SQ378 SIN- MXP – BCN

Depart: 23:45
Arrive: 08:30 (+1)
Aircraft: Airbus 350-900

Flying during Covid-19 period was really stressful because there were many documents to check. Following the opening up of borders and the launch of Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) in Singapore, we were deciding between a trip to South Korea or to Europe. Since South Korea has such lengthy requirements and countless PCR tests, we decided to fly to Europe instead which was more lax.

My first leg was from Singapore to Barcelona, via Milan.

I had successfully bidded for the upgrade to premium economy, but for business class it was not successful. At least I get some additional leg space for the long journey to Europe even though I can’t have a fully-flat bed. Check in at Changi Terminal 3 was super fast because of the dedicated counter for premium economy guests, which is shared with business class passengers. They checked my Passenger locator form for Spain and also my vaccination certificate, but there was no need for a Pre-departure test because Spain did not request for it. Within 15 minutes, I had my boarding pass and was already in the departures lounge.

First call of business, is to visit the airline lounge and using my Priority Pass, I could enter the SATS Premier Lounge. It was quite full and there was a bit of a wait for the passengers in front of me.

Next door, the Silverkris Lounge was also quite packed, with the Business and First class passengers of Singapore Airlines or its equivalent Star Alliance partners.

How about some champagne Brut to start off the night?

There was a wide range of liquor at the SATS Premier Lounge, from red wine to gin to vodka and whiskey. There were many passengers waiting for their late night flight, and also families with kids in tow. Most people left a seat empty between each other for safe distancing measures.

At the airside terminal, it was great to see that the crowds are slowly streaming back to the airport and that travel is resuming back to normal. During the months of Covid where many of the flights were cancelled, the terminal was like a ghost town with more airport staff than flying passengers.

About half an hour before flight, I slowly made my way to the gate. It was the same gate as the flight headed to Moscow. The security checks were uniform for the both flights and we could go to any security scanner. I remember these gate lounges, A1 to A8 would serve the A380 flights which require more boarding space and wider aerobridge.

Instead of rushing to board the flight, the people waited calmly at their seats until their row numbers were called by the airport staff for boarding. This ensured that people are spaced out. Masks had to be worn throughout the flight.

It was heartwarming to walk down the aerobridge again and the aisle of the plane, after a long period of not flying for close to 2 years.

I regretted not selecting my seats properly after I had gotten the upgrade. I did not see the seat map carefully and thought it was a 2-2 seating for Premium economy class. Instead, it was 2-4-2 and I ended up in the middle seat of the 4 seater, which was really inconvenient. I am a plane spotter, so I really missed a window seat.

Even though it was a late night departure, supper or rather a late dinner meal was served. I chose the chicken breast with orzo pasta and greens instead of the Asian option.

In support of the local industry, ice cream from SATS was served. It was a delicious flavour of salted caramel. Last time, Haagen Dazs used to be served on SQ flights, but I think this new flavour is not bad too.

Even though I had some drinks at the lounge just now, I ordered the typical Singapore Sling, which was prepared by the stewardess. It also helped me to sleep better subsequently.

Midway through the flight, it was way past my bedtime, but as I was really so excited to be flying once again, I found it hard to fall asleep. I could only stare in awe at the world map was we were flying over Asia, Middle East etc, en route to Europe.

2 hours before landing, which is around 4am local time, breakfast trolley came rolling through the cabin and the cabin lights were switched on. I chose the Asian breakfast, which is nasi lemak that comes with otah, eggs, ikan bilis and chicken. It was odd to have the bread roll on the side. The coconut rice was so fragrant and delicious, looks like I will not be eating Asian food in the coming 3 weeks.

There was a short stopover of 1 hour in Milan. Passengers bound for Milan disembarked while the rest of us stayed on the plane. I thought that we had to disembark and clear immigration too, to enter the Schengen area since Italy is the first port of call. However, the airport staff boarded the aircraft and made a checklist of all the passengers continuing on the journey. Since the staff were busy and I did not want to be rooted to my premium economy seat with 3 other passengers besides me, I went to check out the business class seats. Really loving the legspace and wish I had the luxury of flying in business class.

Soon, the plane was checked and refuelled. Apparently, no new passengers are joining on the second leg as it is not a fifth freedom flight. Basically, the remaining passengers on the flight would fly to Barcelona. I decided to space myself out and chose an empty window seat for the remaining flight, which would take 1h 30 minutes.

Looking out of the window, it was a foggy and cold morning in Milan, and I saw this Neos plane parked beside ours. There was also an Air Senegal plane that arrived shortly after. I hope to visit Senegal one day!

For many years Neos has been working with Costa Cruises to transport passengers from Italy to Dubai, the Caribbean, and northern Europe at Costa’s ships’ departure and arrival points.

Due to the late takeoff from Milan Malpensa, we arrived in Barcelona around 09:00.

There were two flights arriving at the same time, our flight SQ378 and another one from New York, so there was a slightly long queue at immigration. They stamped my passport and after showing my health declaration and vaccination, I cleared the health check, picked up my baggage from the carousel and soon I was on the airport bus towards the city. It was quite a breeze to enter Spain! After 14 hours plus on the flight from Singapore, I was quite tired and needed a place to rest.