Starting a series of trip reports with an airline and route I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Singapore Airlines, though now a giant of the industry, was once an upstart carrier battling against long-established heavyweights such as Japan Airlines and Pan Am in the Far East. Almost from the moment the airline began long-haul operations, it had its eyes on service to the United States. Unfortunately, in the age before the A340-500, 787-9 Dreamliner, and A350-900, that meant that there had to be a technical stop somewhere. Even the 747-400, A380-800, and 777-300ER can’t make the journey westbound from California non-stop, or at least not with a commercially-viable passenger load. Thus, the airline pioneered a number of Fifth Freedom routes, with intermediate stops in Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo, taking advantage of not only travelers to and from Singapore and the States, but also those traveling between those stops and Singapore or the West Coast. Of these Fifth Freedom routes, the only one still in operation is the SIN-NRT-LAX route, operated by the 747-200B, 747-300, 747-400, A380-800, and since 2017, the 777-300ER.
Server: Solo
Airline: Singapore Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Origin: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California (LAX)
Destination: Narita International Airport, Narita, Japan (NRT)
Flight Number: SQ11
Route: KLAX-RJAA
Seat: 17A (Business)
Time En Route: 11 Hours 41 Minutes
Waiting to board on a cloudy afternoon at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. This time of year, it’s increasingly cloudy more often than not on the coast.
Pushing back from Gate 154. We’re in Singapore’s legendary business class for today’s trip across the Pacific, and while it’s not as luxurious as the 5-star penthouse suite up in first class, it’s still an industry leader in typical Singapore Airlines fashion.
Taking a look at the menu before takeoff as we taxi to Runway 24L. The grilled grain-fed Black Angus tenderloin is looking like an excellent idea for lunch. Rising in the background are the Santa Monica Mountains, forming the southern edge of the San Fernando Valley.
Powering airborne off of Runway 24L for Narita with condensation flickering in the engines. The West Remote Stands are fairly empty today, except for a Philippine Airlines 777-300ER and a Copa Airlines 737 MAX 9. The Delta and Qantas maintenance hangars are much busier, with a brace of 757-200s, an A321neo, a 767-400ER, and an A350-900 with the extended winglets at the former and an A380-800 and a 787-9 Dreamliner at the latter.
We’ve reached our cruising altitude over the San Joaquin Valley, somewhere around Fresno. Our flight path is going to take us through California, Oregon, and Washington, reaching the Pacific at the far northwest of the latter, over Alaska and the Bering Sea, and finally down to Japan. Such a flight requires fuel, not only for the aircraft but also for passengers, many of whom have things to do and places to be in Tokyo and Singapore, and we’ve decided that that Black Angus is looking like a great choice for exactly that.
Afternoon somewhere over Alaska. That steak really did the trick, though it may be about to send us into a food coma for at least part of the remainder of the flight. Time to check out just how comfortable the business class seats are as beds.
Descending into Narita at dusk. Unsurprisingly, the seats made extremely comfortable beds, and we slept from the eastern end of the Aleutians all the way to Honshu.
Landing on Runway 16R at NRT after a parallel approach with a Cathay Cargo 747-400ERF landing on 16L
Taxiing to the terminal. Narita is a hive of activity this evening, with a number of widebodies to or from North America, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East either taxiing out for takeoff or taxiing in after arriving.
Briefly deplaned at Gate 35 in order to clear customs before reboarding for the final leg down to Singapore