TRIP REPORT: Back from Thailand on Tigerair (Tigerair A320)

Chiang Mai to Singapore with Tigerair, Singapore’s largest low-cost carrier

FOREWORD

This trip report is dedicated to all my team members who flew up north with me to Chiang Mai, local church 

members at Brighton Abundant Life Church (Chiang Mai), Pastors, ministry leaders, and team leaders.

BACKGROUND

This trip report will cover Tigerair’s (Tiger Airways) A320 service from Chiang Mai to Singapore, as I travelled with a group of friends from my church up to Chiang Mai for the purpose of serving God and his people in Thailand.  Tigerair is a Low-Cost Carrier (widely referred to as a ‘budget airline’) based in Singapore and has recently earned itself the right to be branded as Singapore’s largest Low-Cost Carrier.

I did not have any expectations prior to the first leg up north from Singapore to Chiang Mai as I have not travelled on a Low-Cost Carrier since 2010. This trip report will only cover the inbound flight.

DEPARTURE DAY

After a sumptuous lunch at a local restaurant on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, we hopped onto another Songthaew for the 20min shuttle to the airport. Traffic is generally congestion-free in this city, if you compare it to Bangkok for example. The airport is divided into two concourses, with the South Concourse serving mainly international flights and the Northern Concourse serving domestic flights.

However, there was a centralised check-in facility in the middle of the airport. Much alike Phuket International Airport, there is an initial round of security check before you enter the airport terminal, where you will have your baggage tagged with a pink sticker indicating prior inspection.

We then proceeded to the check-in counters to have our bags checked-in and tagged. A window seat was requested and the check-in agent duly obliged. 21F was issued for yours truly and soon everyone else had their boarding passes too.

AIRSIDE

Airside and landside facilities at Chiang Mai International Airport are located on different floors, with landside located downstairs and airside upstairs. Security and immigration was a breeze at this airport, as compared to my previous experiences at Los Angeles and Phuket, partly due to the lack of huge aircraft like 747s and A380s.

Security was standard (shoes on, laptops/iPads off). Unlike Singapore Changi Airport, there was no ‘holding pen’ or enclosed gates for passengers to gather before the flight.

FLIGHT DETAILS

Flight Route: Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX/VTCC) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN/WSSS)

Flight: TR2177

Aircraft Type: Airbus A320-232

Aircraft Registration: 9V-TAF 

Gate at Origin: Gate 9

Gate at Destination: Gate E6

Cabin: Economy

Seat: 21F, later changed to 28F

Cabin load factor: 67%

Scheduled Flight Duration: 3:05

Actual Flight Duration: 2:47

FLIGHT PROPER :)

Boarding was called 30mins before scheduled departure at 1610 local time. Passengers who purchased Tigerair’s ‘Board Me First’ add-on were allowed to board prior to the other passengers, ensuring sufficient space for their hand-carry baggage. I counted less than a handful of passengers who utilised this service.

My boarding pass was checked against my passport and soon I was down a warm and stuffy jet bridge leading on to 9V-TAF, the aircraft operating the flight back to Singapore.

I was greeted at the door by one of the four cabin crew on this three hour sector and directed down the aisle to my seat. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the cabin as I looked down the aisle. It looked worn and tired and its old-school cushioned seats lacked the elegance of leather seats found on other Tigerair birds. I also discovered that seats had outrageous defects.

Good-enough seat pitch 

I proceeded to my assigned seat at 21F, nine rows ahead of the last row on this aircraft. A check on SeatGuru confirmed a narrow 29” seat pitch, barely enough even for Asian men. It was hard to imagine this aircraft plying intra-Australia routes as Tigerair Australia. Thankfully, there was enough space for me to stow my hand-carry under the seat in front of me despite the narrow seat pitch/width.

The “Cabin crew, all passengers aboard, arm doors and cross check” cue was given at 1620, 10mins before departure time. This got me a little excited as I began to entertain the thought of an early arrival into SIN. Safety demo began two minutes later and concluded at 1629.

Our technical crew then came on the microphone in an attempt to inform us of our flight route, cruising altitude, flight duration etc. However, due to her thick European accent, most of us were left wondering whether or not it was an attempt to annoy us with the frequent “ze” and “uh”s.

We were left sitting on the tarmac for a good eight minutes. Pushback began at 1637 and we lined up to face south for a departure to the north. Both engines spooled up and we started our taxi down the perimeter runway at 1639, bare on-time.

