SIN to SFO - most sensible route?
 

Hi
I need to visit both SIN and SFO originating in London. Doesn't matter which of SIN and SFO i go to first. Does anyone have an suggestions as to the best routing for this - as far as I can see no one flies that route direct, and one or two operators have even routed me back through London which seems stupid to me, but i don't know which of the other options (via Hong Kong or Tokyo etc) will offer the shortest and most pleasant journey. Sadly i am likely to be in economy unless i can find a good business class deal or can find a way of doing it on airmiles and hence could travel in other classes - i have plenty of Virgin miles (400,000+), a few British Midland (25,000 or so) and afew British Airways (approx 50,000 i think). Trip needs to be this side of Christmas - sooner rather than later.
Thanks for any help!

Fly east so go via SIN first - shorter flight times than going west.

Welcome to FT, cadogan1!

The cheapest options appear to be NW and UA, though you may have a better experience with one of the Asian carriers. I've never taken a trans-pac on NW, but if you take UA in Coach, I suggest a 777 over a 747. You should also look into round-the-world fares, as it may be cheaper and easier to do it all that way if you can meet the restrictions.

I endorse this opinion, and further I would recommend the following routing.

BA for LON-SIN
CX for SIN-HKG-SFO
BA for SFO-LON

The benefits of this routing include:

1. Shorter flight times;
2. Better overall service; and
3. Manageable jet-lag

Good luck!

thanks very much for this - very helpful. Is BA generally preferred to Singapore airlines for economy longhaul? I have only traveled with Singapore airlines once in F (return to Sydney - and a very nice experience it was too!) and usually hate BA in economy, but i guess i hate economy longhaul with any airline!!

You may even want to consider an Around the World (RTW) ticket.

Often less expensive... and allows you some additional stops and usage.

You might want to check out the Alliance Forums for more information on RTW's.

SQ has a direct flight between SIN and SFO, in fact a couple (one via HKG and one via ICN). If you can get into business class the flight via ICN is better - since it has the newest business class seat.

I second the suggestion to check out the alliance forums for an around the world (RTW) ticket. There is plenty of info on pricing, routing options, tips for best places to start to save some money, etc.

If you do need to fly in economy consider something like LHR-BKK-SIN (on Thai) or LHR-HKG-SIN (on Air NZ and SQ) due to Thai and Air NZ's extra seat pitch, then SIN-LAX-SFO (on SQ LAX nonstop flight which is premium economy then UA), then SFO-LAX-AKL (on United and Air NZ) due to NZ's extra seat pitch again.

These are long distances. As many have pointed out, flying eastwards will save some time.

I would also consider adding an overnight stop here and there: for example, LHR-DXB(Dubai)-SIN-NRT-SFO-LHR. Each of us will have his or her preference, but I'd take two 8 hr economy class flights punctuated by a night in a real bed over a 16+ hour journey in Business or First. (With a RTW ticket especially, such stops need not cost much more.)

If you want to minimize connections and will be traveling in economy, I'd recommend flying:
Alternatively, to save money, and capitalize on your required travel by using it as a springboard to see other cities, the round-the-world options may be attractive.

are you trying to do this on one ticket or 2 ?

could you do the San Fransisco part as a stop-over on the way to Singapore

no idea on cost , probably $600-800 London to San Fransisco RT and $1000-$1200 San Fransisco to Singapore RT

i'm not sure what i'm trying to do here in terms of ticket.....i need to visit the two cities as we are considering relocated to one of them so i want to visit them consecutively to get a better comparison, and i can realistically only leave the kids with my parents for about a week so i can only be away a maximum of about 7 or 8 days. My husband's firm will probably cover his tickets in business class, but i'll be paying my own way, so want to find the route that works out to be most cost effective and comfortable, as well as minimizing jet lag etc. I can probably stretch to a budget of a couple of thousand pounds sterling, but no more, hence the fact that i guess i'll be in economy but may be able to look at premium economy if there are some deals around.

There is a VS/SQ RTW available. The last time I flew SIN-NRT-LAX-LHR-SIN, with all sectors on SQ except LAX-LHR on VS, it cost me 2237SGD which is approximately 746 pounds with taxes. However this ticket was issued in Singapore. I would expect it to be more expensive leaving LHR. You might want to check that out. You could so something like LHR-SIN-ICN-SFO-LHR since SIN-ICN-SFO has got the new SQ Y class available.

BA is not preferred! two years ago, a friend of mine once flew from london to the cayman islands on BA in economy, then london to singapore on SQ in business (though he thought that economy looked impressive too). he came back with the comment that, given the choice, he'd never fly BA again!

unfortunately, for reward travel on partner airlines, i think virgin charges the same number of miles for one-way as return flights, so this isn't a cheap way to do the transpacific part compared with a VS/SQ RTW ticket. the latter sounds the most sensible and hassle-free option.

ian. :)

that sounds good - what is the best way of purchasing RTW tickets - direct from the airline or am i better going through a consolidator like Trailfinders here in the UK?

I suggest you price the trip different ways:

LON-SIN-SFO-LON
LON-SFO-SIN-LON
RTW ticket
Two separate round trips (assuming that's an option)

and then decide.

I am not familiar with Trailfinders, but by all means get their prices. A reputed San Francisco based company I know that does rtw trips is Airtreks.com. A crude estimate showed $2000, about half your budget. You might even ask them about the business class. :)

Good luck. Let us know what you find and decide.