Many a traveler has faced the worst cases of today's airline experiences: flight delays, tarmac residencies, frequent cancellations and overall angst. But for those who travel to Thailand, Australia and Southeast Asia, those black clouds in the sky can have a silver, no, make that platinum, lining.

Its name is Singapore Airlines.

Often nicknamed Sing Air, Singapore Airlines claims to be the world's most awarded airline. Here are just four that it won in 2007: Airline of the Year, Best Overall Airline in the World, Best Economy Class in the World and Best In-Flight Entertainment. I give it the Best Mental Health Award for maintaining my sanity when I go to visit family in Singapore every year.

The door-to-door, nonstop flight from Newark to Singapore takes 18 hours, 20 hours on the return journey. At 10,371 miles, this is the world's longest scheduled commercial flight.

I've made this trip six times, three over and three back.

Flight SQ 21 rolls out of Newark every night at 11. It's an Airbus 340-500, powered by a Rolls-Royce Trent 553 Engine. There are 64 business class seats up front, with 12 of those first class. Seats are almost two feet wide and can extend into sleeper seats. And each seat has a large entertainment screen.

But for all I know, they could be flying kites up there beyond the curtains. I fly economy (they call it executive economy on this aircraft) with 117 seats in the other half of the plane. But with a special twist. I always request (and get) the same seat, 32C. It is in the First Cabin, an area about the size of a modest suburban living room, where because of some quirk of engineering there are three rows of two-three-two. Lavatories separate it from the remaining 14 rows in economy. First Cabin is private, quiet and cozy. I don't recall hearing coughers, snorers or babies.

All seats recline and have adjustable footrests, a nine-inch personal screen, an adjustable headrest with side-flap "ears," and an in-seat power supply for your computer, if you are so inclined. And, what a great idea: baby bassinet hooks are installed at some bulkheads and infants up to 12 months can stretch out in fold-up beds.

Advice: Remove your wristwatch. With all the changing time zones, you'll never know what time it is anyway. The shades are down, the night is timeless. Your every care will be attended to and all wishes will be granted. Sure, you can get stiff and antsy. It's up to you to bring a good book and take advantage of the music and television entertainment. The flight, however, is never boring.

As soon as I boarded, stowed my gear and sat down, I was offered my choice of champagne, juice or water. Really? And we're still on the ground? I chose bubbly and smiled. "Hey, this isn't gonna be bad a-tall," I said to myself.

Once airborne and level, serious beverage service begins. Sing Air was the first airline in the world to not charge passengers in economy for movies or alcohol. Sing Air services something like 73 cities in 38 countries around the world. A wine panel, led by Karen MacNeil, chairperson of Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, meets twice a year in Singapore, where they go through something like 800 bottles to make selections. Sing Air spends about $16.5 million per year on the wine program. Why so much? First Class alone goes through about 20,000 of premium wine and champagne per month, remarkable when you consider there are only 12 seats in first class.

Sing Air's economy meal service is a revelation. There are thousands of recipes in a central library. An international culinary panel has vetted every food, dish, ingredient, meal and place setting. Painstaking care has been invested in thoughtful plating, themes, china, flatware and linens. Yes, you get real knives and forks. Metal.

The meal service is more about entertainment because it gives passengers something to look forward to and serves to punctuate the long hours in the air.

Shortly after takeoff, a printed menu is presented with three choices of entree and vegetables. I usually go for something a bit Asian just to get into the mood. I didn't save any menus, but I have notes on a couple of meals that I really liked in my notebook: Thai-style green curry fish with veggies and rice; tortellini with cheese and mushrooms in cream sauce; marinated salmon with salad starter, pan-fried chicken in red wine jus; brunch of steamed glutinous rice with marinated chicken and black mushroom, pepper omelet with tomato and hash brown potatoes. There is always cheese and crackers, salad, roll and butter, pastry or ice cream, wine and coffee. Nine kinds of bread are on board every flight, and ethnic meals are served by advance request. On one flight the woman next to me ordered a fragrant Indian dinner. My clothes reeked of curry until they were washed.

Recipes are designed to compensate for the low humidity in the cabin, which can be about 7 percent to 15 percent at cruising altitude. In that circumstance, people can lose up to 40 percent of their ability to taste. Foods and wines that are boldly flavored and robust at ground level are muted in the air.

After dessert and coffee, I might watch a movie chosen from 80 or so selections. On one flight, I watched three, only because I missed them at home. But for most passengers, it's time put in earplugs, don an eye mask and stretch out with pillow, blanket and thick cotton socks. Because I stand at just five feet tall, leg room is never a problem for me.

As much as Americans love to be served, we also like the option of snacking at random. Sing Air considered that in the design of the plane. There is a small passenger lounge in the rear of the Airbus. When passengers are wakeful, feeling peckish, bored or in need of exercise, we can go back and do yoga stretches, get a snack or chat with other passengers. An arrangement of fresh orchids, Singapore's national flower, are on the buffet area along with baskets of fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal bars and sandwiches. Want something hot? Ask for a pork bun or cup of noodles. Sooner or later, everybody's body clock is skewed, and the lounge is really welcome.

The men in the cabin crew wear blue blazers. But the women are a corporate symbol, part of the signature branding and the focus of the carrier's advertising. They are perfectly groomed and follow strict rules, down to the color of nails and lipstick and the way they wear their long black hair, never loose.

Their outfit is a batik, two-piece dress called "Sarong Kebaya" designed in 1974 by Pierre Balmain, a French haute couture designer. The outfits are not off the rack. Each one is nipped-in just so, tailored to the wearer, and color-coded: blue for flight stewardess, green for lead stewardess and red for the chief.

If the cabin crew wore white uniforms instead of the paisley, they could pass for angels. They pad up and down the aisles at least once an hour with trays of water, often stopping to chat and seemingly reading your mind before you even think to reach for the call button. It's a comforting experience. I half expected one of them to sing me a lullaby.

The first time I used the lavatory, I was in there so long the crew must have thought I'd passed out. But I was just being a neb-nose. Little drawers are loaded with amenities: toothpaste and brushes, lotions, shaving stuff, comb, mouthwash. And room, plenty of room.

Eventually, the cabin lights go on and a brunch-like meal is served. The large monitor shows a map, and you can see that by now we've flown past Japan and are over the South China Sea.

Then it's wheels down at Singapore's Changi Airport. It, too, gets awards for excellence. There is tremendous security, but you will be unaware of it even though cameras are probably recording the color of your underwear and if you cover your mouth when you sneeze. (That's probably a crime in super-strict Singapore.)

Departing passengers just show their passports and head to individual gates where metal detectors and security staff are located. Before boarding, there is time to enjoy Changi's amenities: a movie theater, a swimming pool, roof-top observation deck, great shopping, a pharmacy, spa and gym and really good restaurants.

My round-trip ticket including connecting flights to and from Pittsburgh to Newark on Continental Airlines was $1,782. Because Singapore Airlines is a Star Alliance partner, I credited the miles to my frequent flier account with US Airways.

How's that for a jolt back to reality?