Flying: Singapore Airlines A380 Economy Class Singapore to Zurich 2015

I made a silly mistake of forgeting to select the seats and had to call Singapore Airlines to block seat 32A.

As was the case for most flights bound for Europe, it was a late night departure from Changi. There wasn't any queue at the counter and I got my boarding pass in less than 5 minutes.

Immigration was a breeze thanks to the automated channels, and the gate was just a few steps away.

Singapore Airlines 346

Singapore (SIN) – Zurich (ZRH) 

Wednesday, Apr 22 2015

Depart: 1:20AM

Arrive: 8:00AM

Flight time: 12hr40min

Aircraft: Airbus 380

Seat: 32A

Boarding was from one of those centralised boarding Lounges in Terminal 3. As flight SQ322 to London, which was boarding a nearby gate, was delayed by a couple of hours, the area was slightly packed, given that the lounge was used primarily for A380 flights which explains the sheer number of passengers.

It appeared that the gate staff was a little short handed, since the flight to London was delayed and another flight to Beijing was boarding at the same time. Boarding for our flight was called at about 1:20AM, which was supposed to be the takeoff time instead. Had I known that Boarding would be delayed, I would probably have stayed landside for a bit longer.

Again I was among the last passengers to board the aircraft. This time round I was less lucky, and did not have the luxury of an empty middle seat. I was seated beside two French speaking ladies, whom I woke up many times throughout the flight so that I could get out to use the bathroom.

While waiting for the cabin doors to close, hot towels were offered. We pushed off at about 1:30AM, had a fairly quick taxi and tooked off at 1:42AM. Supper was served about an hour after take off. I had a fairly full dinner and hence declined supper, though I again snacked on a rather weird combination of nuts and Singapore Sling.

Perhaps it was the influence of alcohol, I dozed off fairly quickly when the lights were dimmed after meal service.

I approached the galley to grab some snacks, and was offered a sandwich and some juice by the stewardess.

Soon after breakfast, we entered Swiss airspace and began to descend. I looked out from the window the Alps were already visible.

Landed at 8:19AM, we had a quick taxi and parked at the same gate E67 beside a Swissair A340.

Conclusion

While the A380 was a much more passenger friendly jet, somehow I failed to catch as much sleep as I had on the previous Finnair flight to Helsinki.

Flying: Singapore Airlines A380 Economy Class Zurich to Singapore 2015

Again arriving in Zurich Airport at 9:43AM on the Intercity train from St Gallen, I proceeded to the check-in area to get my boarding pass printed and luggage checked-in.

There was quite a queue at check-in, thankfully I had already selected my seat and checked-in online, and therefore was able to use the bag drop counter and avoid the queue.

Singapore Airlines 345
Zurich (ZRH) – Singapore (SIN)
Thursday, Apr 16 2015
Depart: 11:45AM
Arrive: 5:55AM (+1)
Flight time: 12hr10min
Aircraft: Airbus 380
Seat: 32A

Boarding was from gate E67, a far flung corner of the terminal, so I had to take the Skymetro and traverse a subterranean path before arriving at the cluster of gates E, used for non-Schegen flights.

Since I was seated right at the front of the economy cabin, I was among the last group of passengers for which boarding was called, though I personally had no qualms with that, since I see no incentive for early boarding when flying economy class.

Perhaps it was just me being away from home for so long, I really felt at home the moment I stepped into the cabin and was greeted by a leading stewardess and steward.

The load wasn't exactly full, with about 80% of the economy cabin filled. I shared the row with another Swiss guy with an empty middle seat between us.

I settled down in my seat and began flipping through a copy of the Business Times, which featured several interesting articles I was hoping to catch up on. While waiting for the cabin door to close, hot towels were offered to passengers. Menus were distributed subsequently, together with... a pair of socks.

Suffice to say it's a palatable offering, complete with a fairly extensive beverage menu printed on the overleaf.

We pushed off from gate E67 at about 12PM, and began to taxi to the runway. While Zurich Airport was rather small, we had a rather long wait at the apron, before continuing the taxi to the runway.

We took off at 12:13AM behind an United B767, which was in turn waiting for a Swiss A321 taking off from the intersecting runway.

The take-off roll is long, though the climb out was smooth and the engine was really quiet for a beast of this size.

Shortly after takeoff, drinks and snacks were served. As usual I ordered a Singapore Sling, which was promptly served together with nuts.

I had the beef brisket with noodles for lunch, the beef was a little too salty for an Asian palate, though perfectly tender and juicy. The syrah which I had to accompany the dinner was also great with a fruity aroma.

Drinks were offered continuously throughout the flight, with stewards or stewardesses making a tour of the cabin carrying a tray of juice and water every 30 minutes or so.

