I like big planes, and I cannot lie. (You other fliers can’t deny.)

Singapore Airlines SQ231/232
Sydney – Singapore and return
Airbus A380-800

The Deal: This wasn’t a promotional fare or anything like that; I booked it using Velocity points (Singapore Airlines is a partner in Virgin Australia’s frequent flyer program). Singapore Airlines’ own website is advertising SYD-SIN return fares starting from $651.

The Schedules: Flights from Sydney to Singapore take about eight hours and Singapore Airlines has 4 departures from Sydney daily in addition to serving other Australian ports, so you can choose the flight that suits you. In my case I opted for the 11am departure time on the way over (arriving in Singapore at about 5pm local time), and a 12:45am departure from Singapore that would land me in Sydney at about 10am.

The flights were specifically chosen for aviation-geek-related reasons, as I wanted to fly on the A380. If you’re staying in Singapore the 11am departure is quite convenient; its afternoon arrival time means you can access Singapore’s MRT train system and travel cheaply to your accommodation, all in daylight hours.

As an aside, my fare from Changi Airport to Bugis station was SGD$2.30 ($2.26), but you’ll need to hit up an ATM at the airport and break one of the notes; the ticket vending machines don’t take anything bigger than a SGD$5 note.

The Airport: It’s difficult to write about a trip to Singapore without writing about Changi Airport. Voted the world’s best airport for the last six years in a row, Singapore-Changi is clean, efficient and easy to navigate, and has dozens of affordable options for food and drink both before and after the security and immigration checkpoints.

Singapore Airlines uses Terminal 3 for flights to and from Australia. Like Kansai International Airport in Osaka, T3 at Changi has most of its food and drink options before you clear immigration and security checkpoints; downstairs from the check-in area is a retail level with a food court offering local food, including halal and vegetarian options (to cater for Singapore’s Malay and Indian communities), as well as the usual McDonald’s/Subway/Starbucks options.

As with the train fares, Changi Airport’s food options also don’t seem to price-gouge visitors; you can settle in for a Hainanese chicken rice for about $5. It’s a little more expensive than eating in the various hawker markets in the city proper, but it’s not outrageously marked up providing you avoid alcoholic drinks. Even then, this isn’t the airport taking advantage of the weary traveller; Singapore’s ‘sin tax’ means drinking is expensive, especially if you want to hit the Singapore Slings before your departure. (Drinking before long-haul flights is not good for you for a variety of reasons, not just cost.)

Once you clear immigration- a mostly-automated process that barely takes any time at all- you can hit the duty-free outlets, or visit some of Changi’s more unique facilities. There is a free movie theatre showing mostly family-friendly fare, or at least not obviously controversial films; the schedule included Murder On The Orient Express and Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle. There’s also a tropical butterfly garden you can wander through, although I was there at night so opted against it. (It was open, though.)

There are still restaurants, bars and coffee shops available after immigration, although if you’re after a wider choice you should probably take advantage of the restaurants before you pass through the checkpoint. Security checkpoints are located at each gate, so you only have to do the Laptop Shuffle as you’re actually preparing to board- but note there are no toilets after the checkpoint, so go before you go.

Lounge Access: Singapore Airlines operates SilverKris Lounges at Sydney airport and Singapore Changi airport, which you can access if you have the appropriate frequent-flyer status level (KrisFlyer Gold or higher, Velocity Gold or higher, or Star Alliance Gold). I’m only Velocity Silver at the time of writing so I didn’t check out the lounges. (Soon, though. Soon…)

The Aircraft: An Airbus A380, registration 9V-SKG, in service since 2008. Singapore Airlines was the first operator of the A380 when it was launched in 2007, so this particular plane would have been one of the first delivered. It does have the older version of Singapore’s Economy Class seats as of the time of writing; Singapore Airlines is revamping its Economy seats and in-flight entertainment and some aircraft flying to Sydney do have the new seats fitted.

The Seats: The older seats in Economy Class are pretty standard; a 32-inch pitch and 19 inches wide. The seat backs include a fold-out table and cup holder, as well as the entertainment remote and a 10-inch screen. At your feet is a hard adjustable footrest, and a pillow and blanket are supplied for use in flight. (The cabin did get a bit cold at times for this tropical creature, so this was much appreciated.)

