Getting away

Monday evening 21 May: The first sector of our trip is a Qantas flight to Singapore. Angela took us to the airport (many thanks, Ang), and even though our upmarket fare enabled us mostly to minimise the queues, it took about 45 minutes before we were checked in, through security and immigration and established in the lounge. Part of this time was spent on the long walk from immigration to the main departure area. I haven't been here since the extensions to the international terminal were completed, but it's obvious that they've been designed to maximise the retail area, and to require everyone to walk around a loop so that they pass as many shops as possible.

However, when we got there, the Qantas lounge was good: the layout is fairly functional, and there seemed to be plenty of staff. In addition to the buffet, staff were walking around offering cones of chips, fried calamari and even a tray of cocktails!

The plane is an A380 - another first for us. Boarding was efficient, the seats are good and the service is obviously aimed at creating a friendly yet professional impression (clearly so as to differentiate Qantas from their Asian and Middle-eastern competitors). They could have been a bit quicker with the drink service after take-off, but this was hardly a big issue. There's an enormous choice of movies, and the system is relatively easy to navigate. It's tempting to take advantage of the lie-flat seats and have a snooze, but instead of doing this, I'm waiting for the longer Singapore to Paris leg with the idea of having a decent sleep.

Not a great photo but it does show we reached Singapore