Originally Posted by
global happy traveller
I think there is a distinctive difference between SQ PPS vs AC VIP vs UA GS.....
1. PPS & Solitaire are published benefits (above and beyond your 100K level and solely based on J/F class revenue qualification only)
2. VIP and GS are mysteries IMO (from how you qualify for them to how services are prioritized etc)......
For Singapore - you basically use the First Class check in facilities & lounge
https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/c...class-checkin/
For outside posts -
- you use first class check in
- Station Manager or Supervisor will usually greet you
On board
- your listed as PPS on their manifest and usually the crew/flight manager will intro themselves
- you get offered a drink
- you get to choose your newspaper
- you get to choose your preferred economy class meal
IME - SQ is less lenient with deviating from SOP to offer you extras or do something unique (i.e. Op-ups, first class wine etc), cause they are rule sticklers lol.
Then there's the third part, where you've traveled so much on premium classes on several routes and they simply know you and treated differently. At one point, the UA ground staff in SIN and HKG would just know Mr GHT Sr and same w the HKG/PVG/PEK SQ ground staff.
I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment, but I was simply equating to level of service with a PPS vs VIP.
As for VIPs, I learned recently from a well-respected forum member on how one becomes VIP.
And I (and others here) have known this for awhile, but there is a very specific list of internally published benefits available for employees to see. So it's not really a mystery like "anything they wish for goes" per se. They are subject to their status rules, but bending them is arguably easier than it would be for a "run-of-the-mill" S100K. Also everything you list for SQ PPS on-board benefits look similar to what VIPs get, AFAIK, but that level of in-flight service is not published like the status rules. However, having been seated next to VIPs quite often in the last several years, the SD clearly knows who they are (also on the PIL) and treats you better than the SMs in J (everything from the greeting to PDB to choice of meal... and this is done quite discreetly, from my own personal data point experiences as a eye/ear witness).
And I still stand by that PPS and VIP are more similar than a comparison between, say, PPS and S100K.
But hey, getting escorted onto your flight by the (former) President, Passenger Airlines (paraphrased title) would beat PPS in my books any day.
