After my delightful trip in New Zealand for 7 days, it was the time the say goodbye to The Land of the Long White Cloud and Middle Earth. For this trip, I arrived to New Zealand at Auckland by Cathay Pacific. But I left the country from Christchurch by Singapore Airlines. It had no direct flight between Thailand and New Zealand during my trip. So, for the return trip, I had to transit the flight at Singapore to Bangkok.
The summary of the flights for this trip is following.
Flight – 1
Route : Christchurch (CHC) – Singapore Changi (SIN)
Flight : SQ298 – Singapore Airlines
Aircraft : Airbus A350-900
ETD : 10:50 AM (GMT+12)
ETA : 5:40 PM (GMT+8)
Duration : 10 Hours 40 Minutes
Cabin : Economy
———— Layover time : 50 Minutes ———–
Flight – 2
Route : Singapore Changi (SIN) – Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK)
Flight : SQ720 – Singapore Airlines
Aircraft : Airbus A350-900
ETD : 6:30 PM (GMT+8)
ETA : 8:00 PM (GMT+7)
Duration : 2 Hours 30 minutes
Cabin : Economy
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The trip was started when I arrived Christchurch International Airport (CHC) at 7.40AM, about three hours before flight time. It was rainy day. I walked from the hostel which is about 1 km away through the rain. Thankfully, I had a rain jacket, so it was not too bad. Once I reached the airport, it took me about 15 minutes to wipe down and dry my wet pants, shirt, and luggage. 💦💦 Singapore Airlines has check-in counters at Row-C in Christchurch Airport.
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The check-in process was fast. I took only 10 mintues to complete it. My luggage was checked through Bangkok, no need to do anything at Singapore. Once I checked my luggage in and got boarding passes, I went to the international departure area. It was not open yet, I had to wait until 8.20AM.
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After International departure area is open, I passed through the security checkpoint and immigration. Today, the boarding would be performed at Gate Number 30 (Business class) and 31 (Economy class). I had time almost 2 hours to have easy breakfast what I prepared since yesterday (it was just chocolate chips cookies 🍪) and walked around to see the duty-free merchandises.
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About 9.45AM, the aircraft was arrived, it was good as it was the sign of no delay. At 10.20AM, the boarding was commenced. 😆
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The passengers were called to board the aircraft by the group and seat number.
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For economy seats, they are arranged as 3-3-3. It had pillow, blanket, PTV and earphones for every seat. The seat pitch was comfortable for long haul flight. In front seat pocket, it has safety sheet and duty-free product catalogue.
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After the boarding completed, the flight load was almost 100% as I could see by visual, then the flight was pushed back and departed from Christchurch Airport right on-time. Once it was the cruising altitude and seatbelt signs had been switched off, I started to survey the lavatory. It was super clean. Toothbrush set and hand soap and hand cream were avaiable.
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Next, the cabin crew started the lunch service, beginning by the light-snack and soft drink as appetizer. It was peas and crackers. I ordered the tomato juice to enjoy with the snack.
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Then, the main course was served. It had 2 choices for economy class, Fried Noodle with Seafood and Rice with Chicken Curry. I chose the first one. It had come with pasta salad and toffee cake. I also ordered hot coffee to sip after the meal.
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After meal, I just sat back and watched the movie and sometime took a nap. The soft drink (including alcoholic beverages and wines) were available as free-flow throughout the flight.
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About 2 hours before arrival, dinner service was started. It had 2 choices, Chicken Noodle and Basmati Rice with Vegetarian Curry (India style). I selected the vegetarian choice. It was served with shrimp salad and custard cake. I also did not forget to order tomato juice to have after dinner.
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At 5PM (Singapore local time), the flight was descended and then landed at Singapore Changi Airport – Terminal 3 (Gate A-14) on time.
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Once the plane door was open, as I had only 50 minutes to catch the next flight to Bangkok, I rushed to debark the aircraft and ran. The connecting flight was at Terminal 1 (Gate D-40) what has to use the Free Skytrains to get there. Fortunately, it had Airport Map available on PTV in the flight. I could plan my running path in advance. 🏃 In the map, it said that total walking time is 25 minutes. But I could make it within 20 minutes.
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It had no boarding pass checking for transfer passenger at Singapore Changi Airport. I could direct to the security checkpoint at the boarding gate.
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When I arrived the boarding gate, it was 5.45PM, the aircraft were waiting already. The ground staffs were preparing the boarding. About 6PM, the boarding was started.
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The economy seat was arranged as 3-3-3. Everything was same as the first flight what I just took from Christchurch as it is the same aircraft model. But it had no pillow and blanket as I was just 2 hours flight.
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The flight load was just about 60%. After boarding completed, it was pushed back and departed on-time. When the flight was at cruising speed and seatbelt sign had been turned off, I began to survey tha lavatory as the same. It was well cleaned and equipped with hand soap, hand cream and toothbrush set.
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Then, the cabin crew had served the dinner. Economy class had 2 choices, Tom Yam Rice Noodle with Shrimp and Pasta with Chicken Cream Sauce. As I am a Thai, I chose the first choice for sure. 🍜🦐 The soft drink was available with the dinner. I ordered Ice -Coca Cola. 🥤
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After dinner, I relaxed and enjoyed the sunset moment on the flight.
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Just for a while, 40 minutes before arrival time, the flight was started to descend. Then, it was landed at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport on-time.
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After I disembarked from the aircraft, I just walked by following the signs to pass the immigration. For this flight, the checked in luggage could be retrieved at the Belt No. 11.
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It was just 8.30PM, The Airport Rail Link Train was still working. I use it to get in the city center as it is the fastest and cheapest way. It was the glad moment to come back to Thailand after the happy trip in New Zealand.
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Overall, Singapore Airlines is always a 5-stars airline. They had extremely good ground and in-flight services. Everything from this airline come with quality and meet the expectation. Furthermore, connecting the flight at Singapore Changi Airport is very convenient. Even the airport is huge and I had only short time to transit, but the airport has well management what ease me to catch the connecting flight without any problem. Thus, if you are looking for 5-stars service flight even in economy class, Singapore Airlines is one of the best choice for sure. 👍🛫
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Written by : Shipy Siwarit Tiasuwattiseth
Shipy-Ship 