I’m writing this on the A380 in economy class from Singapore to London. To be honest, the 777-200ER from Auckland to London was looking pretty tired and a little dated, and was very full. I didn’t sleep much, but about as much as I needed to get through the next day. Killed 6 hours at the airport by lounge-hopping and going for a swim at the rooftop swimming pool in Terminal 1 at Changi Airport. However, the A380 is a different beast altogether. The flight is still pretty full, but I think it feels quite roomy. I am on the main deck but might try and go for a look around in a short while, perhaps to the upper deck economy section. I’ve been pretty lucky to get 45D, and though i have a sleepy infant in the bassinet just next to me – they seem very quiet and haven’t heard a squeak from them …yet.
We’re about 3 hours into the flight and I have watched Watchmen, which for an unfilmable graphic novel I thought they did a brilliant job. The soundtrack was very good too, though it was a little spooky when they played ‘All along the Watchtower’ at a key point in the movie. Kate and I have watched all 4 seasons of Battlestar Galactica over the last 3 months. If you’ve watched it, you’ll know how key that particular song becomes as the series unfolds. It has become a bit of a fixation of ours – although the BSG franchise seems to favour the Bob Dylan version, and Watchmen uses Jimmy Hendrix. Still, when I heard the first few riffs, I sat up bolt upright and expected to see Saul Tigh grimacing one-eyed into the camera, muttering, ‘…it’s coming from the SHIP!’
I don’t think this A380 is talking to me quite yet, though it has managed to keep the door to Singapore Airlines open. After the flight from Auckland to Singapore, I had decided to stick to Air NZ pretty much exclusively. However, if prices were considerably different, or Singapore airlines manages to smarten up the 777 Singapore – Auckland leg, they could be back in the game.
Hey, Singapore Airlines are definitely the best option out there. I have flown many of the airlines available to Asia& Europe. The flight that leaves Auckland at around 1am is on Singapores’ older 777-200ER which are being phased out, but if you fly on their much newer 777-300ER, which has the exact same interior to the A380 which leaves Auckland at around 1pm, arriving into Singapore at 7pm is a much better option, and still connects well with an A380 flight to London. I personally would never fly Air NZ long haul again, and try to avoid them on shorter flights as well. This is because of firstly their declining service and centering in Economy, and secondly ont heir newest aircraft (777-300ER) they have squeezed in an extra seat in every row to make 10 seats per row compared to most other legacy carriers such as Singapore Airlines who have 9 across