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This trip starts in June 2012. I was tipped off to a mistake fare that Alitalia had put on their website. By creating an open-jaw ticket from Milan to a choice of anywhere in Japan/Singapore/Thailand, returning to any other city in Italy, it was possible to get some ridiculous low fares. For example, a return trip to Tokyo would cost just 76 EUR (£60) including taxes! What is more, these fares also applied to Skyteam members, opening up flights on Air France, KLM and others. The only downside was that you had to go out and back on the next flight in order to get this fare. This would mean only 7 hours on the ground in Tokyo or 5 hours on the ground in Singapore, before flying back again. I had to have a piece of this action, and decided to use this opportunity to try and get my first flight on the Airbus A380, on an Air France flight to Singapore. I really wanted to go to Tokyo, but the only route to Tokyo at this giveaway rate was on an Alitalia 777. I had been to Singapore before, but the flight on the A380 was the deciding factor here!
I hesitated for all of a few minutes, before buying a flight with Air France from Milan to Singapore, returning to Bari, Italy, for the grand total of 149 EUR (£116/USD 179) including all taxes for 15,231 miles of flying. The fare breakdown was £15 for the fare, the rest was taxes! This worked out at around £0.007p ($0.01) per mile, a pretty reasonable fare I reckon. Not quite the cheapest flight I’ve ever done, which was EMA-ORK-EMA and EMA-DUB-EMA for the grand total of 2p each (no taxes), but that was Ryanair and this is Air France!
I now had to get to Italy and back. The easiest option to fit with the timing of the other flights was to fly on Flybe from Manchester, bagging the Embraer 195 (another first for me). Coming back would be more of a problem from Italy, and as I would only be on the ground in Singapore for a few hours I would only have hand luggage so I opted to get off the flight in Paris, and come home straight from there. I booked an Air France A320 flight back from Paris to Manchester, and decided just as insurance I'd book a cheapo Ryanair flight back from Bari for £12 all in, in the event that I got routed to Bari via some other means and missed my AF flight back from CDG.
Due to the early start from Manchester on the Saturday, I decided to use some BMI miles and book the Hilton at Manchester airport for free, as well as getting the train to the airport for £8 each way by playing with splitting the fare (usually £24 each way). I also signed up for the viaMilano scheme to get me free insurance for my connection and free lounge access at MXP.
By the time I'd finished, I had almost 16,000 miles, 3 nights away, travel to the airport, lounge access at MXP and SIN and 6-9 flights (including 3 new types) for under £180, which I thought was pretty reasonable!
Here is the finalised itinerary:
20/10/2012 07:15-10:30 MAN-MXP FlyBE BE7354 E195
20/10/2012 15:15-16:30 MXP-FCO Alitalia AZ1027 E175
20/10/2012 18:00-20:10 FCO-CDG Air France AF1905 A320
20/10/2012 23:20-18:15* CDG-SIN Air France AF256 A388
21/10/2012 23:00-06:10* SIN-CDG Air France AF257 A388
22/10/2012 07:45-08:15 CDG-MAN Air France AF1668 A321
With a backup plan of the following flights:
22/10/2012 09:50-11:30 CDG-TRN Air France AF1402 RJ85
22/10/2012 12:40-14:10 TRN-BRI Alitalia AZ1640 A319
22/10/2012 20:50-22:45 BRI-STN Ryanair FR1906 B738
On a map, my route looked like this:
[IMG]http://www.gcmap.com/map?P=MAN-MXP-FCO-CDG-SIN-CDG-MAN&MS=bm&MR=540&MX=720x360&PM=*[/IMG]
It wasn't long before the date of my adventure came around, and after work on the Friday night I was kindly dropped off at Meadowhall, Sheffield by my wife for me to get the train over to Manchester Airport. There was a huge police presence around the city (even more so than normal), I later found out this was due to a football match going on there.
My train to Manchester Airport seemed to stop at every stop on the way, and my trip was almost over before it had started at Manchester Piccadilly. The train suddenly emptied as everyone got off there, and I used the opportunity to hop back a row to an empty row of seats. After a few moments, I noticed I'd left my wallet on the row in front. The chap opposite noticed my look of panic, and told me that a lady had just got on the train, saw my wallet and taken it across the platform to the lost property office! I grabbed my bag and legged it off the train, conscious that the train would only be stationary for a couple of minutes. I told the lady that it was mine, even showing her my photo ID within to prove it was me. We both ran back to the train to continue our conversation, when I got the chance to thank her for being so honest. I really don't know what I would have done without my wallet, other than cancel the whole trip, so I was very grateful!
