The taxi driver almost missed the entrance for Singapore Airlines dedicated First Class check-in at Terminal three, luckily Mrs F spotted it before he had driven past. As soon as we got out of the taxi, our luggage was whisked away and we were checked in quickly at a private desk, before being directed to the Silver Kris first class lounge.
It was certainly an improvement on Heathrow! Amazing food in a separate dining area, luckily I hadnt eaten anything since breakfast, so took full advantage of what was on offer, as well as the free-flowing Charles Heidseck champers. Five hours passed very quickly and we made our way over to the gate and were just walking in when the boarding announcement was made, so kept on walking right onto the aircraft.
Same seats as before, but what a difference in the FAs! Again, two men and one woman but really friendly, chatty and attentive and totally restored my faith in SQ cabin crew! To be fair, we were the only passengers in the cabin, so we had their undivided attention.
They really made the flight for us, especially the little present we got on disembarking! As it was a night flight, I opted for my pre-ordered meal of chicken rice straight away, rather than at breakfast time, knocked back a few glasses of top-notch fizzy and watched poor old Richard Quest presenting one of his business travel shows from Japan, before turning in for the night.
The next thing I knew was the Captains announcement of imminent arrival at Sydney! Again, I was aware of quite a lot of turbulence throughout the flight - maybe being in the planes nose makes it more noticeable? As I raised the window blinds we were just approaching Sydney harbour - what a view!!
Before disembarking, we were presented with fast-track passes which SQ are apparently testing out - thumbs up for the scheme, as we were off the plane and in a taxi, all within 20 minutes - there was no queue at passport control anyway and at the luggage carousel we were met by a customs guy who took our fast track passes and stamped our entry cards so that when we got our cases, we were waived straight through customs.
I am writing this from floor 34 of the Shangri-La hotel in Sydney, with an amazing view overlooking over the opera house and harbour bridge, which my other half is probably half way up by now (shes climbing to the top for some unknown reason!). Despite some warnings about my choice of hotel on this forum, I can report that all is good with the Shangri-La, although a recent refurbishment has probably helped, as has a fantastic room at an amazing rate!
Looking forward to doing it all over again next week, but in reverse!
