Singing Singapore Airlines' Praises enroute to Beijing!

Ah, Singapore Airlines, without a doubt one of the worlds greatest! Airgroove had the pleasure of flying to Beijing in business Class as a part of a Star Alliance Asia Circle fare, that would allow me to visit China, Japan and Korea. And love every second onboard, even though it was not the A380 :-( Perhaps next time...

Check-in was swift, and very professional, I was promptly given my selected seat on the upper deck and had a 'free' seat next to me all the way to Singapore :-) I also had my desired seat assignment from Singapore to Beijing... Nice! The Singapore Airlines Business Class Lounge is small and intimate, not as good as the Air New Zealand Lounge, as noted before on my blog, but it does the trick nonetheless!

I was anxious to board, I love a good sip of Piper Heidsieck before take-off and Singapore Airline will pour me a glass, even before noon! Taking off without a Champagne or 2 seems just plain wrong! Almost as if 'we cannot go yet, where are the bubbles!' As ever, the flight attendants were amazingly friendly and welcoming, ah, 7 hours of pampering ahead! Nice one!

After reaching cruising altitude, the hunger pangs began, more Champagne flowed, it was vital and our first meal was to be served! Ah, spoilt for choice... After some fab fresh fruit, I decided on the Roast Duck Noodle Soup - delicious! I could have eaten more than 1 bowl! All served in classic Singapore Airline style, awesome!

After a more than satisfying beginning to the flight, it was time for a movie and a snooze... There is seldom a time when one gets to zone out, no phones, the laptop was securely in the overhead locker and I enjoyed 'me' time. Books, magazines and a movie... Good times. The flight was only 8 hours, so before I knew it the smells of another meal were wafting through the upper deck! What to have, what to have...To begin: prawns, mango relish prosciutto ham with melon and mozzarella with tomato, all good and fresh... I had obviously studied the menu for the main course and opted for the Matt Moran (Aria Restaurant, Sydney) inspired Ocean Trout with Miso Crust in Sesame Dressing, Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushrooms with fettuccine, just divine! YUM! All washed with a crisp glass of 2007 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand, equally as good! Satisfaction, yep, satisfaction!

Culinary delights, followed by landing at the new Terminal 3 at Changi Airport, another first class experience! See the below picture that will lead into my next post: Thanks Singapore Airlines, you so deserve your 5* Rating! :-)

Boarding soon: Singapore, China, Japan and Korea!

Airgroove has been so busy - I have posts to come from Singapore, China, Japan and Korea... I will endeavour to make posts over the coming few weeks, before we head off on holiday to the Middle East and Europe.

Again apologies for the boarding delay! ;-)

AG :)

Jet Airways! Good, but dry...

After an amazing week in Mumbai - a city that pulses energy, 24/7 ( I loved it!) I was ready to board Jet Airways to Delhi for a few final days in India. I have read many great reviews on Jet, and I actually enjoyed my flight, but I somewhat expect a lot from an airline - when you spend so much time flying, it's expected... :-) All in all, I was happy!

Check-in was easy and painless, which is great after being in meetings for 10 hours. I swiftly cleared security and went to the lounge -which was average... It was very cafe style and not an alcoholic beverage to be found! Aaaargh! After such a busy week, I really craved a cold beer or nice glass of wine, oh well I will have one on the plane...

Boarding was via a bus, and the transit was long! We finally arrived at the aircraft and the plane was a shiny new 737-800 aircraft! I was happy indeed, upon entering the aircraft the flight attendants were so friendly and I felt welcome on board, a nice touch indeed... I was now ready to explore another Indian city, Delhi here we come! The Business Class cabin was in 5 rows with a 2X2 config, with recliner seats which were really comfortable.

After taking my seat, I was offered lovely fresh juice and realised that Indian domestic flights are 'dry'... I'd have to wait until my hotel for that well deserved glass of wine! :-) The service was amazing on this 2 hour flight, I was very impressed by the level of professionalism. I opted for the Indian curry for main, but had to send it back, as it was tooooooo hot! I had the pasta instead, both pictures look average, but the food was good! The salad and soup were delicious! The cake was yum. Sugar plus!

Overall, I recommend Jet, the service was so great and I look forward to flying with them again when I visit India in the future! Thanks Jet!

India - Thai-riffic all the way...!

Airgroove would like to apologise first of all for the delay in posting my trip report to India - things have been hectic and I have many more trips to add... They will be posted over the next few weeks.

Again, I had the pleasure of flying Thai from Sydney to Bangkok, connecting to Mumbai - all flights were great. Check-in in Sydney was easy with no queue, I then proceeded right to the Air NZ lounge for a quick breakfast before boarding my 777-200 to BKK. The service on this flight was exceptional, the crew worked really hard to provide fantastic meal service and were visible the whole day flight making regular rounds with drinks etc.

First up was fresh fruit and then I decided to have the Thai option which was chilli prawns with noodles - delicious! It sure beats airline 'eggs' which I despise, there is something about eggs at 35,000ft. that just don't seem right. All in all a good start to the flight - the best options on the menu.

After breakfast, it was lights out! Very strange for this day flight, they closed all the window shades and turned off the lights! Right after eating, it was so sudden! I had a nice sleep though, I was full after breakfast, ZZZzzzzzzz...

I awoke from my long nap to the regular Thai kebabs in a fabulous sauce. Yum! I asked for a second serve :-) Then came the scallops with smoked salmon - really fresh and whetted my appetite for the main course! Duck! It was heaven!

I was SO full, but the cheese and raspberry tart looked too good to refuse - the flight attendant basically forced me to have the tart - which I am glad she did, it was yummo! After having 2 more courses, I was about to explode. The fantastic crew on this flight made the food all the more enjoyable.

After a quick stop over in Bangkok, I boarded my flight to Mumbai, an older style A330 with recliner seating - rather comfortable for a 4 hour flight. The menu on this leg was equally as good as the SYD-BKK flight. To begin: Curry puffs, of course and they were tasty! I could already feel India! The starter was great also, rolled beef and rolled kingfish - truly splendid! I could have had a second serve of this! The main affair was a delicious Madras Lamb Curry - Thai were setting the mood for my first arrival in India!

Another stellar flight with Thai and I arrived in India full of good food - and lotsa wine ready to embark on my first trip on the sub-continent - thanks again Thai!