Hello, I need some advice on upcoming corporate travel from New York to BLR in J. I have the option of taking Singapore Air, Cathay Pacific or Emirates. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Hi,

Do you have any status on these airlines (and how about AA/BA via LHR?). I suspect going with Emirates will have the quickest flight time.

Regards

TBS

Business Class SQ and EK for sure.

EK would be easiest, SQ better for privacy.

Total distance via the Gulf is about 8500 miles. Via HKG it is about 10,500 miles. Via SIN it is about 11,500 miles! However nice J on a particular airline might be, it is never worth being on the plane 35% longer than necessary.

As implied in the previous post, CX J is the worst of these three airlines. EK is fine. QR J, not one of your choices (why not?), would be the absolute best. A post above suggests AA/BA, and that is also about 8500 miles. However, these are mediocre airlines, and in J having one ultralonghaul segment is better because there is enough time to settle down for a reasonably long sleep. (In Y, via Europe might be best because there is no ULH segment.)

The biggest problem with EK is that it does not always have fast connections at the hub airport the way QR and EY do. Outbound you would have a 5-hour wait, but return is fast.
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Why not Etihad? 380 on the JFK sector, good business class. I would avoid AA/Ba because of an inferior product, SQ is great but not worth spending an extra 10 hours. CX also has a reasonably good product, but not worth the extra hours (unless you are after the extra miles).

Hi,

Depending on when the OP is travelling , the BA flight to BLR may be on the new club world suites ( check the BA forum for details)

Regards

TBS

Or LH.. last time I was there saw the B747-800.. or Air France B777 Premier.

Spoilt for choice.

CX is way longer and way worse. Crappy KA A330 with (domestic type business seats, not beds). CX is literally the last pick.

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately I'm limited to CX, EK and SQ from our corporate travel department. Sounds like I should avoid CX in any event and I suppose the only reason to accept a much longer SQ flight time would be a stopover in Singapore (where I've not been). Anyone know how reasonable it is to get to downtown Singapore for a few hours between flights and if it's even worth it?

Hi,

After immigration , you could be in downtown Singapore in around 20mins by taxi ( not sure about rush hour or how long by MRT) On the return to the airport you have immigration to exit and security at the SQ termnials are done at the gate ( security at T4 ( Cathay) is centralised)

How long do you have in transit at SIN? Walking in singapore can be hot and humid and there is plent of things to do at SIN itself ( ie the Jewel which is connected to the termimals landside)

Singapore is worth a visit on its own but with only 3-4 hours might not be worth it to do downtown.

Regards

TBS

For a Singapore stopover that's only a few hours (some of which will get soaked up in immigration formalities entering and leaving the airport), and all else being equal no way would I accept a routing that keeps me on the plane for 6 hours longer. If you're on the EK A380 in J out of JFK it's perfectly fine.

Of course, not all else is always equal; there might be "hey, I get the shiny gold card for this routing or a boatload extra miles" reason to take a less convenient routing, though if this is all on your employer's time, that might not be a good choice.

Singapore is fabulous.. a few hours wouldn�t even scratch the surface. Try and do at-least a overnight


Lau Pa Sat Hawker Market, amazing Satay

Thanks all, at the end of the day I decided on EK as I would only have had a 4 hour layover in Singapore.