Day 4, 6 June Flying to Heathrow

An early departure from hotel to Changi Airport to catch my 9 AM flight to Heathrow.

Up at 5 AM, showered and packed and checked out by 6:15 AM. A taxi ready to take me to the airport and by 7:10 AM I was through immigration and in the shops and cafes in the departure area. This was different, no security checks after migration. Maybe they do it differently in Singapore. So I took the small liquids out of the transparent container then grabbed something to eat. After reading for awhile in walked down to gate A5, and guess what there was the security check, so out with the liquids and back into the transparent bag. Through security and I got caught with my braces again.

While waiting I took a photo of the two-decker A380-800 aircraft in which I was going to fly to London. The plane was huge and had economy, premium economy, business, and suites classes with three separate entrances. The Premium Economy (PE) seats had reasonable spacing and were configured 2-4-2 across the plane. The seats were not as comfortable as those in the AirNewZealand’s 787 and there did not seem to as much room. I was lucky to have no one sitting beside me so I could spread-out a bit. I was to find out the service was also different. On AirNewZealnd we had dedicated cabin staff while on Air Singapore we shared the cabin staff with the Economy passengers and got the same meals and everything served at once , from a trolley, and in plastic plates.  On AirNewZealnd the meal was special to PE, presented on china plates, with the entrée, cheese, and desert served first first. Hand delivered, not dished up from a trolley. Then the used plates removed before the hot main course was hand delivered.  Maybe the difference was due the price of the ticket, Air Singapore was cheaper.

The A380-800 was a better aircraft to fly in. A smooth take-off, no push back into  your seat, no bumping along the runway, and a gently lift off into the air even though the plane was climbing at steep angle. The flight was extremely smooth, and though we seemed to have the same number of seat-belt warnings for turbulence, the shaking of the plane was much smoother and not near as sharp as on the 787.

The flight was good and the landing as smooth as the take-off. Once through immigration and customs my Minicabit driver was waiting for me, holding a large sign with Webster on it. Off we went for Staines and the Mecure hotel. An older hotel sitting on the backs of the upper Thames. Here I checked in and found my room had disability features which I found quite useful.