Chiang Mai International Airport is a single-runway aerodrome, with its only runway in a north-south direction. On this particular day, the wind sock was showing gusts almost perpendicular to the direction of the runway, of which I anticipated a challenging take-off roll for our technical crew. Also, Chiang Mai International Airport is known for poor visibility all year round due to smog and haze. Being situated in a valley, between a bustling city to the east and high hills to the west, added to the thrill prior to departure.

At precisely 1645, we lined up on the runway and started our take-off roll. I was able to get some good shots of the city during the initial climb out of the airport.

The seatbelt sign was switched off 10mins later and I migrated toward the aft of the aircraft, before finding plenty of empty rows and settling in 28D/E/F.

The cabin crew were released from their jumpseats and started preparations for the buy-on-board dinner service. Passengers who had pre-booked meals with the airline received theirs first. The seat pocket contained a menu booklet, appropriately titled ‘tigerbites’, for passengers intending to purchase a meal or grab a snack to choose from. I must credit Tigerair for the variety offered in the menu; from simple potato crisps to old school peanuts to classic sandwiches and hearty meals, Tigerair has covered them all. Alcohol and soft drinks were also avalible for purchase, although at outrageous prices that would make one of my close friends flip. 

He would later convince me from buying a chicken sandwich simply because of its price.

Other contents in the seat pocket included an in-flight magazine titled ‘tigertales’, an in-flight shopping catalogue titled ‘tigershop’, and a really aesthetically-pleasing safety information card titled ‘tigersafety’. I made it a point to sweep everything away from the seat pocket at the end of the flight. These contents now call my room ‘home’ and my other in-flight memorabilia ‘family’.

Service concluded in 20mins and the crew went back to the aft galley to chit-chat among themselves for the remainder of the three hour flight.

With practically no in-flight entertainment, a few of us made it a point to sprawl out and get some rest for the flight. I also observed some of my friends using their time wisely and completing their schoolwork instead of indulging in the boring activity of staring out of the windows and watching the cloud formations. I adopted a lie-flat position which used covered the entire row, also enabling me to stare out at the window for extended periods. A couple of friends  joined me and we chatted about how fulfilling the trip has been for us.

Halfway through the flight, I went to the aft galley to check if there was any interesting scenery for me to write home/instagram. Although it was a typical sunset, I was amazed and in awe at how well the cloud formations and setting sun complemented each other.

I almost succumbed to temptation and purchased a sandwich for S$12. Thankfully, Rich was there and managed to convince me against it. Bless you, my brother.

I entertained more visitors at my ‘home’ and engaged in more conversations. Common topics included spiritual growth, aviation-related topics, the flight, Malaysia 370 (which at that point was still missing) and quite interestingly, at a point, resolution of misunderstandings, all at FL380.

Nothing much happened after and there were no more interesting incidents to report.

Cabin photo. Worn, tired and dirty seats.

DESCENT/ARRIVAL

The captain came on the microphone for the first time 25mins prior to arrival, informing us in clear and audible English of our imminent descent to Singapore Changi Airport. I expected an approach for either of the runways facing north (RWY 02C and RWY 02L) and thus switched over to the last row where the ‘A’ seat was free.

At row 30A/B/C, I discovered even more defects that I thought needed the urgent attention of Tigerair’s operations and service staff.

It was interesting to note that Tigerair technical crew would instruct their cabin crew to take their seats 10mins to touchdown. At Cathay Pacific, you would hear the “cabin crew, prepare for landing” announcement 30mins prior to arrival and 15mins at Singapore Airlines. I was able to shoot a video of our approach for RWY 02L, capturing the busy shipping lanes, East Coast Park, and landmarks like the Singapore Expo and ITE College East in the video.

Approach chart for RWY 02C. I was looking at the wrong chart as we were making an approach for RWY 02L instead.

The landing was almost perfect. Light flare before touchdown and appropriately-timed deployment of spoilers (those boards you see rise up when the aircraft lands). A long taxi from RWY 02L on the west side of the airport to our gate at Terminal 2 on the east side of the airport soon followed. We were assigned Gate E6 at Terminal 2, in between another Tigerair A320 and a Scoot 777-200.

Parking brakes were set and almost immediately after, passengers began crowding over the tiny aisle, in an attempt to retrieve their baggage from the overhead compartments. Before I left the aircraft, I decided to take a gamble and asked the cabin crew (in a polite manner, of course) if I could enter the cockpit to snap a few photos and have a chat with the technical crew.