A few stops after my panic, we arrived into Manchester Airport and I walked to my hotel for the night, the Hilton. I checked in and to my pleasant surprise found out that breakfast was included in my free room, and was served from 04:30 so I'd have time to grab something before setting off in the morning.
My room at the Hilton. Not bad for free!
I set my alarm for 4:45 to ensure I'd have plenty of time to get to the airport and try and change my seat from the aisle seat I'd been assigned at online check-in. FlyBE's online check in is terrible, when you book they try to sell you seat reservations for £6, which I'd been expecting at check-in. When I came to check in, rather than give me the opportunity to purchase the seat I'd like, it simply assigned me an aisle seat that I couldn't change.
I had a restless night's sleep in anticipation of my forthcoming journey, and woke before my alarm. I grabbed a shower and headed down to grab some breakfast, a continental affair which was all i fancied at 5 in the morning! As I checked out I noticed the free shuttle to the terminal was waiting outside, so I hopped on and asked if he could take me to Terminal 3. 'No problem' he said, and off we went across the airport to Terminal 3. It's only a few hundred yards, but figured as there was a bus waiting I'd just take it.
I walked into the airport and headed for FlyBE check in, who were happy to assign me a window seat. I then headed through security which was running very efficiently, despite the early morning bucket and spade flights all about to leave.
Once through to airside I found a nice spot by the window and watched the early morning flights heading out.
Before too long the gate was displayed for my flight, and I headed down to find my ERJ being loaded awaiting our flight to Milan.
G-FBEF on the stand at Manchester
We were soon called for boarding which took place down some stairs and involved a nice walk across the ramp in the crisp, cold early morning air.
Boarding the ERJ to Milan
Date:20 October 2012
Airline: Flybe
Flight Number: BE7354
From: Manchester (MAN)
To: Milan Malpensa (MXP)
Aircraft: Embraer ERJ-195
Registration: G-FBEF
STD/ATD: 07:15 / 07:21
STA/ATA: 10:30 / 10:08
Flight Time: 1:47
This is my 216th flight. It's my 4th flight with Flybe, my 4th Embraer flight and my first flight on the ERJ-195.
G-FBEF is Flybe's 6th 195, and was delivered new from Embraer on 8 September 2007, making her 5 years old.
We were welcomed aboard by the friendly crew, and I found my way to my seat for this sector, 19A. This was at the back of the wing. My first impression of the E-Jet was that it is very modern and comfortable, but the windows are very high compared to other aircraft making them a little awkward to look out of.
The aircraft initially seemed quite empty but my optimism was soon shattered as the aircraft filled up. A few rows behind me were a group of Italian teenagers who were far too rowdy for this time of the morning, and sat opposite was a large family with small children.
We were welcomed aboard initially by the purser, and then by our captain Graham Price. He advised that we would be departing to the southwest this morning, cruising at 31,000ft. Flight time today would be around 1:45 and the weather in Milan was presently 6C and sunny.
We pushed back as the safety briefing commenced, and the CF34 engines started to rumble into life. We taxied out to runway 23L. The airport was pretty quiet this morning and we had a direct taxi out without having to hold short. The captain called 'Cabin crew seats for takeoff', and we powered along runway 23L for departure.
Click here for Departure video
As we rotated, a scream eminated from one of the children opposite. 'Daddy!' she screamed. 'I'm scared of heights!'. A little late to announce that now kid, I thought
It was a beautiful morning as the sun was just starting to creep above the horizon. We were soon above the clouds which looked stunning in the morning light.
The crew announced that they would soon be commencing food service, with coffees being sold under the Starbucks name which I found quite interesting.
Climbing to FL310, sun just creeping above the horizon
Cloud starting to get more overcast as we headed further south
I never get tired of seeing the sun rise from high altitude.
I started to read through the Flybe in-flight magazine, which had an interesting interview with Ray Winstone in it. This is perhaps the first time I've read an in-flight magazine cover to cover, and was so engrossed in it that I completely missed the trolley service coming round!
