Getting to the Airport
Transport: Hotel limo.
Journey time: Roughly one hour from the Morumbi area.
In Sao Paolo I am staying at the Hilton Morumbi. I chose this hotel because it is conveniently located near the site of the training course at the domestic airport in Congonhas. Other than that though, it is somewhat removed from the city centre and quite a long way away from Guarulhos airport. It does not really help either that the traffic in Sao Paolo is notoriously bad.
Check-in
Location: Terminal 3, first floor, check-in counters on row H.
Facilities: Airport check-in and web check-in.
Counters: There is one First Class counter, one Business Class counter, an internet check-in counter and one counter for passengers with special needs.
I arrive at Guarulhos airport at 16h20 after a horrible trip from the city. My driver is so busy WhatsApping while driving that he misses the turn off the motorway for the airport. As if that were not already bad enough, rather than continuing and taking the next exit, he decides to pull on to the emergency strip and then reverse all the way back to the turn off he missed…
Check-in is fairly swift. There are no passengers in line ahead of me. Strangely enough, there do not appear to be any dedicated Economy Class counters and I am left wondering if perhaps a) the flight is not really that full or b), check-in for Economy Class only starts later.
There is no dedicated queue for security for Business Class and First Class passengers. Accordingly, there the line is huge. But fortunately, it is moving quickly.
Immediately behind security is immigration. A friendly officer stamps my passport, confesses that he has never before met a guy from Malta and wishes me a pleasant journey.
The Star Alliance Lounge
Location: Behind passport control turn left. Eventually you will see an escalator and lifts going up one floor, off to the left. This is where all the airline lounges are located.
Facilities: Toilets and showers are available in the lounge, workstations and rest area.
Catering: The lounge has quite an extensive buffet of cold items. There is a huge bowl of salad with a variety of garnishes, in addition to small dishes, like individual raviolis in a tomato salsa or stick crudités in a yoghurt dip. There is also a limited selection of warm dishes, with a choice of pasta, tomato soup or a selection of warm local pastries.
Internet: Complimentary wifi provided by the airport, the password is given to you upon entering the lounge.
Much to my surprise, I rather like the décor of this lounge. I am not quite sure what I was expecting – probably another one of those awful Lufthansa branded lounges – but this is really nice. The lounge is fairly busy when I arrive. Even so, it is quite large so it does not feel crowded. The lounge offers a wide range of different seating option. Furthermore, it is on the same level as the huge windows commanding excellent views of the apron and departing aircraft.
Boarding
Two airbridges are connected to the aircraft. First and Business Class passengers board via the L1 door, while Economy Class passengers board via the L2. When I arrive at the gate at 18h10, boarding has already started.
I am greeted at the door by a gentleman and a young lady wearing the elegant Singapore Airlines Kebaya. As she escorts me to my seat I inquire about the load and she tells me there are 19 passengers in Business Class this evening and only 90 in Economy Class.
The Cabin
Configuration: 1 + 2 + 1
Seat: 11A, window on the port side of the vessel.
Singapore Airlines operates the B 777-300ER in two configurations with three or four different cabin classes. On the route to Sao Paolo, the three-class configuration is used with a First, Business and Economy Class. There are 48 seats in total in Business Class. The first two rows are ahead of the L2 galley, with the remaining ten rows aft of the L2 galley. Row 11 is the first row of Business Class. The Singapore Airlines seat is definitely very wide and offers a lot of privacy for a Business Class seat. The upholstery is covered in leather or some other material.
The seat provides a lot of storage space. To the left of the screen there is a specific compartment to store spectacles and the compartment housing the earphones is large enough to place an iPhone 6+ and an Apple charger in it.
Pitch: 50 inches.
Width: 30 inches.
Facilities: Wifi provided by OnAir, USB port and 110 volt a/c power outlet.
Audio and Video: Every Business Class seat is equipped with a 15’4’’ LCD screen. The Krisworld entertainment system has more than 700 audio channels, 295 video on demand movies and 180 television programmes to choose from.
