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Theairplaneguy4ever

Hello

This is my first ever written TR. Forgive me for any shortcomings on it.

No pictures because I have made a video TR of the same.
Please watch it to get an idea about the whole scenario : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgPiDxed7ro&feature=g-upl

Here I go.....

After having a great holiday in Hong Kong, it was time to go back home and get back to the boring stuff. This flight was one I was not really looking forward. But, it turned out better than I imagined.

SilkAir MI468 Singapore to Kochi

De-boarding SQ863, I had three hours to kill. Changi airport. I'd heard a lot about it and how nice it was. They even had a swimming pool! Wonder when we'd get that here in Kochi. T2 isn't really to my liking, The low ceiling is definitely a supporting factor in this. So, I headed over to T3, which had much more interesting sights apparently. The journey on the Skytrain (more like a bus) was short , around 3 min. The big atrium of T3 immediately impressed me. The ceiling had a nice modern touch too. There were a few shops there, the prices were really steep. After a bit more window shopping, I decided to set off to the butterfly garden in T3.

Along the way I came across a Koi pond. I like fish. They seem so graceful in water. If only life was as simple as that. After gazing at the Koi for a bit longer, I continued my journey on to the butterfly garden. It was a huge glass compartment which looked like it didn't fit in with the rest of the terminal. It was well hidden too perhaps for the same reason. Entering the garden, it was like being instantly transported to a different world. Like a small patch of a tropical rain forest had been transplanted, complete with a waterfall. Lots of butterflies too. A nice escape from such a busy airport. As I was just about to leave, a huge roar immediately caught my attention. It was a QF A380 which had just arrived. In total I saw A380s from 4 different airlines that day.

I arrived at T2 an hour in advance. Gate F52, was only a 5 min walk from the Skytrain station. I saw a long line at the gate, possibly extending to the next one. Security check had not even begun! The free internet at Changi was a real blessing now, I spent the next half an hour there. By the time I came back to the gate, the line had disappeared. I cleared security real quick and got a chair to sit down for the wait. Boarding was soon announced for J class and Krisgold flyers. Possibly more than half of the people got up at that moment and ran towards the jetway. The ground staff struggled to convey the message that Y class boarding was later and in the end gave up and boarded everyone together. What is with this attitude? I have never witnessed it before, even in Kochi. In the end I was one of the last to board the plane. I got a clear look of the A320 for the flight. I could not get the registration though, apologies. The jetway had funky neon lighting at the sides. Cool, but I much rather prefer a full glass jetway with a view.

A greeting at the door by the FA and I made my way to seat 17F. The J cabin was full. Looks like somebody got upgraded too. The Y class cabin was full too. MI were doing well on this route, evident from the service going up from 7x to 9x weekly. I would much rather prefer SQ doing this route, so would the passengers too I presume. Why? The major problem with MI is... no PTVs. The rest is fairly okay.

I settled into my seat. Doors were closed. An announcement from the flight deck said that a delay would ensue and we'd arrive at Kochi at 11:45pm. My heart sank. I was tired, sleepy and a delay? Really disappointing. The safety demo was shown on the overhead screens, a really old one. Why can't airlines be different and creative? Like Air NZ's Hobbit video. That was splendid.

We pushed back and I got a nice look at our neighbour, A Scoot 772 out to the Gold Coast in Australia. The captain came up and quickly announced that we'd actually arrive at 10:15pm, an hour early. Nice work SilkAir! The high pitched growling of the engines filled the cabin. Taxi soon began, lights were dimmed. At this time, an FA seeing I was writing turned on the reading lamp for me. The crew on this flight were really good. We were soon at the runway. As the plane turned right, the thrust was slowly increased to 40%N1. And then takeoff thrust was set and we rocketed down the runway. NOT... the takeoff was really slow and long. Then again, what can you expect from a fully loaded A320.

V1

Rotate

V2

We were on our way back home, finally. Leaving Singapore, I saw the many ships outside the harbour. A dazzling sight. Like a festival of a thousand shades. The seatbelt sign was soon switched off. A face peeked at me through the gap between the Cabin and seat gap. It was of a small kid in the seat in front of me, who was maybe 6-7 yrs old. He was from Singapore. A nice kid, I thought.

A drink run was conducted around 45 mins after takeoff. A cumin cookie was given along with it. Cumin cookie? Horrible. Maybe the fact that in India cumin is used as a spice deterred me. Anyway, here was our nice little companion in the front seat became annoying. He kept showing me his glass and said " Look, I finished this much." I really hate telling people off, but this time it was necessary. Sorry, kid.