Singapore Airlines’ A380 fleet aren’t all identical, with some having two Economy cabins- the main cabin is on the lower deck, while the upper deck has an additional 84 seats behind Business Class. The upper deck is a little more convenient if you need frequent access to the aisle or if you’re travelling as a couple; the layout means that you are never more than one seat away from the aisle, whereas on the lower deck passengers in the window seats are two seats away.

My seat (74A) is listed on SeatGuru as having reduced space for personal items; some window seats on the upper deck have additional storage space under your elbow, but the compartment next to me had a “no stowage” sign on it. You still have space at your feet as well as in the overhead compartments, and if you travel light- or don’t go too crazy on the duty-free shopping- it won’t be a problem in any case.

I also got a bit lucky on the flight home, with an empty seat next to me (so no neighbour to clamber over to access the aisle) and an empty seat behind (so I could fully recline to get a bit of sleep). I tend to be a light sleeper on planes, but here I did get enough shuteye to be at least functional the next day for my (multiple) connections home.

Entertainment: Just as the seats are getting upgraded, so too is KrisWorld, Singapore’s in-flight entertainment system. The new version has slightly larger screens with touchscreen functionality, as well as the ability to sync with the Singapore Airlines app on your phone so you can set playlists, use the phone as a second screen, and resume movies if you were halfway through when your last flight landed.

My flight still had the older version of KrisWorld, but that wasn’t a problem; the service has thousands of hours of entertainment available. The remote needed some firm presses on occasion to respond but otherwise worked fine, and there were no technical issues with picture or sound during the journey. There’s also a USB jack so you can play your own media on the screen, or charge your various devices while the aircraft is at cruising altitude.

New release movies included titles as recent as Black Panther, the complete (at least through Rogue One) Star Wars saga, 80s flicks like The Breakfast Club, plus Chinese and Bollywood libraries. There was even an eSports channel showing competitive Counter-Strike; specifically, the six-hour-long final from the 2018 Intel Extreme Masters World Championship, an event long enough to almost outlast the flight!

In-ear ‘bud’ headphones are supplied, or you can use your own if you have a two-prong airline adaptor.

Wi-Fi: Singapore’s A380s are equipped with Wi-Fi so you can access the internet in-flight; it is a paid service if you’re up the back, although there is a complimentary data allowance in Business and First Class. I figured I could spend 8 hours without the internet, so it was untested for this review.

Food and Drink: Each leg of the flight had two meals; the flight over had lunch and dinner, while the early-morning flight home had a small meal served on departure and breakfast as we approached Australia. The small meal was, basically, fish and chips- fried fish croquettes served with chips- but we are talking about a meal being served at 2am (remembering that the flight departed Singapore at 12:45am).

Breakfast was substantially more hearty, as one would expect, and was quite good. Each meal has a Western and Asian option available; the Asian breakfast option replaces the sausage and eggs with pan-fried yam cake and pork siew mai (a shrimp and pork dumpling). You can also pre-book vegetarian or other specialty meals with the airline before departing if needed.

Daytime flights also feature substantial meals; a beef goulash served at lunch, and spiral pasta with chorizo as a lighter ‘refreshment’ before landing. The goulash was perhaps a little salty but otherwise the meals were great; it would be interesting to return and try the Asian options on each menu.

Punctuality: No problems here. Despite the quoted 8-hour travel time both ways, both flights arrived ahead of schedule; indeed at Changi I had landed and cleared immigration before the scheduled arrival time. There was a slight hiccup at the Sydney end when I returned due to a delay in getting luggage off the plane, but the early landing made up for it and I remained on schedule.

The Bottom Line: Skytrax has rated Singapore Airlines as one of the best three airlines in the world for the past six years running, and even in Economy it isn’t hard to see why. Comprehensive entertainment options, great service from the cabin crew (who were always courteous and responsive, and were extremely quick to complete meal service), flights departing and arriving on time, and modern aircraft made this a great option for a quick flight to Singers, and I’m curious to try them in the premium cabins (once I rebuild my Velocity balance) or on longer flights.

By the way, the Singapore Girl Funko Pop figure in the photo is real and you can order one from Singapore Airlines’ KrisShop. Shipping costs mean it may just be cheaper to book a flight and pick it up on board… but then, who needs an excuse to travel?

All prices are in Australian dollars unless otherwise noted, and were correct at the time of publication. Fares were purchased from the airline’s website; the airline was not notified that I would be writing a review and did not provide consideration.