Here are pictures from my friend CAP who recently flew back on SQ 637 from Narita to Singapore. Just like Osaka, Singapore Airlines recently introduced seasonal flight on A380 to and from Narita Airport. They used to fly the A380 on SQ11/SQ12 to Los Angeles (which has since been swapped to a Boeing 777-300ER).
Another friend recently made his maiden flight on Premium Class and what better way to do it on a Transpacific flight.
He was in San Diego for a conference and he managed to try the famed Delta One Business Class Suite (on the Narita to Seattle Segment) which was operated on their new A350-900.
On the way back, he was on a Korean Air Boeing 777-300ER with a very outdated 2-3-2 shell seat (oh, they still have such seats in Business Class nowadays?!)
Tokyo hotels are famous for their minute sized room (unless you pay good dollar for top rated hotels) and Royal Park Shiodome is of no exception. I made this booking via Expedia (and shopback) as the Citibank Expedia promotion has ended. I got the room during the promotion period, hence it cost about SGD $305 per night (excluding cash back, but including tax and breakfast).
SQ 631 and Haneda ANA Business Lounge
The last leg of my flight was actually a break up of my original booking. Although no stopovers are allowed for a one way award saver ticket, there is an unwritten rule where you can top up USD $100 for a stopover. Is the $100 worth it? Here is the math for it:
LAX-SIN is 88,000 miles (+ USD $37.63) via NRT
LAX-NRT is 85,000 miles (+ USD $23.60)
NRT-SIN is 43,000 miles (+ JPY 2610)
It is quite clear cut that for additional $100 USD, it will save you 40,000 miles (which is almost an additional J ticket from Singapore to Japan!)
The tough part however, is the availability of flight and getting the right person on the other side of the phone that is willing to do it for you. Don’t be disheartened if you get rejected on your first call (they may tell you that stopover is strictly not allowed on saver ticket). Keep trying!
LAX used to be the other route operated on Airbus A380-800 besides JFK. Things changed as of October 2016 when it was downgraded to a 77WR with a second service to LAX added (SQ7 and SQ8, at the expense of SQ15 and SQ16). SQ11/12 operates via Narita and SQ7/8 operates via Incheon. While getting Suites on SQ11/12 was not easy, it wasn’t tough either. Since the change, it is almost impossible to get even one seat on First Class, let alone 2 (especially you have no status on Krisflyer)! With only 4 seats, getting 1 will definitely be tough. Business Class on the other hand, was still doable.
I was initially due to fly SQ7 via Incheon and onwards to Male. I decided to change my itinerary and switched over to SQ11 with a Tokyo stopover. SQ7 previously cost me about USD $370 per person while SQ11 cost me SGD $145. In total, I paid 68,000 miles (+ another $290) for my flight, which would cost otherwise 93,500 miles if I am not willing to pay USD $100 for the stopover. Currently, you pay 88,000 miles but you only pay $23.60 for tax! Flight timing has also changed, SQ11 previously leaves LAX in the evening, arriving Narita at 730pm and Singapore at 330am! With the change, SQ11 departs at 10am, arrives Narita at 130pm and Singapore at 9pm. This new timing is more palatable for those arriving in both Narita and Singapore for sure.
Looking forward to my upcoming long trip (after my last one in 2015). Will be doing the following reviews:
I made a booking on SIN-HND-CTS as Singapore Airlines only fly to CTS direct during winter season. I paid 51,000 miles and $34 for one way First Saver redemption on SQ. After considering the few options (Jetstar, JAL and ANA), I decided to go with ANA as they had a very good promo for tourists (explore Japan fare). A One Way Y ticket from HND to CTS cost $142 (incl. tax). As I bought my ticket during the Free Ninja Wifi promo, I managed to get a 4 day free Mifi rental (valued at $60)! The J ticket cost $600 and I wasn’t keen to burn my miles for a domestic J redemption for a 1.5 hours flight.
My upcoming reviews in october:
That Time Of The Year! 