The itinerary:
QF1422 Canberra – Sydney VH-QOU (Dash 8-400)
SQ232 Sydney – Singapore 9V-SKY (Airbus A380-800)
SQ142 Singapore – Penang 9V-MGN (Boeing 737-800)
We finally were heading off to our vacation. When we mean vacation we meant actually away from it all for longer than a weekend or a long weekend. The plan was to incorporate a wedding and of course a break before heading back home.
The itinerary, carefully mapped out was from Canberra to Sydney on Qantas or QantasLink and then connect to Singapore Airlines from Sydney through to Penang. I was hoping that with my silver status on Qantas and Virgin gold for Singapore Airlines there would be some accommodation to get the bags checked through to Penang. I know they used to back in the golden days, but that may not be the case now. Anyway, ensuring that the kids weren’t too tired from the trip, we tried to get layovers in Sydney and Singapore as short as possible to keep pushing onto Penang.
We booked a cab for 6.05am at my wife’s request and wanted a maxicab. In Canberra, Maxicabs are basically 12 seater vans but we had more luggage than needing the seats. They did state on the website there was an inherent risk that there wouldn’t be a maxicab on the day but we needed to book it at least to try and ensure we could get one. Sadly on the day of departure there were no maxicabs and after I think 5 minutes I rung the taxi company to change the maxicab to 2 cabs. One cab was in the area and the other was coming from Campbell, some 10-15 minutes away. But at least we knew we would be on our way, with our 4 big suitcases and 2 small suitcases.
The first cab arrived (1) followed by the second cab (2), which was the one I took with my son. Our cab driver was a little on the crazy side. He was speeding and really gunning for it. The driver even cut in front of the other cab and then sped off. With heavy rain, I was told our cab didn’t have any headlights on. Once we arrived at the airport with the other cab right behind, I was then told the cab driver I had has had at least 3 car accidents previously and was racing to get to a job in Mawson, which was some 15 minutes away after dropping us off at the airport. Crazy driver I reckon.
Getting into the airport, we headed to the International Connections counter and met a very lovely staff member who did his absolute best to make my travels as smooth as possible. While we flew Qantas to Sydney to connect with Singapore Airlines, Qantas did not check the bags through to Penang, our final destination as it wasn’t a through ticket and Qantas weren’t partners with Singapore Airlines. That was all fine but the staff member did their best by making sure we were as close as possible to the front of the plane and ensured priority tags were there to ensure the bags came out quicker in Sydney.
Not much time for the Qantas lounge this time around. Had a quick breakfast (of sorts) and then headed to the first of 3 planes today, QF1422 onboard VH-QOU.
I’ve reviewed the Dash 8 before multiple times. Very routine QantasLink plane though with the ‘expected turbulence’ which never did happen, no service was provided on the plane except a bottle of water before takeoff.
We were told prior to takeoff that the flight time to Sydney would be about 35 minutes. Not bad but once we landed I realized that we had been in the air for just on an hour. Wow. We were told prior to landing while in the air that Sydney airport had told us to slow down due to traffic.
As we needed to collect our bags in Sydney, the mad dash began. We had just under 3 hours to do the connection, check bags in and get to the plane. We thought this would be easily achieved, but it got closer than we thought in the end. Singapore Airlines checked in at Aisle E from Sydney airport. With my Virgin Australia Gold Velocity status, I couldn’t find where to check in for Star Alliance Gold (Singapore Airline’s equivalent) so I headed to the Premium check in counter which turned out to the Suites counter. Check in here was quick, with the bags tagged to Penang with the ‘HOT’ on the tags. Boarding passes were issued all the way through to Penang and we were on our way. I also heard from the check in guy that the flight to Singapore would be full and they can’t wait for the 5th daily flight to start soon enough.
I would like to make a public service and say that if you intend on leaving Sydney airport before 12pm, be prepared for a long wait. The queues were manic and VERY long. All stations were open and looking back, this was the pressure point of the whole experience. We spent maybe a good 45 minutes just in queues and then with my bag being scanned again that took another 20 minutes or so. I am very appreciative of the staff and their enforcement of the rules. When we finally made it through, the family dispersed. I guess Sydney airport has a lot more on offer than I first thought.
While I had Krisflyer lounge access thanks to my Velocity Gold membership, sadly Singapore Airlines are relatively strict when it comes to including entry for children under the age of 17. I know every airline is different. Qantas allows children up to 17 to enter the lounge where capacity is available and where there is a lounge member ticket and I think so does Virgin but yep, encountered the scenario of you’ll have to leave your kids out to enter. Interesting, wonder what happens if any goes missing or gets lost, would that be the airlines fault or mine still? Mine probably.
Fast forward to about 45 minutes, we were told that the gate had opened for boarding SQ232. We arrived at the gate to find our Airbus A380-800 9V-SKY waiting at the gate, ready to take us to Singapore. 9V-SKY is the second last A380 delivered to Singapore Airlines. This particular A380 was delivered in June 2018, built in January 2018 though, making it about 5.9 years old at the time of writing. Boarding was enforced by Groups. Luckily with Virgin Gold, I was able to access group 3 boarding instead of group 6 boarding which the rest of the family had printed on their tickets. The staff at the gate waived it and said no issues since you have the higher group boarding number.