I was trying to adjust back to Singapore time and hence decided to wait till 11PM Singapore time, which would be halfway through the flight before sleeping. In the meanwhile, I plugged my laptop to the inseat AC inlet and started working on an assignment on leadership aspirations for a couple of hours.

Running out on inspirations after a few hours, I decided to catch a movie before sleeping, and selected "The Crossing: Part One", which I had seen a poster of before I left Singapore in February but had not managed to catch. As I was in a window seat, I decided against waking up my seat mate and pressed the call button to order some snacks instead of going down to the galley myself.

While I only ordered some nuts and chips together with another Singapore Sling, the stewardess generously offered me some chocolate cookies and other tidbits along with my order.

While the movie was okay, it failed to hypnotise me sufficiently and I woke up after a mere 2 hours in slumber. So I walked up to the galley and tried to get some sleeping pills from the stewardess, who seemed horrified by my request. Apparently they do not have a stock of such drugs on board, which was to my disappointment though I certainly understand that it wasn't a routine request, and neither was it a fair expectation.

So I asked for some alcohol instead, hoping to get tipsy and knocked out. At this point a steward came in and offered to make me some camomile tea instead. The Stewardess also got me a pair of eyeshades and ear plugs. I thanked her for the eye shades, but declined the ear plugs since I had my own.

About two hours before landing, the cabin lights were turned on and breakfast was served. A hot towel was again offered before the meal service.

 

This time round the meal service began from the back of the cabin instead, so only one of the two options was available by the time the stewardess reached our row.

We landed ahead of schedule at 5:20AM and had a quick taxi to Terminal 3. Since boarding was from door 2L, I was among the first economy class passengers to get off the plane.

Conclusion

Despite being a Singaporean, I seldom fly SIA since most of my travel involve regional rather than ultra long haul flights, and I could not justify paying a premium for it. However, on long haul flights I think it's really worth it. The service of the crew really made a huge difference between a torture of being stuck in a tube and a relax, well-rested journey.

It's interesting to note that SIA charges a premium for flights departing from Singapore as compared to inbound ones.

Half way point: 2 months down, 2 more to go

And so it has been more than 2 months since I first arrived in Switzerland, officially crossing the half way point of my exchange in St Gallen.

Positive takeaways

Flying: Air France A318 Economy Class Paris to Zurich 2015

As I took too much time writing postcards before catching the metro and the RER B to CDG airport, I was rather pressed for time. In addition, I had underestimated the time needed to get from Gare du Nord to the airport. As I had arrived in Paris at night, the train from airport to city was a non-stop service to Gare du Nord. On the return trip however, the train stopped at every station along the way, effectively adding another 10 minutes to the train ride.

Despite that, I arrived at the airport at 11:55AM, an hour before the departure time, which would have been sufficient if departing from Changi, Zurich or even Kuala Lumpur. Yet I again underestimated the travelling time from the RER station to terminal 2F, where my flight was departing from. 

While the signage was sufficient to guide me to terminal 2F, it took a breakneck rush down several escalators and travellators to get to the terminal, only to realise the check-in desks for my flight was all the way down at the other end of the terminal.  

Air France 1614
Paris (CDG) – Zurich (ZRH)
Tuesday, Apr 07 2015
Depart: 12:55PM
Arrive: 2:10PM
Flight time: 1hr15min
Aircraft: Airbus 318
Seat: 23C

After I got the boarding pass, it was already 12:25PM, leaving me with only 10 minutes to get to the gate, since boarding stops 20 minutes before takeoff. 

Looking at the long line queuing for security checks, I knew I could not clear security within 10 minutes and would almost certainly miss the flight. I rushed to the priority lane for first and business class passengers, showed my boarding pass to the airport personnel and explained that my flight will be departing soon. Thankfully they waved me through the queue.

This time round, boarding was from a remote stand and we had to take a bus to get to the plane. As I flashed my boarding pass to the gate agent, I asked her whether I am the last passenger to appear, to which she replied,"There are four more". Well done!

While the Airbus 318 is the smallest in the Airbus 320 family, it still looked huge from the boarding stairs.

I was the last passenger to step into the aircraft at 12:52PM, and the doors closed shortly after I sat down on my seat. 

The captain welcomed us onboard, announced our flight time of approximately 50 minutes. We pushed off at 12:59PM, had a quick taxi and took off at 1:09PM. 

It was a fairly full load, with all but a handful of seats filled. Although it was a short haul flight, it's still interesting that Air France managed to achieve such a high load factor given the stiff competition from high speed trains and budget carriers. 

