I would HIGHLY recommend business class travel on Singapore. It's arguably the best Business Class experience in the sky. Visit the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer forum for extensive discussion. SQ awards to SE Asia in Business (Raffles) Class are 120,000 or 140,000 in First. Go to www.singaporeair.com for details on in-flight seats and service, which includes the option to order your meals in advance (you can find recent standard Business and First Class menus posted in the SQ forum). Business Class seats are the shell design and sleep in a flat-but-inclined position; F roughly equate to a Barcalounger with an Ottoman and built-in flat-screen TV that reclines into a Posturepedic when the Singapore Girls break out the linens and duvets. IFE is AVOD in all classes with 60 movies ready when you are (pausible when eating) plus TV programs, etc. On recent flights I watched CSI, L&O SVU, Phantom of the Opera, Sideways, Hotel Rwanda, and Ocean's Eleven (original version, 1960).

For you, the ideal flight is SQ 21 EWR-SIN nonstop, connecting to SQ 61, the morning flight to BKK (SQ flies five times a day SIN-BKK). SQ 21 is currently the longest nonstop flight in the world, up to 18.5 hours depending on winds/routing. On an A340-500, it has a huge Raffles cabin (61 seats) but no First. You can also take SQ 25 (IIRC) JFK-FRA-SIN, then connect up to BKK. The JFK flight is operated by a Megatop 747, which also has a large Raffles cabin and First Class. All long-haul service on SQ has SpaceBeds in Raffles, though some but not all regional flights have less comfy Business Class seats. Service is either great or best in the world, depending on your cabin crew. You can also take any of six West Coast flights to SIN: SQ 19 (LAX-SIN nonstop), SQ 11 (LAX-NRT-SIN), SQ 29 (LAX-TPE-SIN), SQ 1 (SFO-HKG-SIN), SQ 15 (SFO-ICN-SIN) and SQ ?? (YVR-ICN-SIN). The nonstops are preferable because stopping can interfere with sleep and force meal service into odd times when you're trying to reset your body clock.

Because October-November is not a particularly high season, you may find availability even though we're only four months out. (I booked my F award ticket for Christmas a month ago, and my friend's J award ticket for Christmas three months ago.) If you need more than one seat, it's a whole other ballgame, practically impossible in F and highly unlikely in J unless you're booking at least six months out.

I recommend calling the DL partners desk and saying you want Singapore Airlines Business Class on or around (you need to be flexible) suchandsuch dates. Be willing to leave from ANY gateway, but state your strong preferences of EWR and JFK. They have to request it on a flight-by-flight basis by email, so if you get someone grouchy at the Partners Desk (a rarity), just call back until you get someone with a good disposition. I had an AF award ticket to BKK (horrible routing and timing), called one morning and wound up redepositing the miles when I lucked into SQ availability. I got Business on the longhauls but economy on the SIN-BKK leg. Though cramped, SQ Economy is better than DL domestic First, with hot-towel service, hot food, free wine, individual IFE, and beautiful cabin crew, whether you like Singapore Girls (literally a national icon in Singapore) or Singapore Boys.

Though the SkyMiles website indicates as much, this is not correct. You can fly ex-EWR or ex-JFK to SIN on a standard Business Class or First Class award ticket. Ever since DL raised the award level to 120K for J, DL has put you in F for the domestic legs.

You can also get to BKK on AF or KL, but consider those a last resort over Asian airlines. Unless you can get a morning departure from NYC to CDG or AMS that would give you an evening arrival and smooth connection to the late-night flights to BKK, you'll be stuck (!) in Paris or Amsterdam for an entire day and have to do two consecutive overnight flights. You might also try CO's nonstop EWR-HKG then buy a local ticket to BKK. It's only a two-hour flight, served by Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Gulf Air, Thai, and others.