A Singapore Sling is the perfect accompaniment to Woody Allen's movie, "To Rome With Love".

Indulging in a world of entertainment options accompanied by a Singapore Sling makes travelling in economy a pill that is a whole lot easier to swallow.

Flight Details

Date: 21 October 2012
Seat: 46A
A380-800

Flight rating

4.5 planes out of 5

Luggage allowance

Carry on baggage:

One x 115cm (45 inches) bag weighing no more than seven kilograms (15 pounds).

First and business class passengers can carry two pieces at the above dimension and weight.

Checked Baggage:

Thirty kilograms (66.1 pounds)

Check-in

I attempted to check-in online but both my name and booking reference came up as invalid.

There were no queues at check-in and the lady who assisted me was less than amiable but the process itself was streamlined and she rewarded me with an express check-in slip for customs and priority collection of my luggage in Singapore.

The express line through customs was a blessing with the regular line extremely busy.

Lounge access

The SilverKris Lounge is located in Terminal C on the third floor of Sydney International Airport.

Cabin conditions

Cabin Configuration: 3 - 4 - 3

The cabin was spacious and very clean.

I especially liked how smooth the window shades were, although I am more a fan of the older planes that have the windows positioned closer to the seat so as to act as an effective leaning post when sleeping.

The bathroom was clean and well equipped with; mouthwash, toothbrushes, eau de toilette, moisturiser, razors, sanitary products and even seat covers.

I appreciated the foot lever to operate the waste disposal unit as well.

Our vanity packs included a pair of socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste.

Seat comfort

The seats were in great condition with material spotless.

Economy seats have seat pitch of 32 inches and a width of 19 inches aboard this aircraft.

Under seat storage may have been limited due to the footrests provided but the footrests also provided very comfortable respite during the flight, which was my preference to more under-seat storage given the seat next to me was free and I could store my hand luggage there.

Onboard catering

The economy class menu was superb.

Just after take off we were offered a beverage from a diverse selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages including; aperitifs, spirits, liqueurs, wines, beer, soft drinks, cocktails, fruit juices and coffee and tea.

I selected a perfectly mixed Singapore Sling to get myself into the Singapore mood.

Whilst the flight attendant tried to steer me towards the panfried chicken in basil cream sauce, I opted for the beef rendang, which I was warned, was a tad spicy but was the perfect choice for me.

It was accompanied by a pasta salad and turkey, cheese and crackers and a bread roll with a cookies and cream Drumstick ice cream for dessert.

The gentleman in front of me had ordered a vegetarian meal through his travel agent but it was not recorded.

The flight attendants ensured that they put a selection of food together for him regardless, which took approximately 20 minutes to arrange and also arranged vegetarian meals on his forward flight out of Singapore.

Beverages were offered regularly throughout the flight with many taking advantage of the alcoholic offering available.

Cabin staff service

Flight attendants were professional and prompt with service and immaculately dressed.

They were calm and patient with the child who incessantly ran screaming up and down the aisle, even though I think my fellow passengers and I would have preferred they speak to the child's parents and ensure he stayed seated instead.

Inflight entertainment

A vast array of entertainment options were available including;

190 movies (new release, Hollywood and more, World movies, young ones, arthouse and stage performances)
205 TV programmes (comedy, drama, young ones, Asian, documentary, sport, luxury, lifestyle and business)
795 CDs
22 radio channels
80 + games
20 applications

All entertainment options were listed in the 'KrisWorld' magazine available in the seat pocket.

Safeguarding is available for children with the option for parents to lock individual channels.

The entertainment options were so vast I found myself wishing for a longer flight to get through the myriad options.

My selection included; Woody Allen's latest offering in his exploration of famous cities, "To Rome With Love" that was a delicious escape and had me longing to return to the eternal city and "Think Like a Man" based on the best selling book by comedian Steve Harvey.

Whilst working I selected the country music radio channel and Kenny Chesney's "Welcome to the Fishbowl" for something a bit different.

I also indulged in some dreaming whilst listening to part of the audio book, "How to Make a Million Before Lunch" and considered logging onto Facebook to 'check-in' at 38,000 feet but the price plans for Wi-Fi were a tad out of my price range at USD$29.95 for 26 MB of data and USD$11.95 for 10 MB of data.

On-air mobile was also available for those services with a roaming agreement with On-Air.

Rates are determined by the service provider not Singapore Airlines.

SingTel mobile subscribers can enjoy 40 percent discount off roaming charges on Singapore Airlines flights with a text costing S$0.60 each and S$21 per MB for data roaming.

If the wide selection of entertainment isn't enough for you, AV jacks can be provided by flight attendants to connect your portable device to the screen to watch/listen to your own media.

A USB socket is also available behind every economy seat.

Those wanting to increase their knowledge on the flight can learn a language with 'Berlitz Word Traveller' that offers four main interactive lesson categories ('Numbers', 'Dates', 'Words' and 'Dialogues') with fun self-tests to check on your progress.

The program features 23 languages including; French, English, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Thai, Cantonese and Hindi. I brushed up on my French during this particular flight.

'Soundview Executive Book Summaries' offer passengers the ability to read abridged versions of over 100 of the world's best business books while the 'Culture Quest' application offers advice on business practices, cultures and protocol of more than ten countries worldwide.

If you're seated separately to your travelling companions, you can keep in touch via seat-to-seat calling or, call home for US$0.59 per six-second block with a minimum of US5.90 for the initial minute.

On-time performance

Taxiing time - 15 minutes
Departure - 16:25am (10 minutes late)
Arrival time - 20:55 (40 minutes ahead of schedule)

e-Travel Blackboard Tip
When checking-in on an international flight in economy, ask the customer service attendant whether they can offer you an Express customs pass, it can save so much time waiting in lines.
Less time through customs means more time for duty-free shopping after all!