View of the cabin
Down below, the cloud was soon completely overcast, and the ride started to get quite bumpy, to the extent that ths fasten seatbelt sign came on and remained on for much of the flight.
Overhead France somewhere, getting quite bumpy.
Still overhead France
Some beautiful clouds
Making a slight turn overhead France
The cloud finally broke up as we approached the border with Switzerland, just in time to give us a great view of Lake Geneva and the Alps, where I visited a few years ago.
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva, City of Lausanne in the top right hand corner
The Alps
Some mountains, Lake Geneva behind them
By this time, much of the aircraft had climbed to the windows to get a view of the Alps, which looked stunning this morning in the clear skies.
Mountains
More Alps
Mountains
Our winglet with some mountains behind
Once we had cleared the mountains, the captain came on to announce we'd begin our descent to Milan in around 60 miles, or about 2-3 minutes. The weather had warmed significantly in Milan and it was now 12C. We'd be making an approach to runway 35R in Milan this morning. Sure enough, within a couple of minutes he came on to announce 'Cabin crew top of descent', and the engines throttled back as we started to head back down to earth.
Commencing our approach over Northern Italy
Making a left turn as we commenced our approach, with the Italian Alps in the background
We commenced a series of turns as we got closer to Milan. The cabin crew secured the cabin and I was surprised to see so many airports in the Milan area, all with almost parallel runways.
The approach was relatively smooth, and we touched down smoothly around 20 minutes early.
Click here for landing video
We taxied in to the main ramp to a remote stand, with a SAS A321 touching down from Copenhagen just behind us.
As we waited to disembark, a United 767 taxied out behind us:
UA45, Boeing 767-400 N78060, taxying out for the flight to Newark
I disembarked, bidding farewell to the crew and entering the bus that was waiting for us. This gave me the chance to snap a nice picture of our ride out here from Manchester:
Our ride from Manchester on the ground at MilanThe bus took us at speed towards the terminal, dropping us off at the non-Schengen area. I headed to passport control which was fairly quick and painless, and exited into the arrivals area.
First things first, I had to find check in for my flight to Singapore. Alitalia had managed to check me in online but only as far as Paris. It then said that AF256 routes Rome to Singapore, and wouldn't check me in.
After a while of searching the terminal, I found the Alitalia check in desks, surprisingly with only one open for 'Sky Priority' passengers. I was met by a stern-faced Italian lady, to whom I provided my passport.
'You are already checked in.' she said, sternly. 'I know, but I was unable to print my boarding pass and it only checked me in as far as Paris' I replied. 'You travelling business class?' she asked. 'No, economy' I replied. She tapped frantically at her keyboard before thrusting two boarding passes at me, one to Rome and one to Paris. 'Are you able to check me in for the remainder of the flight to Singapore?' I enquired. 'You are checked in' was the unhelpful response.
I figured I'd give up with this and with attempting to get a window seat on my FCO-CDG flight, as the representative clearly didn't want to be dealing with me. I headed for the Air France check in machines, to try and check in for my flight to Singapore there. I entered my reference number and passport details, and it returned a flight from Paris to Nantes! I figured I'd give this up as a bad job, and try to check in at Paris.
I decided to head outside to get some fresh air to at least be able to say I'd stepped outside the airport in Milan, but the taxi ramp outside was full of taxi drivers smoking so it wasn't exactly fresh air!
I went back inside and decided to head through security, to somewhere where I may be able to at least get a view of the ramp. Security was easy and I emerged into the shopping area. Every shop here was designer, you name the designer fashion label, and they surely have a shop here! I wanted to try and find a bar to grab a beer, but couldn't find any that sold alcohol.
Instead, I found a little shop selling pizza and pasta, and indulged myself in a slice of pizza and a Diet Coke, whilst watching some weird Italian cookery show.
Pizza duly consumed, I found myself a little row of seats that had a reasonable view over the ramp, and of both runways. There was an Ethiopian 757 in as well as an Antonov 124.
Ethiopian 757 and a Wizz Air A320
By this time I'd forgotten about the 'ViaMilano' offer that allowed me free lounge access at Milan, so I went to an information counter to ask about this. Once more I was greeted by a rather stern lady, who after numerous phone calls and frantic typing said that I'd have to go back to landside, to the ViaMilano desk, then come back through security again. There was enough time, but I couldn't be bothered with the hassle, so I decided to wait a bit longer for the gate to be announced.
