Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Indian Ocean 2012
Flight Log 10: MI369 (Booked as MH9035)
Langkawi (LGK) - Singapore (SIN)
Sometimes you just know from the word go that something's going to be good. This was my first experience of Silk Air and I wondered how the regional arm of Singapore Airlines would compare to its illustrious parent. First impressions were excellent. I found a small Business Class cabin consisting of three rows of fixed seats laid out in 2+2 formation. The overhead lockers were closed, to discourage misuse by Economy passengers. As soon as I had sat down, I was immediately offered a drink - I had apple juice - as well as a choice of newspapers and magazines. When I mentioned that I'd brought my own reading material, the cabin crew member offered to switch on my reading light for me. It soon became clear that there were only to be five of us up front: 1A/C and 2A/C were all occupied, in addition to myself in 1F. That was it; I had the entire right side of the cabin to myself! Good-quality hot towels were offered and I noticed that I was being addressed by name throughout. The safety demonstration was by video.
We pushed back at 2051, following which I was offered a choice of chicken or fish for dinner. I chose the former. Landing cards were distributed during the taxi, before we took to the night skies at 2100. There was a further offer of magazines after the curtain was closed and tablecloths were laid in preparation for dinner. My main course consisted of chicken and gravy, presented with mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans. A glass of water had already been poured and my choice of white wine was poured at my seat from a small bottle. One strange potential lapse in the service was indicated by the empty side plate and lonely-looking portion of butter on my tray: no bread was ever offered. A piece of coconut sponge cake formed the dessert. It tasted nice enough but texture-wise it was exceptionally dry.
We were cruising at 32,000ft and the seat belt
signs had never been switched off. At 2125, the cabin crew were
ordered to suspend service and take their seats due to severe
turbulence. Strangely, just four minutes later the signs were
suddenly switched off, although in truth the flying conditions were
still far from smooth. In fact, the captain advised people to stay
seated with their belts tightly fastened unless they had good reason
to be moving around. He also mentioned that we were approaching
Kuala Lumpur and that passengers on the left side should be able to
see the Petronas Twin Towers. I was given a huge top-up of white
wine at this point, which kept me content for the remainder of the
flight.
Scalding-hot towels were distributed during the closing stages of the flight, while the captain announced an ETA of 2220 and an expected temperature of 29C. Touchdown at Changi came at 2217 and we were on-stand eight minutes later. Overall, this was an impressive introduction to a new carrier for me. Perhaps that should have come as no surprise, given its heritage.
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| Date: Tue 05 Jun 2012 |
| Aircraft: Airbus A320 |
| Scheduled dep: 2045 |
| Actual departure: 2051 |
| Scheduled arrival: 2215 |
| Actual arrival: 2225 |
| Cabin: Business Class |
| Seat: 1F |