Singapore Airlines (Singapore Airlines)

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	Singapore Airlines
Date:	16/06/08 (356 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: On demand entertainment, excellent staff, comfortable and clean planes

Disadvantages: No major disadvatanges

To be honest, there were three deciding factors in choosing Singapore Airlines over other carriers flying to my destination from the U.K. Perhaps obviously, the main one was price and Singapore Airlines were amongst the cheapest (in some cases by over £100 compared to other carriers flying to NZ such as British Airways and Air New Zealand). The second was that the flight times and dates to and from Auckland tied in well with my plans (with respect to taking time off work and getting myself from Belfast to Heathrow) and the last was that they didn't fly through America. I've had a few experiences with American airports and I really don't want to be stuck airside in an American airport for any length of time, so flying east rather than west this time was preferable.

I hadn't realised that Singapore Airlines had a very good reputation, but people were giving off approving noises when I told them who I was flying with.

My first impressions weren't great, though. I had tried to access the flight information on the SA website, but couldn't find it. This eventually turned out to be an issue with STA Travel not giving me enough information and I had to call SA late one night for the proper identification codes.

When I eventually was able to access the flight information, I was given the option to check-in online. This was an option I was really interested in as I prefer an aisle seat on long haul flights (and if I can get an emergency exit seat, then all the better). When trying to check-in for the flight 48 hours before, I had further trouble because my passport had less than six months left on it. For most countries, this is an issue, but New Zealand only requires three months. My own passport was just a few days short of six months left before expiry when I tried to check in online, but this was enough for the system to kick me out and send a message telling me that online check-in was not an option and that I had to do this personally.

As it happens, this was nothing to worry about. I was expecting a query from the staff at Heathrow's check in area, but the only question I was asked was if I was prepared to take an emergency exit seat for the first leg of the journey to Changi Airport. (Well, duh!)

On board, the planes were clean and the leg room was great. It has been a while since my last long haul flight, but I got the impression that there was slightly more leg room on the Singapore Airlines planes than I'd previously encountered on long haul flights. Each seat had its own on-demand entertainment system with the screen mounted in the back of the headrest in front. The only possible negative factor I can say about my whole Singapore Airlines experience is that not all of these were in tip-top working order. I noticed a few people having trouble on the flight out from Heathrow to Changi and on my way back from Changi to Heathrow five weeks later, my own system was fault (a bad connection for the headset, giving mono audio). I was lucky, though, as there was no-one sitting beside me and I could use that seat's headset connection.

The choice of films and entertainment was good with a lot of recent films being shown (not all of which were great, though). Flying at the end of February, the films shown on my flight were in UK cinemas during January and February, so I got to watch (if not enjoy) Alien vs. Predator 2, Beowulf and Juno amongst others. It wasn't brilliant fayre, but it killed a few hours. The same could be said about the return flights, too. Coupled with a couple of books and my iPod, there was enough to keep me occupied during the combined flight time of 24 hours.

Apart from that, everything was fantastic on the flight. The staff were extremely helpful at all times and very friendly and no-one seemed annoyed that I kept pestering them for more glasses of water. The food was great (for airline food) and there was a choice of Asian or European at every meal. Every now and again, the cabin crew would come around with free refreshments or hot towels (depending on the stage of the flight).

While not totally within the airline's control, each flight departed on time and arrived either on schedule or early (almost an hour early in the case of my last flight from Changi to Heathrow). Out of the four legs of my journey, three were on a 747 and one on a 777. Sadly, I wasn't one of the first to get to fly the new Airbus 380 that Singapore Airlines had launched on their Changi to Heathrow route during March.

I would recommend Singapore Airlines to people. It's more than just the airline, though. The combined package of the airline (prices, service etc.) along with flying through a good hub like Changi Airport gives it the edge over other routes if you have a choice of journey (flying to NZ, Australia etc.) I don't particularly enjoy long haul travel, but Singapore Airlines made my journey a little more comfortable.

Summary: Great long haul airline at a very decent price