Sure enough, the gate was announced fairly soon and I made my way down some stairs to a little annexe, where presumably the remote stands depart from, judging by the bus bays outside the doors.
An Alitalia crew were amongst the passengers for today's flight to Rome, the captain looking like a typical Italian (if there is such a thing), shoulder length hair, huge pair of Ray-Bans and a pin sharp suit with epaulettes.
A bus pulled up at the gate and the driver got out, and started banging the window to alert the gate agent.
The agent eventually noticed him, and called for boarding. There weren't many people here, I'd counted maybe 25 in the gate area, and even allowing for late arrivals I guessed it wouldn't be too full today. Most of the passengers seemed to be non-Italians connecting to other flights, with the exception of several Italian government officials seated in business class.
We got on the bus and headed across the ramp to the remote stand where our aircraft was waiting. The doors were still closed so we had to wait while the driver went up the aircraft steps to knock on the door and advise the crew we were there.
He came back down and we filed off the bus and up the steps to the door.
Date:20 October 2012
Airline: Alitalia
Flight Number: AZ1027
From: Milan Malpensa (MXP)
To: Rome Fiumicino (FCO)
Aircraft: Embraer ERJ-175
Registration: EI-RDE
STD/ATD: 15:15 / 15:17
STA/ATA: 16:30 / 16:04
Flight Time: 0:47
Boarding the E-Jet to Rome
This is my 217th flight. It's my first with Alitalia, my first ERJ-175 and my 5th Embraer flight.
This aircraft is named 'Parco Nazionale dell'Etna', and was delivered brand new to Alitalia just six months ago, on 18 April 2012. Since then it has spent most of its time flying domestically within Italy, occasionally travelling further afield.
I was welcomed aboard by another stern-faced Alitalia employee, before turning right and taking my seat in 2A. The seats were a little more comfortable than on the Flybe aircraft, and the aircraft felt noticably newer.
The captain welcomed us aboard in Italian and then English, advising simply that our flight time to Rome would be around 45 minutes, and the weather there was sunny and 24C.
The doors were closed and the safety briefing and cabin check took place pretty quickly, the flight attendant being back in her seat before we even started taxying.
We taxied pretty speedily towards runway 35R, before lining up on the runway and immediately taking off.
Click here for departure video
Takeoff felt very powerful on this aircraft, and we'd commenced a right turn before we'd even got as far as the airport fence! We climbed round to the right, and right again, and once on downwind leg even more power was applied as I felt the aircraft climb even steeper! This aircraft really is sporty, especially when half empty like today.
We got a great view of Milan as we climbed out of Malpensa.
Climbing out of Malpensa over northern Milan
Milan
One of MIlan's lesser-known airports, Bresso
Downtown Milan
Milan's other main airport, Linate
Overview of Milan with the Alps in the background
It didn't take long for our pocket-rocket to get us to FL310, where we sat for the remainder of today's flight. The flight attendant came around handing out little packets of crackers, and I just sat back and enjoyed the view. We had amazing clear skies for the entire flight down to Rome.
Here's the route we took:
Winglet of our aircraft and a funny shaped cloud
Typical scenery for today's flight
Somewhere to the east of Pisa
To the east of Pisa
Cool viaduct east of Grosseto
Italian countryside west of Perugia
I was surprised just how hilly and mountainous Italy is. I'd never been to Italy before today and didn't really know what to expect it to look like, so it was interesting to see from above.
All of a sudden, the spoilers extended and I felt the aircraft slow down significantly. The aircraft was in a nose down position and the ground was getting closer so fast, it felt like we were in an elevator! 'Cabin crew, seats for landing' came the announcement from the flight deck within a few moments of begining descent.
Lake Bolsena in the distance
We had a straight-in approach to runway 16L today, and as we got closer to the ground our shadow turned from a halo on the ground to a sharp outline of our E-Jet as we crossed the threshold of Fiumicino.
Click here for arrival video
With a slight bounce we were down on runway 16L at Rome, and the third flight of my adventure was complete. We taxied in past rows and rows of Alitalia aircraft, so many in fact that I was convinced most of their fleet was sat here at Rome awaiting flights! Their old fleet of MD-82s sat on various maintenance pans, and I spied a couple sitting at gates operating flights. Within a week their fate would be sealed too, as they get replaced with newer equipment.
