Trip Reports - Singapore, JAL, and Lufthansa first class to Singapore!

Hi Guys, I just got back from a quick trip to Singapore last week where I had the opportunity to fly Lufthansa's new first class (on both the Airbus 380 and 747), JAL's new first class, and Singapore's first class.

I wrote a full trip report with hundreds of pictures which can be found in the following installments on my blog:

Introduction (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/04/singapore-for-the-weekend-introduction/)
Lufthansa First Class Lounge New York JFK (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/05/lufthansa-first-class-lounge-new-york-jfk/)
Lufthansa First Class New York JFK to Frankfurt (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/06/singapore-for-the-weekend-lufthansa-first-class-new-york-jfk-to-frankfurt/)
A day in the Lufthansa First Class Lounges/Terminal Frankfurt (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/08/singapore-for-the-weekend-a-day-in-the-lufthansa-first-class-loungesterminal-frankfurt/)
Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Singapore (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/09/singapore-for-the-weekend-lufthansa-first-class-frankfurt-to-singapore/)
InterContinental Singapore (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/10/singapore-for-the-weekend-intercontinental-singapore/)
Exploring Singapore (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/04/30/finally-a-bit-of-life-in-singapore/)
The Singapore Airlines Private Room (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/11/singapore-for-the-weekend-the-singapore-airlines-private-room/)
Singapore Airlines First Class Singapore to Tokyo Narita (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/12/singapore-for-the-weekend-singapore-airlines-first-class-singapore-to-tokyo-narita/)
Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/13/singapore-for-the-weekend-japan-airlines-first-class-lounge-tokyo-narita/)
Japan Airlines First Class Tokyo Narita to New York JFK (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/14/singapore-for-the-weekend-japan-airlines-first-class-tokyo-narita-to-new-york-jfk/)

Thanks for reading and all questions/comments are welcome!

Excellent trip report, well worth reading

Amazing reports, thanks for the excellent reading and photos.

The guy took off his underwear in the cabin and put it on his table? Gross!

Fantastic TR. Thanks!

One of the best reports I have seen. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. You are an inspiration to guys, in the back of the bus, like me! :D

Silly question, but would this be considered a Round The World trip? Why or why not ??

One of the best reports I have seen. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. You are an inspiration to guys, in the back of the bus, like me! :D

Silly question, but would this be considered a Round The World trip? Why or why not ??
Thanks! It depends on your definition, though typically I consider a RTW trip to be anything that crosses both the Pacific and the Atlantic and terminates in the same place it originated. I use the term "mini-RTW" for trips like this, though I guess it could go either way. :)

Still reading, but really love the report so far! ^

As always, a fantastic report! I am glad that you considered the JAL suites to be a significant improvement over the previous version!

Thank you for this! Makes me really want to rebook my RTW to First... Still have some time to save a bit more miles :D

What a fantastic report. Thank you for sharing it with us all.

Great report, as always! Do SQ have new F amenity kits and pajamas? I flew this time last year and got a pair of jet-black pajamas (unsure of brand) and a Ferragamo amenity kit. The Kiehls kit looks amazing, as do the Givenchy pajamas.

NICE report.

What was your method of payment for this? Points? Paid full fare? Combination of both?

Cheers.

Wow! What a excellent TR!! I"m glad you have a great flight. You flew around of the world again? How many times that you flew around of the world? I am bit surprised that you flew alone in First Class from SIN-NRT during redeye flight. I thought SQ that they didn't get rid of the First Class. Why I haven't flew around of the world yet

NICE report.

What was your method of payment for this? Points? Paid full fare? Combination of both?

Cheers.

Read his introduction ;)

JFK-FRA-SIN on LH F for 70K UA miles one-way
SIN-NRT on SQ F for 51K SQ miles one-way
NRT-JFK on JL F for 62.5K AA miles one-way

The first and second redemptions seem like great deals, the third I'm iffy about after reading your report (when CX F is only 5K more from HKG).

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

Great report, as always! Do SQ have new F amenity kits and pajamas? I flew this time last year and got a pair of jet-black pajamas (unsure of brand) and a Ferragamo amenity kit. The Kiehls kit looks amazing, as do the Givenchy pajamas.

Yes, it looks like nowadays they use the Givenchy pajamas and Kiehls amenity kits, which I quite like (though I do miss the old kits with a full bottle of cologne in them).

NICE report.

What was your method of payment for this? Points? Paid full fare? Combination of both?

Cheers.

If you read the intro (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/04/singapore-for-the-weekend-introduction/) it was a combination of United, American, and Singapore miles. :)

Wow! What a excellent TR!! I"m glad you have a great flight. You flew around of the world again? How many times that you flew around of the world? I am bit surprised that you flew alone in First Class from SIN-NRT during redeye flight. I thought SQ that they didn't get rid of the First Class. Why I haven't flew around of the world yet

Thanks! Not sure how many I've done total, but in the past four months I've done about three. When you think about it, it really isn't any further to go east than west when you're leaving from the east coast of the US to Asia.

