shikhargpt SQTalk PPS Club



Join Date: 15-Feb-2012 Location: Singapore Posts: 307

Air India Flight 381 (Boeing 787-8): SIN to DEL Background: This is actually a long outstanding report. I flew this back in mid-November, and its been over 2 months. Initially I was quite busy after coming back, and then I just forgot about this. But I was clearing up my PC and found all these pictures that I'd taken for the purpose of doing a TR. So here it is, my first TR.



Flight Details



Flight Number: AI/AIC 381

Departure Airport: Singapore Changi (SIN, WSSS)

Scheduled Time of Departure: 0820

Arrival Airport: Indira Gandhi International, Delhi (DEL, VIDP)

Schedule Time of Arrival: 1130

Cabin Class: Y



When I booked the flight, the cheapest one available was Air India, plus it was on a 788 (a type I had not flown before). The decision was between SQ and their A388 or AI, and eventually the wallet won out. Unfortunately, AI381 departs at 0820, rather than the 1625 timing of SQ406. This meant, that after coming home at 2230 the previous night, I had to get up by 0500 and be out of the house by 0545. Nothing that I couldn't handle, but it was a Saturday. No fair. Thankfully my seats were booked while purchasing the ticket so I would get my seat of choice even if I was late.







The sun rose early that day, preventing me from catching any sleep even if I wanted to. Not that it mattered; my sleep evaporated the moment we left the TPE for the PIE which took us past 02L. Instantly awake.







At 0645 in the morning, T2 was pretty quiet, especially the Air India counters. Most of my fellow passengers had checked in hours ago, and were in the waiting area already. No matter though, there wasn't too much luggage and my seat was already booked. It did shorten the time I had to play around in T2 though, but I really love sleep.







Once I'd got my boarding pass, I hurried past the immigration counters so as to be able to look at at least some of the Christmas decor before boarding closed.















The decorations were really nice, but alas it was time to board very quickly and my gate was at the end of the pier, just before Terminal 1 began. Plus, I wanted to take pictures of the 787 too.



When I arrived, I realised that most of the passengers had boarded, so I quickly sent my carry-on for the X-Ray check. Once that was done, I collected my items and whipped out the camera again. There she was.



Aircraft Information

Registration: VT-ANK

Aircraft: Boeing 787-8

Engines: 2x GEnx-1B

Config: C18, Y238

Delivered: 19 Dec 2012

Remarks: Charleston built







What a beautiful aircraft, though the radome looks awkward on any airline that isn't Nok Air or NokScoot - it looked too much like a beak for my taste.







Hurriedly snapping another shot in the morning sun, I proceeded to board the aircraft.



The cabin was quite full, and the FAs were ushering people to their seat quickly, so I wasn't able to take any pictures while entering.







Once seated, I snapped the customary legroom shot, and there was a lot of it on the 2 year old AI 788. The seats felt plush as well, and the colour scheme was very warm and vibrant. +1 for the interior and seats.







After settling down, I turned my attention to the windows which were set at minimum brightness. Really cool technology, which was unfortunately not implemented in the A350. They are much bigger than other widebodies.











Unfortunately, the brightness control buttons were rather worn out on my row, though you cannot blame Air India for that. Once the comparison shots were out of the way, I decided to look around.



The seat pitch was very generous as well, and the not-so-dense 3-3-3 layout was very welcome too.



Continued in the next post (2 of 4) This is actually a long outstanding report. I flew this back in mid-November, and its been over 2 months. Initially I was quite busy after coming back, and then I just forgot about this. But I was clearing up my PC and found all these pictures that I'd taken for the purpose of doing a TR. So here it is, my first TR.When I booked the flight, the cheapest one available was Air India, plus it was on a 788 (a type I had not flown before). The decision was between SQ and their A388 or AI, and eventually the wallet won out. Unfortunately, AI381 departs at 0820, rather than the 1625 timing of SQ406. This meant, that after coming home at 2230 the previous night, I had to get up by 0500 and be out of the house by 0545. Nothing that I couldn't handle, but it was a. No fair. Thankfully my seats were booked while purchasing the ticket so I would get my seat of choice even if I was late.The sun rose early that day, preventing me from catching any sleep even if I wanted to. Not that it mattered; my sleep evaporated the moment we left the TPE for the PIE which took us past 02L. Instantly awake.At 0645 in the morning, T2 was pretty quiet, especially the Air India counters. Most of my fellow passengers had checked in hours ago, and were in the waiting area already. No matter though, there wasn't too much luggage and my seat was already booked. It did shorten the time I had to play around in T2 though, but I really love sleep.Once I'd got my boarding pass, I hurried past the immigration counters so as to be able to look at at least some of the Christmas decor before boarding closed.The decorations were really nice, but alas it was time to board very quickly and my gate was at the end of the pier, just before Terminal 1 began. Plus, I wanted to take pictures of the 787 too.When I arrived, I realised that most of the passengers had boarded, so I quickly sent my carry-on for the X-Ray check. Once that was done, I collected my items and whipped out the camera again. There she was.What a beautiful aircraft, though the radome looks awkward on any airline that isn't Nok Air or NokScoot - it looked too much like a beak for my taste.Hurriedly snapping another shot in the morning sun, I proceeded to board the aircraft.The cabin was quite full, and the FAs were ushering people to their seat quickly, so I wasn't able to take any pictures while entering.Once seated, I snapped the customary legroom shot, and there was a lot of it on the 2 year old AI 788. The seats felt plush as well, and the colour scheme was very warm and vibrant. +1 for the interior and seats.After settling down, I turned my attention to the windows which were set at minimum brightness. Really cool technology, which was unfortunately not implemented in the A350. They are much bigger than other widebodies.Unfortunately, the brightness control buttons were rather worn out on my row, though you cannot blame Air India for that. Once the comparison shots were out of the way, I decided to look around.The seat pitch was very generous as well, and the not-so-dense 3-3-3 layout was very welcome too. Last edited by shikhargpt; 27th January 2015 at 05:55 AM ..