We pulled onto a gate next to an Alitalia A319, and for the first time this weekend I was able to exit the aircraft via a jetway rather than on steps, luxury!
I entered the terminal building and checked the screen for my next flight. I only had 90 minutes until my next flight, so found an Air France desk and asked if I'd be able to check in for my flight to Singapore, and if possible change my middle seat on the next sector for a window. 'Of course' she said, and not only checked me in all the way to Singapore, but back as far as Turin as well (the first sector I was hoping not to have to use). 'You have your return flight here as well, as far as Turin' she said. By this time there were no window seats left as the flight was full, however she offered me an aisle seat which I took. Finally a helpful member of staff, and it felt good to be on familiar territory, dealing with Air France as well.
I headed back to the gate, just as our aircraft arrived from Paris.
Our A320 arriving from Paris
The flight deplaned into the same gate area we were waiting in, something I found a little unusual. The flight had an unusual mix of people on today (although given the proximity of The Vatican perhaps to be expected). There were a large group of nuns returning to Paris, as well as around 40 people on a religious pilgrimage tour, which in themselves accounted for around a third of the aircraft. Aside from the religious passengers, the passengers consisted mostly of French tourists returning from a few days in Rome.
We were soon called for boarding, and after my boarding card was checked I made my way down the airbridge to the waiting A320.
Date:20 October 2012
Airline: Air France
Flight Number: AF1905
From: Rome Fiumicino (FCO)
To: Paris Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG)
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Registration: F-GJVW
STD/ATD: 18:00 / 18:11
STA/ATA: 20:00 / 19:48
Flight Time: 1:37
This is my 218th flight. It's my 5th flight on Air France, my 6th A320 and my 26th Airbus flight.
This aircraft was delivered to Air Inter back in 1994, and joined Air France in 1997, making it slightly over 18 years old.
'Bonne soir' wished the friendly flight attendant as I boarded. 'Bonne soir' I replied. Cabin crew were placed strategically down the aisle, each one wishing me 'Bonne soir' as I passed. I took my seat in 20C, the first time in a long while I've not had a window seat. I was a little apprehensive as I am actually quite a nervous flyer when I can't see what's happening out of the window, but decided to at least give it a go and hopefully sleep on the short flight up to Paris.
Despite being painted in Air France's new livery and look sharp and modern on the outside, inside was a different story. The seats were sagging, the interior looking very dated. After all, the aircraft is 18 years old.
My seat mates arrived, an older couple returning to Paris from a short break in Rome.
The captain welcomed us aboard in French and English, the safety briefing started, and before I realised we had our engines running and were taxying to the runway. I believe we taxied to runway 16R, from the limited glimpses I had out of the window. I was starting to get very nervous as I felt the aircraft rock and sway on the way to the runway. I just held on for dear life as I felt the engines throttle up for departure.
It felt like we rocketed into the sky. Foolishly, I tried to look out of the opposite window just after takeoff, trying to get a glimpse of my bearings. However, at this point we were maybe a couple of hundred feet above the water, and in a steep right hand turn. With the perspective from my seat, I could only see a window full of the Mediterranean, with a few boats flying past very quickly. I gripped the seat even harder and closed my eyes. Although I've flown hundreds of times, it felt like this would be the one time my luck would run out, and all because I couldn't see out of the window. If I'd have been able to see, I'd have known full well we'd have been fine!
Fortunately we soon levelled off and the crew began their service. 'Could I have a beer please' I asked, 'Certainly sir' came the response, and I was presented with a crisp cold can of Heineken. Shortly afterwards, a second service came around with the choice of a sweet or savoury snack. The beer took effect fairly quickly, and I started to relax, even managing a little sleep.
Our route this evening, that I didn't get to see.
The captain announced we'd shortly be commencing our descent into Paris, where it was currently 12C and foggy. Before too long we'd began our descent into the Paris area. Looking across to the other row you couldn't really see much, just the strobe light illuminating the fog around our aircraft. I was even more nervous about the arrival than the take-off, as with the fog I wouldn't see anything at all even if I could get a glimpse out of the window. I needn't have bothered about that though, as people were sat with their faces to the window blocking them, so I wouldn't have seen in any case. I felt the gear come down and the cabin crew took their seats. We bumped and wobbled, bounced and dropped down the approach path, before I felt us touch down and the reversers kicked in.
