Finally Flying on the Singapore Airlines A330!

Having scored the chance to visit the open house of Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 4, I was looking of the preferred options on getting to the event. I stumbled on a set of SQ flight that was unbelievably on a deal. To make things even better, the flight departure time leave me with enough time to get to the airport right after work, and it is on an Airbus A330!

I know, that the Singapore Airlines A330 is quite common and it plies a lot of popular routes. However, it was the only type that SQ currently operates that I have not logged at all. Hence, booking the A330 flight was done without any hesitation!

Jakarta – Singapore

Singapore Airlines, SQ 965

Jakarta, Soekarno-Hatta (CGK) - Singapore Changi (SIN)

Airbus A330-343, 9V-STY

ETD: 1900 (GMT+7)

ETA: 2150 (GMT+8)

Economy Class, Seat 60B

Jump straight to the day of departure, it was a nice clear evening as I reached the Terminal 2D of Soekarno-Hatta Airport. With minimum queue on the SQ counter, check-in was a smooth and easy affair with both our bags checked-in for the city state.

Proceeding into a rather quick clearance of immigration and security screenings, we were about 10 minutes early of the gate opening time, which means we had to spend some time in the transit area.

Entering the gate near the boarding time, we managed to be one of the first few Economy passengers to board the 2-4-2 configured aircraft. Oh boy, I can never be tired of saying how much I love the 8-abreast seating Airbus configuration in economy. It fits perfectly when you travel in pairs, as a family of four, or even when you travel solo (you only get to skip one seat to reach the aisle).

As soon as the doors were closed, the crew gets into the pre-departure routine of distributing hot towels to everyone aboard, while playing the safety demo at the same time. Due to the congestion in CGK, we were eventually taking-off at around 19:20, about 15 minutes behind schedule.

The flight time to Singapore was approximately 85 minutes, with most of our cruising time over the Indonesian airspace went smoothly. That being said, there was a noticeable light bumps as we were on descent above the Riau Islands.

The attentive set of cabin crew were efficient in distributing every meal, which consist of a lamb with rice or fish with potatoes as main course, with chocolate cake as desserts. We spent the remainder of the flight time, catching up on the latest TV series on the Krisworld system, including our descent and arrival into Changi Airport's Terminal 2.

If you would like to see our visit into Changi Airport's Terminal 4, follow our journey here.

Singapore – Jakarta

Singapore Airlines, SQ 968

Singapore Changi (SIN) - Jakarta, Soekarno-Hatta (CGK)

Boeing 777-200(ER), 9V-SRM

ETD: 2155 (GMT +8)

ETA: 2240 (GMT +7)

Economy Class, Seat 54G

Well, who wouldn't love spending as much time as possible munching all the scrumptious delicacies the city-state has to offer. Therefore, where my schedule permits me, I prefer to fly back to Jakarta on the last departure out of Singapore, which was SQ 968.

Arriving into Changi Airport using the MRT, we had ample time to spare until our departure time of 2155hrs. Clearing the errands of GST refund, checked-in both our bags to Jakarta, and streaming through passport control, we still had approximately spare of 90 minutes.

Spending our time on the Terminal 2 McDonalds chain until our boarding time, we head to the assigned gate for security screening. By looking at the crowd of the passengers on our gate, suffice to say that it is going to be a full flight, with most of them consisting of Indonesians going home after the long weekend break.

Peeking out to the window, I noticed that we were flying on 9V-SRM, the same aircraft that flew me from Hong Kong to Singapore earlier in March!

Boarding was an organised affair, with the two friendly cabin crew members welcomed us on door L2. We made our way to the rear of the aircraft as one of the first few economy passengers to board. Other passengers soon joined us and it was time for the door to close.

We had a long taxi to the runway, as the pre-departure services of hot towel distribution and safety briefing were being carried. We had to hold before entering the runway, as a few incoming traffic were cleared to land on our runway, we roared off a rather long roll on the runway before lifting-off for a 90 minutes hop to Jakarta.

Throughout the departure, the Krisworld system seemed to be on the off mode, which was unusual as SQ have joined many other airlines on activating its IFE on a gate-to-gate basis. It was only after the seatbelt signs were off, that an announcement came that there were technical issues with the IFE and the crew is doing their best to fix it. Miraculously, they were able to restart the system halfway through the flight.

Given the rather short flight time, the crew sprung into action with their trolleys, conducting the meal service in an efficient yet friendly manner. We enjoyed our chicken curry with rice meal, along with SQ catering's ever-so-good pudding as dessert. With most of the passengers continuing to rest after the meal service, the cabin lights were kept at a minimum throughout the flight.

Catching up an episode of a TV series on the Krisworld system that has just been restored, it was already time for descent into Jakarta, and followed by a smooth touchdown at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. We were docked at Terminal 2D and disembarked at no time, thanking the humble crew that had been looking after us on this short hop!