The first and second redemptions seem like great deals, the third I'm iffy about after reading your report (when CX F is only 5K more from HKG).

At the end of the day there's no doubt CX F would have been a better value, but keep in mind the goal was to try a new product and be able to write about it, and I've done CX F a dozen times before.

Amazing trip reports! Enjoyed reading them very much^

Lucky, sensational report with great pics and commentary! Your SQ experience with LS Wong Chin was amazing. What a wonderful treat.
At Changi, I was surprised that you didn't check in at the separate F departure terminal... left turn, small sign before the main terminals. Was that intentional or did you just miss the sign?

Reports like yours are one of the main reasons I spend time on FT!

Well done...!

Really nice report. Which lounge were you most impressed with the food?

Awesome report lucky! :D

Excellent report, excellent pictures!
Yet to experience LH F firsthand but always enjoying it via FT.

-Tom

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

Lucky, sensational report with great pics and commentary! Your SQ experience with LS Wong Chin was amazing. What a wonderful treat.
At Changi, I was surprised that you didn't check in at the separate F departure terminal... left turn, small sign before the main terminals. Was that intentional or did you just miss the sign?
Thanks, means a lot coming from you!:) Frankly I wasn't even aware of the premium check-in. Guess I should have looked into that before leaving (then again, I only had a few hours advance notice).
Really nice report. Which lounge were you most impressed with the food?
While The Private Room was impressive, I'd have to say the Lufthansa FCT/FCLs still have the best food out there.

Frankly I wasn't even aware of the premium check-in. Guess I should have looked into that before leaving (then again, I only had a few hours advance notice).

I didn't know about it either until we were driving into the airport. I just saw the sign and told the driver to "turn left now". Probably scared the crap out of him. Beautiful hotel-like lobby with sit down check-in, and a personal assistant to escort you to the FCL.
SQ First Class Terminal check-in at Changi (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/14774421-post53.html)

I didn't know about it either until we were driving into the airport. I just saw the sign and told the driver to "turn left now". Probably scared the crap out of him. Beautiful hotel-like lobby with sit down check-in, and a personal assistant to escort you to the FCL.
SQ First Class Terminal check-in at Changi (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/14774421-post53.html)

Now I feel like a total idiot.:mad:

Looks beautiful!

Top shelf report^

Thanks for posting.

Do SQ have new F amenity kits and pajamas? I flew this time last year and got a pair of jet-black pajamas (unsure of brand) and a Ferragamo amenity kit. The Kiehls kit looks amazing, as do the Givenchy pajamas.

SQ changed their Ferragamo to Kiehl's about 6 months ago.

Kiehl's kit looks amazing ? Absolutely NOT, especially compare with Ferragamo, and Kiehl's is more suitable for business class, certainly not first class. Consdier SQ had been using Bvlgari for years, then Ferragamo, and always have a big bottle of fragrance inside the kit, Kiehl's is a huge downgrade. :td:


Read his introduction ;)

JFK-FRA-SIN on LH F for 70K UA miles one-way
SIN-NRT on SQ F for 51K SQ miles one-way
NRT-JFK on JL F for 62.5K AA miles one-way

The first and second redemptions seem like great deals, the third I'm iffy about after reading your report (when CX F is only 5K more from HKG).

The second redemption is NOT great deal at all, it only depends on how much you value SQ F (SQ R however is a different story, but it is not the case here). As you can do SIN-BKK-NRT in TG F for 40K UA miles only with comparable seating (or better) in TG's 77W, as F on TG's 77W have doors to close for maximum privacy whereas SQ F's 77W doesn't.

F on TG's 77W have doors to close for maximum privacy whereas SQ F's 77W doesn't.

Moot point if you're the only one in the cabin ;)

Moot point if you're the only one in the cabin ;)

There are certain things you can't do or not comfortable to do even if you are the only one in the cabin when the seat has no door. :p

Also forgot to mention with TG F there is escort/cart ride both to the plane and when you deplane, whereas SQ F have no such of this service.

There are certain things you can't do or not comfortable to do even if you are the only one in the cabin when the seat has no door. :p
:eek:

Hi Guys, I just got back from a quick trip to Singapore last week where I had the opportunity to fly Lufthansa's new first class (on both the Airbus 380 and 747), JAL's new first class, and Singapore's first class.