We had a lengthy taxi into Aerogare 2F at Paris, but we got there in the end and one of the few benefits of an aisle seat made itself clear, as I could get straight up and grab my bag, before making my way to the front of the aircraft, wishing farewell to the purser and the captain who stood at the door, and making my way into the terminal.
I was unsure how to proceed from 2F to 2E for my next flight, as I've only ever done 2F to 2G before which was a nightmare. I was looking forward to some fresh air and walking across outside, however the signs took me through a maze of underground corridors that eventually bought me out at another security checkpoint for Terminal 2E. The walk took around 10 minutes, security another 5 minutes or so, and I emerged into the gate area for the annexe of 2E where the A380s lie.
I turned a corner, and there, in front of me, was the reason for my trip, sitting on stand and awaiting her flight to the other side of the world.
The behemoth awaits.
The scene around the aircraft reminded me of the opening scene of the 'Airplane' movies. Vans and lorries bustled around the aircraft. Baggage carts snaked around the stand, men in yellow jackets ran around the stand keeping everything in order. Passengers lined up at the windows taking photos of the aircraft. There was just something in the air, a real buzz, that I don't think I've ever seen to this extent since flying.
The desk at the gate was more like a hotel check-in desk, there were four positions checking boarding cards.
There was still an hour or so until boarding would commence (itself 40 minutes before departure time), so I decided to wander around the terminal and take a few photos to stretch my legs one last time before departure.
I headed back across to my gate which was now preparing for boarding.
Tonight's flight details
The flight hadn't been announced as boarding yet, but I noticed that a couple of people had started to walk through the queue barriers and form a queue. I let a couple more join them before deciding that they couldn't send all of us back, so followed them to the end of the queue. Even more people saw us and within a couple of minutes, there was a queue of 50 or so people diligently following us to form a queue. The gate agent looked up and clearly wasn't expecting this influx, and began waving her arms and shouting for people to stop joining the queue, but being in the queue already, we all just stayed where we were. She ran over to close the queue at the back end to stop more people joining the queue.
Before long the flight was opened for boarding, and all four gate agents opened their gates and we made our way onto the A380 in its own unique boarding style. There were two different doors to go through depending on what deck you were on. We had to go up an escalator, then across a bridge to the upper deck of the A380.
Up the escalator
Onto the airbridge
Entering the beast in front of the massive wing
Date:20 October 2012
Airline: Air France
Flight Number: AF256
From: Paris Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG)
To: Singapore Changi (SIN)
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800
Registration: F-HPJG
STD/ATD: 23:20 / 00:04
STA/ATA: 18:15 / 17:50
Flight Time: 11:46
This is my 219th flight. It's my 6th flight on Air France, my first ever A380 and my 27th Airbus flight.
F-HPJG was delivered brand new to Air France in June 2012, making her just four months old. Inside and out, she was still gleaming as brand new. Her first commercial flight, on 7 June, was on this very flight - AF256 Paris to Singapore.
I was greeted by a friendly flight attendant at the front of the first class cabin. 'Bonne-soir monsieur'. I showed her my boarding pass. 'To the other side and turn right please sir'. Every flight attendant had a smile, and I felt truly welcome onboard. It felt like first class treatment, even though I was travelling in the little enclave of economy class at the back of the upper deck.
I walked through first class, then business class, then premium economy, before finally finding my place at the back of the upper deck!
I found my seat, 89L, which had a blanket and a pillow on it. Mine was the back row before the rear door, so I had nobody immediately behind me. The seat was pretty comfortable, with a nice storage locker down the side which every window seat had. This was useful for keeping everything in instead of under the seat in front.
Quite a decent size, very deep and plenty of room for everything.
The windows were amazing. It felt a little like sitting on a space ship, with blue mood lighting illuminating the inside, and a small porthole angled slightly upwards. Very cool. I'd feared they would be poor for photography, however they aren't at all - and actually make the whole flight experience simply brilliant.
The upper-deck windows. No problem for photography as I'd feared.
We were scheduled for departure at 23:20, however at 23:35 the captain came on and introduced him as Capt Francois Garcon (quite possibly the most French name I've heard!). He welcomed us aboard this Air France A380 with service to Singapore. Flight time would be approximately 11:55, cruising initially at 35,000ft. Captain Garcon apologised for the delay to this evening's flight, which was due to the A380 taking so long to be refuelled. We would use 155 tonnes of fuel this evening, but were having 175 tonnes uplifted to cater for all eventualities. There were some favourable winds forecast en-route, so he was hoping to make up for this time on the way.
