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.