千里之行 始于足下

Pt I: Prologue
Pt II: Long Haul LCC
Pt III: Rotten Eggs
Pt IV: Volcanos
Pt V: Animals & Auckland
Pt VI: 3K 402
Pt VII: Epilogue

My thoughts on…

Jetstar

My initial fears about flying long-haul on LCC were unfounded. Jetstar’s A332 had comfortable seats and adequate seat pitch and I didn’t feel as cramped as I thought I would be. The IFE on overhead screens was a pleasant surprise too and the programming did seem interesting on the inbound. Meals-wise I didn’t have much exposure but the sandwiches were fine. While the idea of providing drinking water and allowing passengers to consume their own food might not earn extra revenue for JQ/3K, it certainly earned goodwill from passengers (like me).

There are certainly things that they can improve on. The crew could do better in terms of both friendliness and responsiveness. Another issue was the cleanliness. With the amount of people on the plane, the conditions of the lavatories would definitely deteriorate over time. Again it was down to the crew to maintain the basic cleanliness.

Will I fly Jetstar long haul again? Yeah but only if the price’s right. If there’s no promotion a return ticket to AKL is around 1,000 SGD which is more expensive than EK’s price (albeit with much longer flight time due to stop in BNE) and only marginally cheaper than SQ’s promotion price. EK’s price to Melbourne is also quite competitive so if the prices are comparable my choice will be a no-brainer.

NZ

NZ was a tourist-friendly country and my family and I had a good time there. There was hardly anything that I disliked there but if pressed hard for one I would say the weather. It was kinda erratic and I could do with less rain. There were too many good things to list though: open spaces, nice scenery, friendly people, interesting attractions etc.

The entire tourist infrastructure was well set-up and it had been a long time that I’ve visited a hassle-free destination. The admissions fees for the attractions were kinda on the high side but they did provide quality experiences in return. Cost-wise it was still manageable; both accommodation and car rental were cheaper compared to similar standard in Singapore. Food wasn’t as expensive as imagined; probably around the same level as eating out in the more finer eating places here.

I will like to return to NZ one day; preferably to the South Island whose scenery is rated higher than the North’s. C’mon Jetstar! Make me an offer that I can’t refuse.

Pt I: Prologue
Pt II: Long Haul LCC
Pt III: Rotten Eggs
Pt IV: Volcanos
Pt V: Animals & Auckland
Pt VI: 3K 402
Pt VII: Epilogue

The check-in counters were already open by the time we arrived.

It seemed that it would be a healthy load back to Singapore.

There was a group of firemen soliciting for donations at the escalators going up to the departure level and one of them was wearing his full gear going up an escalator in the reverse direction.

The fundraising was all part of the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge which donated the amount raised to the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation.

We donated our spare change to them before going on to browse the shops on the landside.

At one of the shops we bought some duty-free kiwifruit chocolates; not terribly cheap but they made good gifts back in Singapore.

After going through the immigration, my sis and I were randomly selected by the Airport Security to test for traces of explosives.

I wondered how random the selection was but complied anyway with their requests (they were very polite though).

Our plane was already at the gate.

The crew for our flight were already air-side by then and were having an early lunch at Burger King.

There was still some time before boarding commenced so we sat and waited on the rather comfy seats.

Noticed the kiosk in the photograph? My mom did more shopping there (some healthcare products).

I went to the washroom just before proceeding to the gates and found this poster inside the gents.

At the gate, there was a lady from Tourism New Zealand asking visitors (my sis and I inclusive) for contact details so that they could collect feedback about our trip.

Boarding was done in an orderly manner with StarClass passengers, families traveling with children and passengers sitting in the second cabin invited to board the aircraft first.

Coincidentally the three of us had the exact seats as on the outbound.

However this time round I wasn’t so lucky as I had a seatmate in 47G.

Route: AKL – SIN
Flight no.: 3K 402
STD: 11:25
STA: 18:00
Distance traveled: 5225 miles/ 8409 km
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Registration: VH-EBF

The plane took off on-time and the crew got into action as soon as the seat-belt sign was off.

First up was once again the rental of IFE units.

Then it was followed by the first hot meal service.

The crew also distributed Singapore’s arrival cards to those who needed them.

Ten hours on the plane was a long time and I needed to occupy myself.

First I re-read the in-flight magazine cover-to-cover while flying over the Tasman.

After that I read up on the other parts of NZ which I could go next time. (Provided if Jetstar has another similar promotion.)

There programming on the overhead screens was quite interesting throughout the flight.

It also showed the movie How Do You Know? which seemed quite bland.

I preferred the one that was uploaded in my iPod.

Being awake on the flight I could observe the service (or the lack thereof).

The crew disappeared after the first hot meal service and didn’t emerge until hours later.

When it was close to Singapore’s lunch time, we pressed the bell for assistance and the crew took ages to appear.

The Japanese air-crew was apologetic that hot meals would only be available two hours before landing and suggested that we could get some snacks from them in 10 minutes’ time.

So we used our last 30 NZD to buy these to share instead.

After seven hours we were still three hours away from our destination.

By then the trash bin near the water dispenser was filled with used paper cups but the crew didn’t seem to notice.