As soon as I reach my seat, one of the flight attendants comes to take my jacket, while another inquires if I would like a newspaper or magazine. There is a selection of Brazilian, Spanish and English papers. I am also brought a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a hot towel.
Amenities
Singapore Airlines does not offer vanity kits in Business Class. However, they do distribute eyeshades, socks and slippers. Dental and shaving kits are available in the lavatories. Earplugs are available on request.
The Meal
Welcome drink on the ground: Fresh orange juice. Still water and champagne are also available.
Towel before the meal: Warm, lightly scented towel.
Pre-meal drink: Coke Zero.
Choice: There are four choices for the main course and two choices for dessert.
Delivery: Individual service.
Type of meal: Dinner.
The meal is very tasty. You can never really go wrong with the satay. My only grippe with that though, is that it is impossible to mop up the leftover sauce as the satay are served without cutlery. Such a waste…!
For the main course I choose the vegetarian noodles from the selection of inflight snacks. It is at moments like this that the professionalism of the Singapore Airlines crews shows. When the flight attendant comes to take my order, she does not bat an eyelid when I tell her I would prefer the noodles from the snack menu rather than something from the selection of main courses.
Amuse Bouche
Chicken and mutton satay with cucumber, onion and spicy satay sauce.
The First Course
Marinated prawns Niçoise salad with tomato, green beans, boiled egg, olives and balsamic vinaigrette.
The Main Course
Vegetarian noodles with lettuce, black mushroom and chilli sauce.
Dessert
Macadamia ice cream with a mango coulis.
The Cheese
Tallegio, Gorgonzola and Camembert with crackers and garnish (I am too stuffed to actually try this one…).
After the meal I watch ‘The man from U.N.C.L.E’, which is quite entertaining and a nice homage to the original series. And then I decide to have a nap. One of the flight attendants comes to make up my bed while I change into my shorts in the bathroom.
As soon as I hit the pillow I drop off to sleep and do not awake until two hours before the landing in Barcelona, when the crew come to wake me up for breakfast as I had requested them to do.
The Second Service
Hot towel before the meal: Hot, lightly scented.
Pre-meal drink: Apple juice.
Choice: There are three choices for the main course.
Delivery: Individual service.
Type of meal: Breakfast.
- Selection of sliced fruit – strawberries, mango, papaya, pineapple, kiwi, orange and grapefruit.
- Birchermüsli.
- Griddled buttermilk pancakes with berries compote, orange mascarpone and honey.
- Selection from the breadbasket.
- Coffee or Tea.
Oh my God, those pancakes! Who ever dreams up stuff like this? The dish arrives with the sticky honey dripping down the sides of the stack of pancakes. The meal is as tasty as it looks. It is sinfully sweet but oh so good!
Arrival
Outside a new day is quickly dawning. One of the pilots comes on the loudspeaker to announce that we will be starting our decent into Barcelona shortly. And what a spectacular decent it is. We approach the city from the south, flying over the sea with the coast visible far off to the left. We fly past the airport and then execute a series of gentle left turns to line us up for an arrival in a southerly direction. By this time we are below the clouds. Even so, the rising sun can still be seen, glistening on surface of the Mediterranean.
If, like me, you are connecting to another flight in Barcelona, follow the signs marked ‘transfer’, which will bring you to the security check. Once you have cleared security, you can either take the escalators one floor up if you are connecting to a non-Schengen flight. Otherwise, turn right to go through immigration and enter the Schengen area. From there take the escalators one floor down to the main airside area.
Conclusion
There are only few airlines that enjoy a reputation like that of Singapore Airlines. Even people who have never actually done a flight with them know what excellent service the passenger can expect from Singapore Airlines. To be honest, as far as the hardware and food is concerned, I do think there probably are quite a few airlines out there that can match and possibly even outshine Singapore Airlines – like Cathay Pacific or Qatar Airways. However, the one thing none of those other carriers can rival, in my view, is the cabin crew. The professionalism and attention to detail that the crew on both the out- and inbound flights showed, is quite amazing. And that is probably what makes Singapore Airlines’ reputation so good. No matter where you are going, you always know what to expect.
knightofmalta 