It’s pretty amazing to see how well the ground staff board a A380. I was told we had a full flight, which it virtually was, to be honest, apart from some of the seats that said for crew use only. We were all boarded and the doors were shut at 1223pm. This was only 8 minutes behind schedule and we had started boarding about an hour before departure.
Take off was not long after pushback and we departed from the main runway in Sydney towards the city. About half an hour into the fight the cabin crew started preparing for the meal service. Singapore Airlines offers a main meal and more of a snack during the flight. A snack isn’t a snack per se like peanuts though that was offered, but like a mini pizza or a bake. Regardless, the food on board was really good, even though the menu didn’t look that appealing. The options on the flight were Butter Chicken and Fish with Mushroom sauce. My son ordered the butter chicken and I ordered the fish. I did want to try the chicken but before I could, my son had already finished it. I think this was the first time I saw him finish his meal before mine. Now Singapore Airlines take note, that butter chicken must be good!
The entertainment on board this flight was extensive. The screen was very responsive. We could see the flight tracker, very important to know where we were and then the movies while I think I didn’t get the right timing for the latest movie releases there were a number of classics and recent releases to get me through the 7 hour 54 minute flight to Singapore. Drinks were also made available and let’s just say I really do miss the Singapore sling. I had two and well… loved it. My wife had 3 in the end.
The plane itself was really nice. The decorations for Christmas was a very nice touch. The toilet though was a little dirtier for my liking but it was clean when I first used it. Not as clean according to my wife by the time we landed.
We had at least 4-5 babies on the flight who decided that they would synchronize their frustrations at flying during taxi and take off. Once in the air though, only one child who seemed to have been given a magic potion (since he never slept!) was the chosen one to make all the noise.
The wifi on board the plane was exceptional. Quite amazing to be able to chat with family and friends 40,000ft in the air.
Throughout the flight the flight attendants were attending to passengers and also trying to keep the cabin in a good state. They were checking in on passengers and having conversations here and there. One flight attendant found out my passion for planes and even invited me up to the front of the plane for a picture on what is the iconic staircase for the A380. Sadly, I had to decline because I knew we had a tight layover in Singapore for the flight to Penang. But would love to do it in Sydney on the way back if the opportunity arises.
About 2 hours or so before arrival into Singapore, we were served a light dinner(?) which was a roti. It was ok. Nothing to write home about and again the service from the crew was very efficient. Everyone was served and about 20 minutes before the captain announced the top of descent into Singapore, most if not all the food was already taken care of. When we started our descent through to Singapore, all the crew did was basically finalise the cleaning and pack everything away and they were done.
Eventually we landed at Singapore Changi Airport at 5.43pm and arrived at the gate shortly after. We landed close to terminal 3 where we parked at gate A5. I remember there is a thing that I noticed with all Asian carriers. I can’t put my finger to it, maybe it’s that passengers have had enough of the flight and want to go? But the minute the plane stops, despite the seatbelt sign still being on, passengers jump up and get their bags out and ready to leave.
Onto the last flight. Singapore to Penang. During our very quick layover in Singapore, we went to Terminal 2 and explored what it looked like after its renovations. It still looked pretty good. We didn’t head to the lounge this time around since we knew that there was no real point. The layover was too short for this to happen with a decent meal. We saw that on the display screens that our flight was on final call so we headed into the gate area, F30 and then was told we are boarding. So we got on board the Boeing 737-800 9V-MGN aircraft for the hour long flight to Penang. 9V-MGN was delivered new to Silkair and was integrated into the Singapore Airlines fleet in 2021. At the time of writing the aircraft is 8.2 years old.
The first thing we noticed when we hopped on board the aircraft was that it was HOT. Now I know my son would always complain about the heat, but my wife hailing from Penang, you would not expect her to complain about the heat, but she did. We settled into our seats quickly and the plane pushed back not long after. We were 40 minutes late (were we the ones causing the delay?) and headed off for the 1 hour 6 minute journey to Penang. The taxi to the runway took FOREVER. I don’t think I recall a taxi to any runway at Changi taking THAT long. I swear my son said a few times we’ve been past this area before what is going on.
We eventually took off and after the seatbelt sign was switched off, we were served a light meal of a pastry like bread thing with cheeses on top. Quite tasty but very oily. Tea and coffee was served as well along with water and juice. I think by then I was only on my 4th cup of coffee. Not bad for a 15 hour plus journey at that point in time. The flight was not really that interesting. There was the wifi entertainment but we didn’t use it and after announcing descent into Penang we landed at 8.46pm. About 20 minutes behind schedule. We finally taxied to the gate. Engines off and stopped the stopwatch.
After 16 hours, 6 minutes and 40.17 seconds, we had completed our travel from Canberra to Penang with a layover in Sydney and Singapore.
How would I rate the flight? (Please note this is a personal opinion score, not set against any benchmark).
QF1422 – 7/10. Very standard routine flight on a Dash 8. Probably the only thing lacking was the service once airborne but that was nothing the crew could do. We were given water prior to departure.
SQ232 – 9/10. The meals were amazing. The service was very much of a high standard. The only thing difference between this score and a 10 was something very minor. But then again everyone has their opinions.
SQ142 – 7/10. The aircraft was hot. Even with the air vents open the aircraft was still hot. The food was ok and the taxi to the airport seemed to take forever.
Thank you all.
luithefly 