I remember flying SQ on these fifth freedom flights.

They offered incredibly cheap premium fares. I remember getting TPE-LAX-YUL for $1400 CAD in business and MNL-HKG-SFO-YUL for $ 1900 CAD in first class. And by luck the CX flight misconnected in HKG so was rerouted via LHR and JFK and got a massive amount of Avion and TP's ( and AE points when I submitted for ORC). This was for a pretty good deal even for 2011-2012. These were not not discount fares either; they booked in full C/J/F.