Then again, no budget airline was serving the Paris-Zurich route direct, or even the Paris-Basel for that matter, and Geneva is really too far from Zurich, so perhaps airlines still have a niche competitive advantage on this route.

The Seat
Perhaps it's just me, but somehow the seat at the rear felt more spacious, with slightly more leg room than the seat I had in the middle on the outbound flight.

Food
Service began shortly after takeoff. Unlike the outbound flight, where service was from both the front and the rear of the cabin, this time round, service was only from the front.

Again it was the familiar tomato mozzarella sandwich, though this time round I had it with an apple juice instead. I was really tempted to try the red wine they offered, though decided against it since it's only early afternoon and I still had work to do when I get back in Switzerland.

Soon after the cups were cleared the captain announced that we would be beginning the descent to Zurich. The final descent was amid heavy turbulence, and I can feel the plane rolling and yawing even as we approached the runway. Thankfully the crew managed to land in peace.

We landed at 1:59PM, had a quick taxi to the terminal, where we parked between a KLM Cityhopper Embraer and an Aeroflot Airbus.

Since I had no check-in luggage and no immigration to clear, I quickly made my way to the airport center, where I grabbed a quick drink and waited for the train back to St Gallen.

While catching up on the news after I landed, it seemed that I just had a close shave with the huge cancellations sparked by a strike of the French air traffic controllers.

BBC, 8 April 2015, French air traffic strike prompts hundreds of cancellations

Wow, if only I had left Paris a day later, I might seriously be stranded at the airport, and probably would be incurring hefty expenses. Thankfully I was spared of that fiasco, and I made a mental note to check out such news before leaving for the airport, not after landing.

Easter in Paris

The trip to Paris was essentially a last minute shopping trip with the Intention of snapping up s

Review: Best Western Premier Opéra Faubourg

It took a brisk walk from the Le Peletier metro station to arrive at the hotel, which was conveniently located on Rue La Fayette.

Apr 3 2015 to Apr 7 2015 [4 nights]

As I stepped into the lobby I was greeted by this bulldog, to which I can only reply, "Bro, are you sure it's a good idea to emblazon an Union Jack on French territory?"

The room was fairly small, with the beds occupying most of the space available. Even the entry way felt narrow.

The mattress was a little too soft to provide sufficient lumbar support, though was still comfortable.

I didn't really liked the fact that the shower area only had half of it partitioned, since I often end up with large puddles outside the shower.

At night, it was a beautiful, albeit incomplete view of the Eiffel Tower. 

Flying: Air France A318 Economy Class Zurich to Paris 2015

Arriving from St Gallen on the 6:48PM train, time was tight as I got off the train at Zurich Airport at 7:41PM.

As I had selected my seat online, it would have been more convenient to collect the boarding pass at the self service kiosk. However, I made a silly mistake of entering my frequent flyer account wrongly and had to get that corrected at the counter instead.

Air France 1315
Zurich (ZRH) – Paris (CDG)
Friday, Apr 03 2015
Depart: 8:55PM
Arrive: 10:15PM
Flight time: 1hr20min
Aircraft: Airbus 318
Seat: 18D

Since there is no immigration passport checks for Schengen travel, it left me with a fair amount of time to roam around the terminal. As I was really tired after a longhaul flight on my flight from Singapore to Zurich via Helsinki in February, this was the first time I managed to examine Zurich airport in greater detail.

I was pretty attracted to the black marble tiles and soft lighting, which somehow managed to add a classy touch to the decor.  

It was a quick walk to gate B34, hence I had some time to charge my phone before boarding and snap some photos.

The Airbus 318 really looked minuscule as compared to its A320 sister that I was so used to in Asia.

We boarded at 8.25pm, and were greeted by the purser and the copilot.

Seat
Looking sideways the seats are razor thin. In fact, the seats looked thinner even when compared to budget carrier Ryanair. Nevertheless, there is a good amount of support at the back when I sat down, and the thicker padding at the neck area, together with a reasonable (though not fantastic) amount of legroom made the seat comfortable enough for a shorthaul flight.

Boarding was completed quickly but due to an absent passenger, the crew had to offload his or her checked-in luggage, which took a a few more minutes. Soon the purser announced that we are ready to go. The cabin door was shut and we pushed off from gate B34 at 8:54PM.

During the safety demonstration, we paused at the apron for a few minutes, supposedly waiting for permission from the tower to taxi and takeoff. We continued to taxi for another 10 minutes or so before taking off at 9:11PM. 

Food
After a short climb the seatbelt sign was turned off and service began. Since it was a shorthaul flight, only a light snack consisting of tomato mozzarella sandwich and drinks was served, though Air France did better than many other airlines by serving alcoholic beverages even on an one hour shorthaul flight.