Another example of the great crew on board was witnessed by me during the drink run. The man occupying seat 17C was to be served. The crew asked him whether he would like beer or OJ, the two choices. An awkward silence. He then blurted out "WHISKEY!". A few heads turned. Another crew immediately came with a glass of it, not even 20 seconds had passed. He got his drink even before the other crew had finished serving that row.

No PTVs. Again this fact meant that I had to consider other ways of occupying myself. I decided to check out Silkwinds. SilkAir's inflight magazine. Turned out to be very interesting. More of a travel magazine, it had many travel logs/experiences of regional destinations served by SilkAir.
By this time, Meal service had begun. The choices were veg or non-veg. I opted for the non-veg, which was Indian style chicken with rice and vegetables. Along with fruit, yoghurt and..... a cumin bun. What is with these people and cumin? It was as bad as the cookie. The rest of the meal was fairly plain. I had a cup of coffee along with my meal.

Despite the caffeine I ended up sleeping for an hour. When I woke up, the cabin was being prepped for arrival. Surely enough 20 mins later, we lined up for ILS runway 27 approach, the only ILS approach into Kochi. Touchdown was smooth and we quickly slowed down to taxi speed. We managed to arrive 30 mins ahead of schedule, just like the captain had said. Taxiing to the runway, I spotted a Q400 from SG. Wondered where it went at this time. A quick through the jetway and we were in the terminal.

Kochi airport was exceptionally ordinary at this time. Immigration was quick. The officers there were not happy though. I wouldn't blame them though, who'd be happy at this time unless they were sleeping. Didn't have to wait for baggage to come out either. There weren't any other international arrivals at this time. I exited the terminal, content with this flight on SilkAir. It was a better experience than my onward one. I hopped into my transport, preparing for the hour's trip that separated me from a well needed rest, from a great vacation in Hong Kong.

Thanks for reading (& watching)

Feedback is much valued
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India's first HD Video Trip Report Channel : www.youtube.com/Theairplaneguy4ever

Nimish · Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:02 pm Post subject:

Very nice TR and video. I first read the report, then watched the whole video - thanks for sharing!

How was the duty free at COK airport?
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We miss you Nalini!

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:41 pm Post subject:

shivendrashukla · Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:59 pm Post subject:

Excellent TR. And nice flight too. How is COK airport as compared to DEL and BOM?

Cheers
Shivendra

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:06 am Post subject:

ameya · Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:19 am Post subject:

Very Nice TR !

SIN is such a wonderful airport. And when flights take off as per clock work precision, its always nice and enjoyable !

Could you elaborate more on the service and food part comparison between SQ and MI

me111993 · Member Joined: 04 Sep 2009 Posts: 3225 Location: MAA/AMD

Fantastic TR! Lovely new way of doing one! Really makes you feel that you (as in us) were there!

Thanks for posting.
_________________
Causal Determinism : We are hardwired to need answers. The Caveman who heard a rustle in the bushes and checked out to see what it was, lived longer than the guy, who assumed it was just a breeze.

- Greg House

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:02 pm Post subject:

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:05 pm Post subject:

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Thanks for a wonderful trip report! Your writing skills are as good as your video taking, and editing. I watched your video report and read your trip report, both with rapt attention. The reading light being turned on by an FA- I have experienced this once on...guess, guess...Air India! I guess spices don't excite you too much as you come from Kerala, the land of heavenly spices Smile

However, cumin cookies are quite standard in Delhi, at least. Cumin buns may not be, but I guess everyone has his own choice! At Changi, it must have got dark, but did you try out the viewing gallery?
Cheers, Sumantra.

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:14 pm Post subject:

banerjee1000 · Member Joined: 07 Jul 2012 Posts: 65 Location: Delhi,India

Nice Crisp Description of your journey............... Awesome Video quality....
Nice editing in between them..........
waiting fr another from your side.......
Keep posting man!!! Very Happy

Jesin · Member Joined: 21 Feb 2009 Posts: 28 Location: DOH

Great report!! Smile

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 8:42 am Post subject:

PAL@YWG · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:28 pm Post subject:

Very nice format, Theairplaneguy4ever.
Video makes it even more enjoyable! COK is impressive!
Thoroughly enjoyed.
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sabya99 · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:59 pm Post subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgPiDxed7ro&feature=g-upl
A nice video with great editing.Thanks for posting.
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Sabya99

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

PAL@YWG · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 1:19 am Post subject:

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:12 am Post subject:

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:15 am Post subject: