Trip report: QF32 26/7/09 EGLL-WSSS-YSSY(VH-OQB A380)

[Kieran Wells]

This is my first attempt at a trip report, so if there is a little bit of excess/useless info please ignore it...

Sunday July 26, 2009. VH-OQB(Hudson Fysh), A380-800, Seat 83A.
ETD 12.15pm
Arrived at London Heathrow terminal 4 at 8.45am, after 1.5 hour drive from Eastleigh near Southampton. On arrival from Sydney approx 12 days earlier had found T4 to be a bit of a mess, as there are extensive renovations underway, so decided to arrive just over 3 hours before the flight. I completed online check in the previous day, and had the print out to hand to the check in staff. Having done this, I went to the dedicated online check-in lane, which had no one at it. After completing the rest of check-in by 9.10. I found the check in agent(Nora) to be friendly and courteous even though my bag was slightly over the 23kg limit. I enquired at this point if she knew the registration of the plane. She informed me that she didn’t know as the aircraft had not arrived, and that there would be a later departure, and a later boarding time. Went downstairs in terminal to Starbucks, as there was no cafes on the departure level open, due to the renovation. Checked the arrival board and found that the plane was originally meant to arrive at 6.40am, and it was then scheduled to arrive at 11.10. Original departure was pushed from 12.10pm to 13:45. Boarding was scheduled for 12:45, but was eventually pushed back to 13:30. To kill the time in the terminal between 10:15 when I left my family to boarding I walked around the restricted area, and found that most of the shops were closed due to renovation. Got some photos of the areas being renovated with the billboards advertising the airlines in the terminal. I found the observation deck, but that cost GBP20 to enter – not worth it for 1 hour of spotting, but found some good windows in the terminal to view from.

Boarding occurred from gate 6, the flight appeared full, and I boarded through ‘B’ section – First and Economy.

[Kieran Wells]

I was seated in 83A which is in the 3rd section of economy – the lighter red section. Straight away I started playing with the IFE, as I had heard that it started when the plane was on the ground. I went to the skycam(which I played with many times throughout the flight).

Whilst we had a further delay due to a plane going tech on the runway, and then being unable to get a slot to fly over Europe, we were kept well informed by the Captain and Crew, and the snack on Q packs were handed out. The flight was pretty eventless, and all went to plan getting into Singapore 2 hours later than expected.

There is a photo of view from 83A, which is where i was sitting looking forward to the front of the section(rear economy section). Also attached is the lunch that was served after leaving Heathrow. The food was very nice and seemed to maybe be of an even higher quality than on the B744.

[Kieran Wells]

The flight flew over Germany/Poland/Ukraine/Afghanistan/India/Bay of Bengal and above the Andaman Islands. During the London - Singapor sector, i managed to get quite a bit of sleep, which was good, as i was scheduled to return to work the day after arriving home.

Arrival into Singapore at 10.40am was smooth, and just after arriving at the gate, there was a tropical rainstorm, with heavy rain. We were told that we would be reboarding in approximately 40 minutes, even with the late arrival, and if we could go into the security area, it would make it quicker. I think it takes alot longer for the airbridges to be connected up to the plane, and deboarding also took alot longer than a B744/B777.

New departure time was set for 11.40, but ended up departing at 11.55am due to a clenliness issue with the bathrooms, as they weren't up to standard due to the quick turnaround of the flight.

Below is pictures of the Breakfast prior to landing in Singapore, a nice sunrise shot, SKYCAM view of arriving at our gate in Singapore with a couple of specs of rain already on it, the remote whcih has a cover over it on the seat armrest, and 3 seats in the premium economy section - I had organised with one of the FA's to go and have a look upstairs when people got off, and because of the quick turnaround, cleaners were already on and going through the cabin.

[Kieran Wells]

Boarding in Singapore was very easy, and especially going through the security(where i wasn't nearly strip searched like i was 2 weeks previous), was a breeze. For those of you who havent been to Singapore, it is a very humid in the terminal.

The second portion of the flight i sat next to a newly engaged american couple who were quite awesome! I also spoke to Tristan, one of the FA's who organised for me to go to the Crew rest, First class and the cockpit, once most of the pax had disembarked. Thanks Tristan if your reading this!

Entry into sydney was also smooth, and i spent alot of time looking out the window. Unfortunately no photos are worth putting up, due to it being dark. Below is a photo of the lay flat beds of Business class, the bed in the crew rest area, First class suite, the cockpit, which the 2 americans next to me got a chance to sit in and also the refreshment that was served just prior to arriving into sydney.

I certainly thought the A380 was a delight to fly on, and will without hesitation fly on it again. Qantas proved beyond all boundaries that there service is up to scratch - especially communication and then their organisation for the people that missed their connecting flights(the people who were on QF71 to Perth from SIngapore were re-booked on to a singapore airlines flight, and all people who arrive into sydney were rebooked if they were connecting to MEL/CBR/AKL). Food was brilliant, and was superior. It was alot nicer than that was served on BA15 2 weeks earlier. Well done to Qantas! I hope you have enjoyed reading this trip report.

More photos can be found:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=131778&id=561467058&l=3f600e50c9
and
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=131763&id=561467058&l=f53f972c29 (This link has some spotting photos from Heathrow!!!)

[Gerard M]

Great report Kieran. Was a good read. And is one of the pilots wearing shorts :Dhaha never seen that before!

[Grant Smith]

Perhaps the mods would be so kind as to adjust Keiran's thread title to EGLL-WSSS-YSSY

;)