As promised another hot meal service was performed around two hours out of Singapore.

However it was at quite an awkward timing for us so we didn’t check the hot meals out.

While flying over the Riau islands the captain made an announcement saying that our landing might be delayed for quite some time due to “rain in northern Singapore.”

In the end the delay wasn’t as lengthy as I had afraid but our expected time of arrival was already 30 minutes later than scheduled due to headwind.

Finally after a loooooooong time…

The landing was smooth but the aerobridge took some time to be connected.

SIN was buzzing as usual and the lines to enter Singapore were long.

Luckily we were able to use the automated gates and were at the duty-free shop in no time.

Even after we were done with our purchases, our luggage still hadn’t appeared at the carousel.

After quite a lengthy wait, it finally appeared but with a jammed handle.

One of the ladies working at the CIAS counter attended to our issue and filed a report.

Their service was swift; someone collected the luggage the next day and returned it repaired one day after.

Good job indeed!

Pt I: Prologue
Pt II: Long Haul LCC
Pt III: Rotten Eggs
Pt IV: Volcanos
Pt V: Animals & Auckland
Pt VI: 3K 402
Pt VII: Epilogue

Bleah. Online check-in wasn’t available on this flight.

Since I didn’t pay for seat allocation, it meant that I had to arrive early to check in.

I managed to negotiate an hour and a half early off work and scuttled back home for a shower before arriving at Changi T1 at around 6pm.

We joined the short but not very fast-moving queue.

Four counters were open to passengers of the evening’s three Jetstar flights: my 3K 401 to AKL, JQ 8 to MEL at 21:00 and JQ 58 to DRW at 22:10.

An additional counter was dedicated to Jetstar’s StarClass passengers.

The agent took her time checking the three of us in but we still had plenty to do dinner at the basement food court.

Passing through immigration was a breeze and T1 was buzzing as always.

Our plane just landed when we arrived at Gate D36.

In fact we got to see the arriving passengers departing the plane.

While watching the gate filled up with my fellow passengers, my sister and I logged on to SIN’s free WiFi and did some last minute surfing before our long flight.

The free WiFi is probably the best thing in SIN (among lots of things) and there are even computer terminals for passengers who don’t have the devices to tap on it.

Then it was time to board.

We were allocated 47 D, E & F so no window for me.

Luckily 47 G remained empty although 80% of the plane was filled.

To be honest I was quite impressed with the amount of leg space available considering I was flying on a LCC.

However the cleanliness was kinda questionable with the flight being a turnaround.

Let’s see what were in the seat pocket.

The flight took off almost half an hour after schedule.

Route: SIN – AKL
Flight no.: 3K 401
STD: 19:50
STA: 09:55
Distance traveled: 5225 miles/ 8409 km
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200

Although the plane is Australian-registered, the crew were all Singaporeans.

The arrangement is quite controversial due to the differences in the aviation safety standards and labour costs between the two countries.

Anyway from my observation the crew weren’t really smiley throughout the flight.

Not long after take-off they went about peddling the rental of inflight entertainment units for 15 AUD.

Headphones were also available for 3 AUD and they could be re-used for all other Jetstar flights.

From time to time there would be my favorite programming.

Soon after sales/rental of IFE units, hot meal service (buy on-board) started.

I didn’t get anything as I was still full from my earlier dinner.

I was also trying to get used to NZ time and attempted to sleep.

The extra space afforded by the empty seat allowed us to stretch out a bit more but my sleep was fitful at best.

Woke up two hours outside Auckland and found myself…

Couldn’t get back to sleep so ended up watching this on my iPod instead.

I didn’t get to finish it though because the last part of the video was corrupted.

Didn’t really matter since I had watched it countless times already.

The second hot meal service was performed somewhere over Tasman Sea.

We discovered that there was a water dispenser in the middle of the plane and filled up our bottles with it.

Finally after almost 10 hours of flight…

Verdict? Premium travel it ain’t but no complaints with the price and relative comfort.

Pt I: Prologue
Pt II: Long Haul LCC
Pt III: Rotten Eggs
Pt IV: Volcanos
Pt V: Animals & Auckland
Pt VI: 3K 402
Pt VII: Epilogue

Truth to be told, New Zealand is never high on the my list of places-to-visit.

Somehow western countries possess neither the raw energy nor the romanticism which the edgy ones have. (Read India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos etc)

Its location at the far-flung corner of the world means that getting there is never going to be cheap.

And since I’m no adrenaline junkie, extreme activities such as skydiving or bungy (which NZ is famous for) hold little attraction for me.

Hence when Jetstar announced last June that it would fly to Auckland from Singapore from 17 March 2011 onwards, it barely registered a blip on my deal-seeking radar.

Several weeks before the inaugural flight Jetstar launched another promotion.

This time it had my attention.

The dummy booking revealed the price which was too sweet to resist.

Immediately I sat down and looked at the calender.

This year’s Vesak Day falls on Tuesday so I could squeeze in a long weekend trip if I took the Monday off.

Before any rational thoughts took over, I booked my ticket.

And both my mom and sis succumbed to my persuasion and joined me on the flights as well.

The damage to my credit card?

All of 492.78 SGD.