I’m sorry for being a bit MIA over the past month. Many who follow me on LinkedIn may know that I now work for Virgin Atlantic in their revenue management department (I’m around three months in), which I’ve absolutely loved so far. This came after I jumped ship from my startup career last November, and when I saw the job posting I felt it was a great fit, since I figured I probably should take every learning opportunity from how an airline works before continuing to write, comment, and consult on how the passenger experience will be uplifted.
Out of conscience I’ll avoid writing about or reviewing Virgin Atlantic content during the course of my time here, including flight and lounge reviews – the formal terms and conditions regarding social media is “positive press only”, though I’ll just avoid writing about them for the sake of impartiality. The tone of this blog has always been constructive criticism, so I’ll continue to write about and review other airlines from a consumer perspective, with a view of how passengers can maximise their experience when flying these airlines.
With that in mind, I’m taking my first bit of annual leave at the end of next week, due to some commitments I have in Asia (including at home). I wanted to share my itinerary, as I’m quite excited about it! It’ll be “business as usual” at The Alviator, where there’ll be a first-impressions overview of some of the key flights I take, followed by a full review in the months to come.
I’m flying from London to Madrid in Iberia’s A330 business class
To start my review trip with a bang, I’m positioning to Madrid in Iberia’s A330 business class. Iberia and British Airways currently both operate longhaul aircraft between London and Madrid, and the timing worked best for me to fly on one of Iberia’s aircraft.
Iberia’s longhaul aircraft rotation between London and Madrid is long-standing, and I actually flew them in 2021 – however, I got relegated to sharing a “honeymoon” seat with a stranger last minute, due to the airline’s terrible IT. I’ve got a “true” window seat booked this time round, so here’s to hoping I actually get to keep that this time. I’m also curious to see what the airline has to offer in a non-pandemic context on this shorthaul route.
My relationship with Iberia isn’t great at the moment, so hopefully I get to keep my window seat this time
I’ll then be positioning from Madrid to Paris (the reason I’m flying through Madrid is because the taxes are much lower when redeeming an award ticket out of there, so I’m saving money on the itinerary).
I’m then flying from Paris to Singapore via Colombo in SriLankan Airlines business class
This is a segment I’ve been looking forward to for a while. One of the Oneworld airlines with the most abundant award space between Europe and Asia is SriLankan Airlines, so I’d be bereft in my duty as an aviation blogger not to try it out for myself and see what it’s like. I’ll be connecting forwards to Singapore, in their A330-200 business class (with forward-facing fully-flat beds).
I remember when SriLankan Airlines first launched their reverse herringbone business class seats in 2015, and they looked brand-new, with rave reviews out there on the internet. It’s been a hot minute since these seats were released now, though the airline does price quite cheaply for flights to Asia, especially relative to other carriers given the latest situation in the Middle East.
I’m excited to fly SriLankan Airlines A330 business class
Unrelated to this, I’d last-minute changed plans to fly out of Paris Charles de Gaulle. While I’m excited to see the refurbished Terminal 1, the main reason was to shoot my shot at sampling the Qatar Airways lounge there, which is allegedly reopen (despite it disappearing from Qatar Airways’ own website). I originally was scheduled to fly out of Frankfurt’s new Terminal 3, though figured I’d wait until a more opportune time – given that the Oneworld lounge situation isn’t great at the airport right now, and British Airways also flies out of that terminal (which means that I’ll get to try their non-Schengen lounges before a BA flight).
Paris CDG isn’t known for its efficiency, so here’s to hoping I actually get some time in Terminal 1, regardless of whether the Qatar Airways lounge is open or not.
I’m then going to Denpasar in Saudia’s 787 business class
In March 2025, Saudia launched a flight from Jeddah to Denpasar via Singapore, with Singapore to Denpasar being a fifth-freedom segment. There’s actually incredible SkyTeam representation on the Singapore to Denpasar segment now – KLM has long operated the route, and Garuda Indonesia operates the route as well.
There was award space on the route one-way in business class for 21,000 miles, so I was sure to give it a try during a couple of free days in Singapore.
I’m excited to fly Saudia business class to Indonesia
While I would’ve loved to compare Saudia and KLM’s fifth-freedom routes head-to-head, sadly KLM didn’t have saver award space for the routes that I would’ve wanted at the time of booking. I’m flying Singapore Airlines’ 787-10 economy class back to Singapore in order to catch my next flight, and will try KLM on a future itinerary.
Then I’ll be heading to Hong Kong in Cathay Pacific’s A330 business class
From Singapore, I’ll be headed to Hong Kong, where I’ve redeemed a shorthaul segment in Cathay Pacific’s A330 business class. I’m flying the last (non-redeye) flight out of the day from Singapore, which will give me a chance to sample the British Airways, Qantas and Qatar Airways lounges at Changi Airport’s Terminal 1, before I make my way home out of Changi’s Terminal 4.
While I review Cathay Pacific’s business class often, the last time I reviewed their flat-bed A330 business class was in 2016. In reality I was hopeful that the airline’s Aria Studio would be flying on the Hong Kong-Singapore flagship route by then, though that won’t be the case.
I’ll be flying Cathay Pacific’s 15 (!) year old A330 business class product
Lastly I’ll be flying Singapore Airlines’ A380 business class and A350 premium economy
As the last itinerary I booked, I’ll be flying Singapore Airlines’ premium economy from Hong Kong to London Gatwick. The reason I’m flying to Gatwick is because the timings worked out better for me to fly Singapore Airlines’ A350, which I’ve not flown before.
From Hong Kong to Singapore I decided I’d upgrade to business class, so that’s what I’ll be flying. While I’ve flown Singapore Airlines’ A350 and 737 MAX business class, I’ve never flown their A380 business class, so am keen to try that.
Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class
While I flew Singapore Airlines’ premium economy in 2017, I’ve never flown them longhaul, so I’m keen to see how they perform relative to other premium economy products out there.
I wonder whether Singapore Airlines’ premium economy could be one of the world’s best
With that in mind, it’s about time to re-review the Singapore SilverKris lounge and United Club at Hong Kong Airport, since they re-opened after the pandemic. So I’m planning to do that.
Conclusion
After a few months on the ground, I’m ready to embark on my next review trip, where I’ll be flying Iberia, SriLankan Airlines, Saudia, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines business class, as well as Singapore Airlines’ premium economy. With an increased focus on premium economy travel, I am excited to do a bit more business class flying as well, which will be a nice change.
I hope you’ll find these reviews useful, and do let me know whether there’s anything anywhere that I should check out!
Is there a review that’ll be particularly useful to you? Anything in particular I should look out for?
Best wishes on your upcoming trip; sounds exciting
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