a pin drop - a similar, almost awkward, atmosphere to a library where you can hear every cough and rustle. I enjoyed a lovely eggs benedict and coffee for an early breakfast, despite a person sat at a table opposite mine deeply picking their nose for some of the time. I guess maybe it wasn't as classy in here as I had feared .



I left The Private Room a little early as there was a queue for the mens toilets, so visited the first class lounge instead for a ten or so minutes before heading to the gate. Gate security was quick, and I only spent a short time in the gate lounge before boarding was called bang-on-time.

Another SQ A380 from the gate lounge:

 

[HeavyElectricity]

SIN-LHR

Flight: SQ308
Aircraft: A380-800 (9V-SKM)
Seat: 3F (F)
Departed: SIN 05/08/2018 09:14 (14 mins late) SGT
Arrived: LHR 05/08/2018 15:37 (3 mins early) BST
Duration: 13h 23m


Welcome drink offered along with menu, reading materials, pajamas, slippers, amenity kit, eye shades, hot towel, and boiled sweet for take off.

The amount of shipping traffic around Singapore never ceases to amaze me, and today was no different:



After take off, my post departure drink was delivered and I was offered use of the suite behind me to use as my bedroom, which I readily agreed to. However this never actually eventuated, and it was made up for another person (I think the original suite they were offered had issues with the bed deployment).

Breakfast was substantial and great - and started with fresh fruit, Bircher muesli, and a pastry:





I had chosen the "book the cook" option of Nasi Lemak (first time trying this), which was tasty!



A short while after breakfast was cleared, I asked for my bed to be made up. I tried to sleep for a few more hours, but unfortunately there was an extended period of light turbulence where the fasten seatbelt sign was turned on, which I probably could have slept through if I didn't also end up really needing the loo and focusing all my attention on the seatbelt sign waiting for it to be turned off!



I think afterwards I managed to get a couple of hours dozing, before giving up and watching the IFE whilst in bed, where I was served champagne along with the chicken and beef satay canapé. I never thought in my life I'd be being delivered champagne in bed !

 

[HeavyElectricity]

SIN-LHR

A few hours out from London, I switched the suite back to a seat, it was time for more food!

Pre-dinner drinks and nibbles:


The appetiser choices were caviar or foie gras - which didn't appeal, so I went with the caviar again. I should have chosen the scallop option on the SYD-SIN leg, but the caviar is good too. This time I was also offered vodka to accompany it.


Soup course - roasted tomato velouté with Alaskan crab:


Salad of baby leaves with olive, feta cheese, and cherry tomatoes:


Book-the-cook main of Boston lobster thermidor:


Dessert of Rum Baba with strawberries, raspberries, and vanilla honey:


I skipped the cheese course, and asked for a coffee which came with some pralines:


The cabin windows were opened as we were crossing The English Channel and I could soon see the parched landscape of the UK which had been going through a heat wave. There was a dirty haze on the horizon.


I was first off the plane, and the fast track entry in to the UK was fantastic - I was out landside in ~30 minutes, despite being pulled across to a luggage inspection area for a short talk with a customs officer which went something like:

Officer: "Can I see your passport? Are you aware of duty free limits which apply when entering the UK?"
Me: "No, but I don't have any duty free anyway."
Officer: "Ok then, thank you - you may continue."

I ended up waiting for quite some time landside for my relatives to pick me up, as they expected my arrival process to take over an hour - the immigration processing delays at Heathrow had recently been making headlines in the news.

So here I was, three days later in the UK - feeling stuffed with food and quite merry from drink, but still probably the freshest I've been after a long-haul flight!

I also realised that for these three days I hadn't purchased a single item of food or drink. From combinations of the flights, airport lounges, and the Sydney Pullman Airport executive lounge I had no need for anything!

 

[JohnM]

Slipping into 1A...

My favourite line: "I commenced Champagne consumption..."

 

[HeavyElectricity]

SYD-SIN-LHR

The cost of the SYD-SIN-LHR suites flight was 148,000 KrisFlyer miles. ~114k of these were from an AMEX transfer, ~33k from a Velocity transfer, and the remainder from my existing (very low) KrisFlyer balance. SG$103.10 was paid in fees, which at the time of booking in August 2017 was AU$95.70.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

UK

My original plan when I booked the suites reward flight in 2017 was to visit somewhere in Europe (probably Barcelona) for a few days, rather than spend the entire two weeks in the UK. However monetary concerns (the insane accommodation prices I encountered when booking the Canada section - more on that later, and the fact it was still peak season and school holidays in Europe) made me drop this idea.

So in the end, I spent a few weeks relaxing in the summer weather with the family and assisting with wedding preparations. I managed to go for a few walks in The New Forest, and also went for a stroll along the coast where The Needles (cliffs on The Isle of Wight) could be seen.

 

[RooFlyer]

No special invite to The Private Room that I've read some people receive - just a note on my boarding pass.

I think you have to ask for it (at least I did ..I think its more of a souvenir than functional.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I think you have to ask for it (at least I did ..I think its more of a souvenir than functional.

I don’t know how many times I have to post this - ALL SQ stations are supposed to issue ALL R/F pax - paid or rdpt tix - with a hand written TPR Invitation - standard protocol - no exceptions.

Depending on which station you dep invitation can be handed to you at checkin, in Lounge or as with PEK anytime up until boarding.

If they do not hand it to you ask for it. And you do not need to show Invitation to gain access to TPR just your Gold,Maroon or now White (MEL) BP - put your Invitation away as some agants will ask you to give it up.

If you o/n in SIN and clear immig - proceed to the dedicated First Class checkin area at extreme opposite end of T3 to CPH. They will check if you have BP without question - they will also issue you with another Gold hand written TPR Invitation - this time the writing in GOLD.

Yes they are nothing more than a souvenir - but what s fabulous souvenir they are.

 

[drron]

Twice now we have checked in at the F checkin in SIN and have not received an invitation for the TPR.Our BPs got us in anyway. I have no need for such souvenirs at my time of life.Way too much junk already.