After the snack service, we began the descent and landed at 10:04PM. After a quick taxi, we arrived on time at gate F52 at 10:15PM.

Conclusion
While most European cities are fairly well connected by rail and air travel might not always be the fastest way to get you to your destination, the revenue management on some of the high speed trains can make the airfare look competitive in some cases.

Easter in France: Introduction

Easter break, Spring break, was one of the thing I looked forward to during this exchange.

Transport
Due to a last minute cancellation of my bus ride to Paris, I was scrambling to find alternative transport. As a matter of fact, trains are actually the most convenient way to travel between Zurich and Paris, with the TGV making the trip in about 4 hours. However, while TGV tickets can be as cheap as EUR68 for a one way trip if booked in advance or even EUR40 if booked with promotions, the asking price was upward of EUR115 as the departure date drew near.

God never disappoints the studious, I was able to snatch a return flight from Zurich to Paris on Air France for EUR143. While that was still a 50% premium of what my friends paid for their flights, I had the convenience of flying from Zurich, instead of the Basel, where most of the budget airlines fly from.

Accommodation
After the less than ideal experience in London with youth hostels, we had an unanimous agreement that we will stick to proper hotels this time round.

So my friends booked the rooms at Hotel 

Day Trip: Geneva

One of the cost cutting measures is to make full use of the Swiss Gleis 7. The St Gallen to Geneva route is nearly the furthest trip one could make on the Swiss Railway, covering about 350 kilometres, and probably the most expensive, with even a half-fare ticket costing CHF53 and even a deeply discounted supersaver fare (which restricts you to a particular train) costing CHF31.80.

So it makes perfect sense to exploit the Gleis 7 on this route, both for the outbound and return.

Geneva Cornavin Station

I took the 8:48PM train which involved a change at Lausanne, although there are also direct trains. It's worth noting that whether for direct trains or trains involving a change, sometimes only half of the train will proceed beyond Zurich while the other half stops in Zurich. Hence, it's important to sit on the correct half. 

Coming out of the Geneva train station, the first stop was to the tourist information centre, a quick 5 minute walk from the station. I grabbed an English map, and prioritised the places I wanted to visit.

Jet d'Eau

I must say the weather was really beautiful, with clear skies and a warm sun, just the ideal lighting for photo shoots and an idyllic stroll along the lake and around the old town.

After a quick lunch by the lake, I headed to the old town. While the lady at the tourist office suggested exploring Geneva on foot, which would probably be the same for most European small cities (I understand that Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland, but it is probably minute by most Asian standards).

Nevertheless, I was quite tired after the long train ride and since I had bought the Geneva One Day Pass, there was no incremental cost to taking any public transport.

Geneva has a fairly well connected public transport system, with trams and buses plying the routes in intervals of about 5 to 10 minutes. While the tram system would not be the most efficient form of public transport for the busy commuter, it is great for a sightseeing traveller.

As Geneva is a fairly small city, and sightseeing can get a little boring after a few hours, I decided to head to some of the museums.

My first stop was the Maison Tavel, the oldest private residence in Geneva. While the exhibits are not fabulous per se, they offer an interesting insight to the lives of the nobility who used to reside here, with many artifacts of daily life, such as silver and pewter ware, as well as a copper and zinc model of Geneva in the 1800s.

There was a short trailer about the model available on request, though unfortunately it is only in French, so I have to give it a miss until I mastered the language or they offered a translation.

The next stop at the Museum of Art and History, however, was somewhat a hit and miss. While the facade was beautiful, the same cannot be said for its exhibits, especially the sculptures and the archaeological exhibits. Perhaps it is my lack of understanding of the history and artistic value behind them, but the collection pales in comparison to those of its counterparts in Vienna and London.

To be fair, there are many interesting paintings in the fine arts gallery, one of which I had even used to illustrate an essay on perception for a psychology module.

Raphael (1510) The School of Athens

Of course a trip to Geneva would not be complete without paying a visit to the United Nations main office. While not a tourist attraction per se, Geneva is famous for the many intentional organisations that chose to base their operations there.

UN Office in Geneva, complete with a petition

A passer-by saw me fumbling with my phone, trying to take a proper selfie, and graciously offered to help me with a photo.

The return trip was again courtesy of the Gleis 7, this time involving a change at Biel/Bienne instead.

Conclusion
While the four hours train ride to Geneva had been really tiring, the city was really worth a visit. It is a really clean city, even by Swiss standards, and possess a idyllic yet elegant vibe. Given the long train ride, it might actually make sense to cover Geneva together with either Lausanne or Biel on a two day trip, so that the travelling time can be broken down into more manageable periods.