A German couple were seated in front of me, who seemed to be off on holiday to Singapore. They were all over each other, taking photographs of themselves in all sorts of weird and wonderful positions. I hoped this wouldn't last for the entire flight! Next to me was a Malaysian chap who said hello when he first boarded, but then didn't speak for the rest of the flight. I was happy with that
The cabin crew came around offering water while we waited for the aircraft to finish being refuelled.
Finally, around 30 minutes after our scheduled departure, the tug was connected and we began our pushback. The safety briefing commenced and we were on our way. The engines started, although it was almost impossible to hear them above the music being played, they were so quiet! The LCD screens throughout the cabin all came alive, showing a live feed from the tail camera.
The taxi once again was very smooth, it hardly felt like we were moving, were it not for the occasional bump, bump as the nosewheel went over the taxiway lights.
The captain soon called 'Cabin crew, prepare for takeoff' (in French), and the screens showed us lining up on runway 08L.
The engines spooled up, and at this point one really feels the power the A380 packs. The couple in front of me had put a number of things on top of their storage locker, which came flying past me to the row behind as soon as power was applied!
Despite the immense power, the aircraft takes an age to get up to rotation speed, especially with fuel for a 12 hour flight ahead. After what seemed like forever, we were going at a decent speed, and we gradually started to lift away from the runway. The gear came up, yet we were still only at around 50-100ft above the motorway at the end of the runway! Incredible to experience such a slow, lumbering take-off. There was no feeling of rotation like in other aircraft.
We lumbered our way into the night sky, climbing initially to FL350. I flicked through the IFE system, however being so late at night I just wanted to get my dinner and sleep. I planned to catch a movie early in the next flight, when it would still be daytime (UK time).
We flew towards Innsbruck, Austria, before heading down towards the Adriatic states of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and then into Serbia. Not that one would have been able to tell however, the thick cloud below meant all we could see was the stars above.
Dinner was finally served around two hours into the flight. For the main course there was a choice of Beef Meatballs and rice, or spicy noodles and chicken. I chose the meatballs. This came with a cheese board, bread rolls, and a desert of fruit and some sort of cake. I took a white wine with my dinner to try and help me sleep, in combination with one of my Diazepams to ensure I slept!
I finished my dinner and put my eye mask on with my table still down and my tray still on it.
I must have fell asleep straight away, as I woke up several hours later overhead Iran. My tray had been cleared, my table was up, TV turned off and my window blind down. I'd obviously missed some kind FA doing this but nonetheless it was much appreciated. It was dark in the cabin, all the window blinds were down. I noticed my storage locker had popped open, so I tried to shut it. In the darkness, I thought the German guy in front had put his pillow there, so I tried several times to slam it down, to no avail. However, what I thought was his pillow just happened to be his head, he'd fallen asleep across his partner with his head under my lid. Oops! I just pretended to be asleep and he moved so I could shut it
I opened the window a crack to see broad daylight outside, and started to doze off - but an FA came past and pulled it down again. I decided to enjoy the view on my TV instead.
Heading into India just off the Pakistani coast near Karachi
The cabin crew walked through the cabin with leftover ice creams from Business class and offered them round, I took one which tasted lovely, despite it being only 7am UK time
We'd climbed to FL370 by this point. The cameras showed an incredible view outside, dark sky above us and the curvature of the earth clearly visible.
Somewhere overhead India we climbed again to FL390, crossing the country across the middle:
As we passed into the Bay of Bengal, the cabin lights very gradually started to come on. The mood lighting on the A380 is fantastic. It took around 5 minutes to go from darkness to daylight inside the cabin. I thought this would be an opportune moment to open my window blind, as people started to wake for breakfast.
The view from my seat
Somewhere over the Andaman Islands
The awesome A380 windowsBreakfast was served somewhere over the Andaman Sea, which was continental style feature cheese, crackers and various breads, as well as orange juice and a smoothie. I took a cup of coffee with it too and chilled out for the last couple of hours of the flight.
I felt the aircraft power up slightly, and was surprised that although we were only an hour or two from Singapore, we had climbed to FL410.
