Flight To Los Angeles…

On my last longhaul flight from Singapore to Los Angeles, a non-stop 13-hour flight on Singapore Airlines SQ38 in April, I was planning to write and publish my special blog post. Onboard the flight, I was readying the post so that I can just hit the “Publish” button on the WordPress platform that I was using. The target launch was scheduled whilst the extended range Boeing 777 was cruising at 39,000 feet somewhere over the mid Pacific Ocean. It did not happen for on that flight, internet connectivity was, according to the crew, “not available”. Ces’t la vie.

Flight To London…

Early today, my Singapore Airlines flight SQ308 departed on schedule at 9.05am to London. This flight, on a traditionally lucrative sector, is operated by the current queen-of-the-sky, the Airbus A380, one that the airline takes pride in being the launch customer. Onboard, my wife and I were greeted by the friendly and smiling crew. The scheduled flight time is 13 hours and 30 minutes. Oh well, we know about headwinds and tailwinds whilst flying between Singapore and London at various times of the year and that’s why you’ll get a flight time of between 12 to 13.5 hours.

Inflight Internet Connectivity…

The good news is that internet connectivity is available on this flight. But hold on a minute! for in the airline’s inflight entertainment magazine Krisworld, the connectivity services are available “over international waters and over authorised countries”. Thus on this London-bound flight, passengers who want to use mobile services to connect to the internet, send messages and emails, will have to wait over six hours for the airplane to fly beyond India. Currently, countries over which internet service through Wi-Fi is NOT authorised include the United States, India, South American countries (except for Brazil), Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Koreas and Vietnam. That makes the United States the only developed nation to stand out like a sore thumb. Can’t figure out why!

Service That Even Other Airlines Talk About…

Never mind governmental restrictions on inflight internet connectivity. We are now passing Afghanistan, and I just want to share some photos about the warm and friendly inflight service by the renowned Singapore Girls. My fellow passenger in seat 21K, had earlier sang praises about the airline and the girls. So here’s a tribute again to the SIA Girls (and Guys) who are still making it “A Great Way To Fly’.

** P/S Photos will be uploaded after landing. Used up 15Mb at US$14.99 ! The 38,034 feet was the actual cruising height of the Airbus A380 taken from the flight path at the time I hit the “Publish” button.