Originally Posted by
kudzu
. . . SQ prefers to let the front cabins fly empty rather than complimentary upgrading even their own Elites. The luxury of SQ up front only applies to those select few able to pay (or have the company or client pay), and to the rest of us who save our Miles for once-in-a-lifetime trips. . .
Boy, I can attest to that. I was on a F award to Singapore and Bali and there was one segment (SIN-NRT) that they could not clear at the time of ticketing, and I was never able to clear it prior to the trip. I was told, incorrectly, that if there was space available in F on the day of the flight that they would seat me there, given that the rest of my ticket was confirmed in F and I was "paying" the F fare in miles.
There were a total of 3 passengers in F on that flight, yet there was ABSOLUTELY NO WAY that they would allow me to sit in F. I politely escalated it all the way to the SIN station manager on duty. They would have none of it. He said it was important to "maintain the exclusive ambiance of the cabin" and that they simply do not allow more than a specified number of "free ticket" passengers to sit in any F or J cabin at any given time.
Now mind, you, I was flying in SQ F, am a seasoned business traveler and I was dressed appropriately and addressing everyone professionally. His position had nothing to do with me. It's just the way they do things. And they're not known for being particularly flexible with
any rules.