The captain came onto the PA to wish us a very good morning, and hoping we'd had a pleasant night. We were now between Malaysia and Indonesia, with around 2 hours left to run of today's flight.
FL410, Banda Aceh, Indonesia in the distance.
We passed Kuala Lumpur to the left of the aircraft, before beginning our descent down towards Singapore. I'd been pleasantly surprised by the lack of turbulence over the Bay of Bengal, normally it is very choppy there.
The crew passed around the cabin handing out immigration forms for Singapore. 'Sir, do you need an immigration form?' the guy asked. 'No thank you, I am connecting at Singapore' I replied. 'Where are you connecting to?' he asked. 'Paris' was my reply, with a wry smile on my face. 'But you are staying in Singapore at least for a night' he replied. 'No, I fly back on this aircraft, this evening' I replied, showing him my boarding pass. He looked completely bemused. 'You have a very short stay in Singapore' he said, perhaps not sure whether to be amused or worried. 'I know' I said, before he shrugged and moved on up the cabin.
The cabin was cleared ready for arrival, and we made a series of turns on approach. The ride on approach was the smoothest I've ever experienced. It felt as though we were not moving at all, yet the scenery was still going past the window. The engines were silent, it would be possible to hold a quiet conversation quite easily.
I was expecting the flaps to be very noisy after hearing numerous videos, but was surprised that I didn't hear them at all. Perhaps it is more noticeable on the lower deck?
It felt surreal floating and manouvering so close to the ground with such a huge wing outside, and I was impressed by the triple-slatted flaperons that moved independently of each other.
We came down the approach for runway 20C.
Click here for landing video
One thing that wasn't smooth though was the landing. I'd heard about heavy landings in A380s before so was prepared for it to be a little rough, however this landing was the heaviest I've ever experienced onboard an airliner. We slammed onto the runway before engaging maximum reverse thrust, and even with that we used most of the runway to slow enough to taxi off. The taxi in was very slow, and as usual for Singapore the aircraft steamed up on the outside as we taxied in. There was quite a queue for departure, it was obviously a very busy time for the airport.
We finally pulled onto stand next to a JetStar A320, before the engines were shut down and we began to disembark.
We were allowed to disembark with the business class passengers, so were among the first off the aircraft. I bid farewell to the crew and made my way into the jetway, feeling a brief moment of the Singapore humidity before I entered the air conditioned jetbridge.
Singapore was familiar, I've passed through the airport a few times before and it is in many ways similar inside to many Asian airports. Garish carpet, piped music, palm trees and strange shops. I headed initially for an Internet terminal to try and check in for my flight from Paris to Manchester in the morning, but to no avail. The system would simply not let me check in for an Air France flight bought via Flybe. I headed for the SATS Rainforest Lounge, and paid my SGD25 for 5 hours access. The lounge was very comfortable and included a variety of local cuisine (noodles, chicken etc), soft drinks, and there was a bar to purchase alcohol. The sofas were comfortable offering a great view across the ramp (albeit dark outside now).
I sat around for a while charging my phone and my camcorder for the next flights, and grabbed some noodles and chicken. I called Flybe to ask about checking in, and they were just as bemused as me as to why I couldn't check in. They said that 1 hour in Paris would be plenty of time to check in for my flight, so just to check in when I got there in the morning.
I grabbed a towel and went through to the showers, which I have to say are amazing (although strangely, unisex). The cubicles are a decent size, and the shower is like standing under a torrential downpour
Refreshed from my shower, I got changed and went back into the lounge, grabbing a nice cold Tiger beer.
QANTAS being loaded for Brisbane outside the lounge
Two Emirates 777s arrived from Dubai within 5 minutes
It was soon time to say goodbye to the comfortable lounge, and make my way back towards the same gate I'd arrived through a few hours earlier.
Walking back to the gate
My ride back to Paris, still sitting where I'd left her.
I was surprised that I had to go through security again at the gate to get back onboard, a process that moved quickly but nonetheless I thought it a little unusual, seeing as though even passengers originating here would have already been through security. I hadn't left airside since Milan 24 hours ago, yet this was my third security check since then!
Very quickly again, the flight was called for boarding, upper deck first. I made my way to the gate, and handed over my boarding pass for scanning, before being handed it back and waved through to the 'Upper Deck' door.
I made my way up the jetbridge, being welcomed on board by a different crew who directed me to my seat at the back of the upper deck again.
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