“We will get back to you, just hold on a moment”

…

“Sure, the captain is fine with it. But we will have to wait for all the passengers to disembark before you can enter”

Those few words made the flight a lot better :)

I was welcomed into the cockpit by the duo of European technical crew. I had a brief chat with the English captain about the take-off from Chiang Mai, how wind and poor visibility affects landings/departures etc. You know, the usual aviation enthusiast stuff. I also found out that our First Officer was from Switzerland, which explains her accent when speaking on the microphone.

That's yours truly on the extreme right

I bade the cabin and technical crew farewell, and made my way out of the aircraft and jet bridge.

With that, my experience on TR2177 came to an end.

SIN always impressed me with its efficiency. With less than 3 people ahead of me in the biometric lands, I completed immigration in under 5 minutes was welcomed back to Singapore. 

CONCLUSION

I hope you have enjoyed my trip report. I must apologise for the lack of photos though, I promise more on my future flights. Tigerair is definitely a good Low-Cost Carrier to fly if you are cash-strapped or do not feel the need to splurge on other Full-Service Carriers to get you from point A to point B. The crew were also efficient and business-friendly, not the overly-friendly type you encounter on Cathay Pacific, or the rude and cold ones on Singapore Airlines.

Thank you.

TRIP REPORT: Intra-Asia with SilkAir (Silkair 737-800 Economy Class)

Singapore to Phuket and back with Singapore Airlines’ full-service subsidiary

BACKGROUND

This trip report will cover SilkAir’s Boeing 737-800 service to Phuket and back in economy class. The Singapore Airlines subsidiary announced its order for 23 737-800s and 31 737-8 MAXs back in August 2012, with the first 737-800 delivered in February 2014. SilkAir has been operating an all-Airbus fleet (comprising of A319s and A320s) for the past 15 years since the last 737-300 left the fleet in December 1999. I was particularly thrilled with the news on SilkAir’s 737 Next Gen order as I have been dying to fly on one of Boeing’s legendary narrow bodies, in a region dominated with LCCs, most operating Airbus’ boring A320s as their only aircraft type in their fleet. The opportunity came when I had to hop over to Phuket for a convention.

PLANNING              

Booking for this particular flight was completed a fortnight before the trip, through SilkAir’s rather user-friendly website.

SilkAir’s website was relatively easy to navigate and tickets were booked and confirmed in fewer than 5 mins.

DEPARTURE DAY

I am the type of traveller that loves to arrive extremely early at the airport to enjoy the abundance of airside amenities available at  SIN. With departure stated at 1:20pm in the afternoon, I called for a cab to fetch me from my apartment in Central Singapore at 10:30am in the morning. Rush-hour had ended about an hour ago, so it was a relatively smooth ride to the airport. I arrived at SIN’s Terminal 2 at 10:45am and proceeded to the MI check-in counters, which were adjacent to parent company SQ’s check-in facilities.

Online check-in was completed 48 hours before so it was just a case of ‘boarding pass collection’ and ‘checking-in of baggage’.

 AIRSIDE

As a testament to SIN’s efficiency, immigration was quickly (i.e: < 1 min) completed through one of the airport’s biometric gantries.

Singapore Changi is a rather huge airport in comparison to others in the region like Bangkok Suvarnabhumi or Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta, so there was plenty to do for passengers in transit. Airside operations were rather relaxed at that time of the day, giving Terminal 2 a calm outlook as I strolled through the terminal. I went to the gate to confirm whether the scheduled aircraft was operating my flight. 9V-MGA was parked there alongside her older and bigger cousin 9V-SYN, a 777-300, who was operating SQ912 to Manila from the adjacent gate that day. I thought spotting an aircraft with that registration was interesting (shout out to Yeening!), but boy was I wrong.

A walk over to Terminal 1 was necessary for an aviation enthusiast like me, due to the vast number of exotic airlines that call that terminal home base. However, I was left disappointed as the central apron was empty for a good 20mins, until a Cathay Pacific 747-467 pulled into gate D34.

Hong Kong's calling me again

Grabbed a latte from one of Changi Airport’s seven Starbucks stores and it was time to head back to Terminal 2 for boarding of my flight.

FLIGHT DETAILS

Flight Route: Singapore Changi Airport (SIN/WSSS) to Phuket International Airport (HKT/VTSB)

Flight: MI754

Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-8SA(WL)

Aircraft Registration: 9V-MGA (25th Anniversary livery)

Gate at origin: Gate E26

Gate at destination: Gate 4

Cabin: Economy

Seat: 18A

Cabin Load Factor: 80%

Scheduled flight duration: 1:45

Actual flight duration: 1:51

Changi Airport utilises a system where security would only be done at the boarding gate and not right after immigration, as it is at other major airports like HKIA and LAX. Still, it was a very quick process (shoes on, laptop and iPads off) and I was in the ‘holding pen’ in less than 5 mins. I was able to grab a shot of the sleeping beauty just before boarding.