I wrote a full trip report with hundreds of pictures which can be found in the following installments on my blog:

Introduction (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/04/singapore-for-the-weekend-introduction/)
Lufthansa First Class Lounge New York JFK (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/05/lufthansa-first-class-lounge-new-york-jfk/)
Lufthansa First Class New York JFK to Frankfurt (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/06/singapore-for-the-weekend-lufthansa-first-class-new-york-jfk-to-frankfurt/)
A day in the Lufthansa First Class Lounges/Terminal Frankfurt (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/08/singapore-for-the-weekend-a-day-in-the-lufthansa-first-class-loungesterminal-frankfurt/)
Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Singapore (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/09/singapore-for-the-weekend-lufthansa-first-class-frankfurt-to-singapore/)
InterContinental Singapore (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/10/singapore-for-the-weekend-intercontinental-singapore/)
Exploring Singapore (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/04/30/finally-a-bit-of-life-in-singapore/)
The Singapore Airlines Private Room (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/11/singapore-for-the-weekend-the-singapore-airlines-private-room/)
Singapore Airlines First Class Singapore to Tokyo Narita (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/12/singapore-for-the-weekend-singapore-airlines-first-class-singapore-to-tokyo-narita/)
Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/13/singapore-for-the-weekend-japan-airlines-first-class-lounge-tokyo-narita/)
Japan Airlines First Class Tokyo Narita to New York JFK (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2012/05/14/singapore-for-the-weekend-japan-airlines-first-class-tokyo-narita-to-new-york-jfk/)

Thanks for reading and all questions/comments are welcome!

lucky9876coins, you are my hero!!! i love reading your trip reports, please keep them coming i cant get enough of it...

The second redemption is NOT great deal at all, it only depends on how much you value SQ F (SQ R however is a different story, but it is not the case here). As you can do SIN-BKK-NRT in TG F for 40K UA miles only with comparable seating (or better) in TG's 77W, as F on TG's 77W have doors to close for maximum privacy whereas SQ F's 77W doesn't.

If you think that is bad, check out the R redemption levels.
Funny that SQ doesn't publish R mileage award levels, just includes a little "call for Suites award information" note in the footnotes of the award chart. I called SQ KF last night and inquired about "Suite award info" on HKG-SIN. I asked the rep to repeat herself because I thought I either misunderstood or that she was joking...
HKG-SIN one way R on the 380: 280,000 miles. :eek:
SIN-NRT one way R on the 380: 550,000 miles. :eek::eek:

Meanwhile, UA.com was offering HKG-BKK-RGN F/J combo on TG for 30,000 miles with HKG-BKK in TG First on the A380.
Trying to get this to work for one of my RGN mistake fare trips.
Another interesting one was 17,500 UA miles for J on HKG-SIN-BKK-RGN with HKG-SIN-BKK on SQ (77W and 772).

I just love your pictures. That card by the SQ FA was awesome!

I just love your pictures. That card by the SQ FA was awesome!
Thanks! :)
Funny that SQ doesn't publish R mileage award levels, just includes a little "call for Suites award information" note in the footnotes of the award chart. I called SQ KF last night and inquired about "Suite award info" on HKG-SIN. I asked the rep to repeat herself because I thought I either misunderstood or that she was joking...
HKG-SIN one way R on the 380: 280,000 miles. :eek:
SIN-NRT one way R on the 380: 550,000 miles. :eek::eek:
It really is ridiculous. I can understand a mild premium for Suites, but at the end of the day it's not really much better than the first class product offered by other airlines operating the A380. Hopefully this is the next policy change we see at Singapore.

The second redemption is NOT great deal at all, it only depends on how much you value SQ F (SQ R however is a different story, but it is not the case here). As you can do SIN-BKK-NRT in TG F for 40K UA miles only with comparable seating (or better) in TG's 77W, as F on TG's 77W have doors to close for maximum privacy whereas SQ F's 77W doesn't.

Well, given that you have limited *A choices to transfer AMEX MR to these days (AC, SQ, and NH), that redemption doesn't strike me as a terrible way to spend MR.

Also, does TG fly F between SIN-BKK? I thought it was C/Y only. Plus there's a stop/shorter flight if you do this, which isn't so great if you're trying to catch some sleep on a redeye flight like Lucky was.

Another interesting one was 17,500 UA miles for J on HKG-SIN-BKK-RGN with HKG-SIN-BKK on SQ (77W and 772).

This is one of my favorite rewards: the 17.5K one way or 35K r/t UA intra-South Asia C award.

If you do this award as a round-trip, you can do it with a stopover and two open-jaws. Makes it really easy to fit in a lot of SE Asia traveling in one award.

(The other SE Asia C award that's interesting is US's: their definition of SE Asia includes India and MLE, though they consider HKG to be North Asia- which actually means you can combine a US C/F North Asia award nicely with a UA C award out of HKG. ;))

This is one of my favorite rewards: the 17.5K one way or 35K r/t UA intra-South Asia C award.

If you do this award as a round-trip, you can do it with a stopover and two open-jaws. Makes it really easy to fit in a lot of SE Asia traveling in one award.

(The other SE Asia C award that's interesting is US's: their definition of SE Asia includes India and MLE, though they consider HKG to be North Asia- which actually means you can combine it nicely with a UA C award out of HKG. ;))

I did BKK-SIN-BOM-SIN-HAN all on SQ J for 30K US. Great deal.