Changi Airport T4 Preview

Back in 2012, Changi Airport made the surprising move to demolish its Budget Terminal to make way for its expansion projects. Among them is the new, 225,000 square metres Terminal 4, With a capacity of 16 million passengers yearly (two-third of Terminal 3), it is expected to increase Changi Airport's operational capacity to a total of 82 million passengers.

List of confirmed airlines flying from the new Terminal 4:

• Air Asia

• Cathay Pacific

• Cebu Pacific

• Korean Air

• Spring Airlines

• Vietnam Airlines

The new terminal promises a travel experience of the future, which is expected to bring all the pre-departure procedures to become more seamless and efficient for every passenger.

Nicknamed the Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST), this new procedure includes a machine-assisted self check-in & baggage drop, and automated immigration clearance (for eligible passport holders).

The terminal's transit area features a number of restaurants and a 24-hours food court, along with a number of duty free stores.

Airlines that are going to operate out of Terminal 4 showcase their product offerings in the terminal's transit area.

Abundant of comfortable sofa for everyone to wait for their next flight. Not to mention, each seat has its own USB and electric plug to charge your devices.

Further inside the transit area, there will be a space called the heritage zone. Housing mostly local brands, this zone is created based on the old Peranakan houses that you can still see around the city today. Also, every one hour, the two middle shop-houses will transform into a huge LED screen, playing a theatrical performance called the "Peranakan Love Story" which you can view at Changi Airport's Youtube channel here

Hidden behind the stores on the transit area are all the boarding gates, starting with the prefix "G" for all the departure gates. As you might notice from this picture, unlike the other Changi Airport terminals, security screening is done at a centralised point after passport control, instead of each departure gates.

Part of the FAST journey experience, you can just simply scan the barcode on your boarding pass, whereby the automatic gate will open and grant you access to your flight, once they manage to verify your boarding pass. Obviously, there will still be a staff member present to assist you, should you encounter difficulties with the system.

Another notable difference with the other Changi Airport terminals is that, as arriving passengers you will be directed to a dedicated arrivals level below, which means incoming passengers do not need to pass through the transit area to reach the airport's baggage claim and passport control.

The arrivals level consist of a long hallway towards the airport's passport control and baggage claim area.

Some of you might have heard that this terminal will not be linked with the Skytrain, and instead shuttle buses will arrive and depart according to a schedule. Therefore, you will need to take buses that goes to T2 or T3 if the MRT is your preferred option of transport to the city.

The grand arrival hall and its kinetic petalclouds will greet every passenger arriving to the city-state.

Following passport control, you will be on the airport's baggage claim area that resembles those in Terminals 1 and 3.

Well, that concludes the tour of the new Terminal 4. Rumors have it that this airport will be operational by the end of this year (2017), although CAG have not come up with exact date yet, given that more testings and several works are still ongoing before this terminal is operational.

However, we are grateful to be part of this open house and looking forward to fly from T4 someday. Thanks for reading!

So, what do you think of this terminal? Leave a comment below or reach me out through Instagram!

#travelblog #changiairport #singapore #travel #flying

#HotelRoomTales: SAV Hotel Hong Kong

Calling itself Stylish, Attitude, and Visionary, SAV Hotel in the area of Hung Hom in Hong Kong was one of the top rated property in town. For the offer of approximately 600 HKD a night for a superior room, we booked our stay without any hesitation.

Upon entering the lobby, you can definitely see the colorful and stylish air around the hotel. The staff were helpful upon check-in, despite a mishap that happened on our earlier booking. We were assigned a superior room that we had earlier booked, on the 6th floor of the building.

Superior Room

Our first impression was great, the room was clean and well maintained. I got to say, I kind of like the combination of the purple lighting, making the room looking a bit more lively with all the white colored flooring and furnitures.

The room features a twin-bed, with a 43 inch television with a selection of local channels and reasonable selections of international broadcasting. The only downside was that the space of 15 square meters was quite tight for me and Dad, along with our luggage.

Inviting ensuite bathroom, complete with all the amenities.

The hotel itself was situated along Wuhu Street, which was accessible by public transport, and a convenience store is available just a few meters away from the hotel, although it closes at around 10.30 pm (not a 24 hours service).

The nearest MTR station from the hotel is Whampoa, which was approximately 10 minutes away on foot. Meanwhile, the larger Hung Hom Interchange is reachable on a 20 minutes walk. The hotel is also providing a shuttle bus service to areas such as Kowloon and Hung Hom Interchange itself.

Final Thoughts

Despite its rather minuscule room, we had enjoyed our stay at SAV hotel. The room was in an immaculate condition, with every facility on the room in order. Staff members are also helpful, despite being hindered by language barrier at times.

It has a great location which is accessible from both Whampoa and Hung Hom stations, allowing easy access to many of the attraction Hong Kong got to offer.