FLIGHT PROPER :)

I was greeted at the door by one of the Leading Stewardess (clad in red, as compared to the green worn by the regular Flight Stewardess). It was interesting to note that there were 3 pilots and 7 flight attendants on this rather short hop to Phuket (we shall refer to them as TECHNICAL and CABIN crew in the rest of the trip report), which was understandable considering the need to accustom crew to the new aircraft.

I proceeded to my pre-selected seat at 18A, just above the flaps and 4 rows behind the exit row. Seat pitch was at a narrow 31” and quite sadly resembled a local Low-Cost Carrier’s seat configuration.  However, I have no complains about flying in this seat for a < 2hour flight, but would think twice before booking for flights to farther places in the future.

The regular announcements were made by both technical and cabin crew, with the former informing us of our flight route, weather at destination and cruising altitude, while the latter simply read from a script, welcoming us aboard this flight. No mention of this being a new aircraft was made at all.

Seat pocket contents.

Pushback was made at 1310 local time, 5 mins after scheduled time.

What beautiful winglets, eh?

While the aircraft was taxiing to the runway, I spotted a very interesting visitor on the active

Apologies for the bad photograph. A friend of mine at Changi Beach Park spotted her on her climb-out and took a much better photograph. His photo can be seen here: http://instagram.com/p/k87Nq_Glbq/

It was none other than B-16703, EVA Air’s 777-300ER in the Hello Kitty livery!

5mins later, my aircraft lined up on the active (runway 02C) and began her take-off roll. I was expecting to be thrown back against my seat but the take-off seemed sluggish and I could very easily sit up straight and look through the windows. I did not manage to take any photos from here on till the aircraft reached its filed cruising altitude. No, it was not because I was a law-abiding passenger, but because my camera died right after I took a photo of the Hello Kitty aircraft.

My device was revived due to the power ports available under the seat.

We levelled off at 37000 feet above sea level over Malaysian airspace, and lunch service began 35mins into the flight. The meal was served on a single tray and contained the entrée, fresh fruits, and a 130ml cup of water. A choice between ‘Yee-fu noodles with chicken in oyster sauce’ and ‘Fish with pilaf rice’ was available for Economy Class passengers, something I did not expect from SilkAir.

The noodles were tasty and definitely a good choice for an afternoon flight. The pilaf rice on the other hand, was not as tasty according to my dad. Lunch service concluded in 20mins and the cabin crew began collecting the trays from the front of the Economy Class cabin. The service did feel quite rushed considering the short duration of the flight, and the full meal service. Fly a Low-Cost Carrier and I assure it, the service will conclude in less than 10mins. The cart was pushed through the cabin after the tray collection and the cabin crew offered us tea or coffee after the meal. I was impressed with the efficiency of the SilkAir cabin crew.

A walk through the cabin was necessary for an aviation enthusiast like me. SilkAir’s 737-800s features Boeing’s Signature Sky Interior, which will ‘transform’ into different colours to suit the time of the flight. For my two hour hop to Phuket in the day, the cabin lights were blue for the full duration airborne.

DESCENT/ARRIVAL

The First Officer came on the microphone 35mins before scheduled arrival at Phuket, informing us of our imminent descent, and for the cabin crew to prepare the cabin for arrival. The cabin crew began their final checks through the cabin, collecting rubbish while thanking Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer members for flying with them. Thank you, Ms Flight Attendant.

The 15s landing video can be found here: http://instagram.com/p/lFF3rykUrj/

The landing at Phuket was a straight-in approach for runway 09, bringing us over the Andaman Sea before a sharp right turn to line up with the runway. The landing was rather rough, as you can see in the video. SilkAir 737 technical crew really need more practice, be it in the simulator or on actual flights.

With that, the flight came to an end. The aircraft used up almost three-quarters of the 3000m runway, which meant that we had to taxi for a good 5 mins to the gate assigned.

CONCLUSION

As far as I’m concerned, SilkAir is definitely a good carrier to fly for short/regional hops, such as to Phuket, Chiang Mai or destinations on the Chinese Mainland. Its new 737-800 product really impressed me, bringing a much needed change to the regular A320s operated by Low-Cost Carriers and Full-Service Carriers alike.