In brief, both my wife and I redeemed the 400,000 miles we collected mostly with BMI flights and Mastercard over quite a few years, for two first class return tickets with Singapore Airlines, travelling from Belfast City to Sydney, with a two day stop over in Singapore on both the outward and return journeys.
Arrived in LHR at around 12.30pm in plenty of time for the 18.30 flight to Singapore. Having checked our luggage through in Belfast to SIN, we were hoping to avoid any further security checks at T3 by taking the flight connections route by bus from T1. Due to the arrival of our flight from Belfast at some obscure gate, we managed somehow to end up landside after disembarking, so had to walk to T3.
Luckily we had our BPs issued by BMI in Belfast so were able to use T3s fast track channel which was a breeze, with only two people ahead of us in the queue. Headed straight for the Silver Kris First Class Lounge which would have been a real disappointment, had I not known what to expect. We were issued with new BPs, so headed straight to the good old Virgin Clubhouse where were able to make the most of the next three hours with a game or two of pool, a blissful spell in the roof garden, a haircut for me and an eyebrow session for Mrs Farenheight plus some fizzy, of course.
I was looking forward to my favourite CH dish, the duck leg, but hadnt bargained on the new menu- the Caribbean Chicken burger was a poor substitute!
From the window, I saw the tail of a Singapore Airlines 747 looming into view, docking across the way from the clubhouse. Boarding was at 6pm, but we left the CH around 5.30, headed to the SKL and collected our cases from the locker, then went to the gate where we boarded immediately, with no queues.
We pushed back dead on time and were airborne within 15 minutes- certainly a first for LHR, in my experience!
The first class cabin is right at the very front of the a/c, on the lower deck with 12 big seats, each of which converts to a flat bed. We had selected seats 2A and 1B, which is on its own at the very front of the cabin, for each of the four flights. I was looking forward to experiencing the famous Singapore Airlines hospitality, and, sure enough, we were immediately offered a glass of either Krug or Dom Perignon champagne.
Id never had Krug before so I started off with a glass, before moving on to the Dom P. I have to admit to not being a big fan of the Krug- call me a philistine, but I thought it tasted like fizzy brandy!
Im very sorry to say that I was not terribly impressed with the service either - There seemed to be three crew looking after the cabin, two men who were super efficient but fairly invisible and a woman who was pretty short on charm or friendliness, bordering on the robotic at times even! I dont recall being called by my name at any stage- there were only four other seats occupied, so it wouldnt have been hard to have to remember names. Of course, it normally wouldnt matter to me in the slightest if I am addressed by my name or not on a flight in a premier cabin - but when one is led to expect that it will happen and it doesnt, somehow it suddenly matters!
We had Booked The Cook in advance, My wife opting for a special, non-dairy, non-fried, low-fat meal and an asian duck and steamed rice dish for myself. I started with the famous satay selection which didnt disappoint, Mrs F had the caviar and my main course was excellent, although her dish of chicken and boiled vegetables would have felt very much at home in any school canteen. The cabin lights went down about 9.30pm, so out came the beds which were made up with a mattress and duvet by Ms. Charisma-Bypass. I managed to stay awake throughout the 40-Year Old Virgin, before getting my head down for some sleep.
Despite the turbulence, which seemed to last for most of the flight, we both managed a good few hours sleep before landing in Singapore more or less on schedule. Its hard to compare the bed to Virgins UC offering, but I certainly got more sleep on this trip than on any other with VS!
We parked up right alongside an A380 - my first ever sighting, so that was a bonus! First off the plane, through immigration, bags collected, past customs, out into the steamy heat of Singapore and in a taxi within 15 minutes - perfect!
