Singapore Airlines A380 Suites LAX-NRT-SIN and New 77W First Class SIN-BOM
Feb 15, 2014, 1:44 am
#1
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Singapore Airlines A380 Suites LAX-NRT-SIN and New 77W First Class SIN-BOM
In January, I used 106,250 Singapore Krisflyer miles (transferred from American Express Membership Rewards points) to fly from Los Angeles to Mumbai in Singapore Airlines A380 Suites and the 777-300ER in First Class.
Because of the timing of the flights (arrive SIN 3am-ish, only flight to BOM with F departs 8pm-ish), I had a day-long stop in Singapore. This coincidentally overlapped with the FlyerTalk SIN DO and the tour of the Singapore Airlines Training Centre. It was a fun day, and I'll see what photos I have that are allowed for posting here.
Then, my SIN-BOM flight was given the new 777-300ER (77WN) hard product (that was started on the London route).
I've started posting my trip report on a blog, and will add links and photos as I get a chance to update. Feel free to ask any questions as I'll monitor this thread.
Oh and before you ask -- I didn't break macabus' record. How did that guy do 8 bottles of Dom?! I did have a few bottles of the 2004 though, enough to more than pay for the fuel surcharge
Full posts:
Introduction/Booking
New Star Alliance Lounge at LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal
Singapore A380 Suites LAX-NRT
ANA Suite Lounge/United Club NRT
Singapore A380 Suites NRT-SIN
Changi Terminal 3 Transit Hotel
Singapore Airlines Private Room (and a day in Singapore)
Singapore Airlines New 777-300ER First Class, SIN-BOM
And a preview ...
If you'd like to read other trip reports:
LAN Business Class to Peru (Lima/Machu Picchu) and Chile (Easter Island/Santiago) - February 2012
Hollywood to Bollywood, the long way - United/SWISS/Thai 77W/Emirates A380 First Class + Singapore Business - April 2012
American Airlines Inaugural A321T JFK-LAX in First Class - January 2014
Because of the timing of the flights (arrive SIN 3am-ish, only flight to BOM with F departs 8pm-ish), I had a day-long stop in Singapore. This coincidentally overlapped with the FlyerTalk SIN DO and the tour of the Singapore Airlines Training Centre. It was a fun day, and I'll see what photos I have that are allowed for posting here.
Then, my SIN-BOM flight was given the new 777-300ER (77WN) hard product (that was started on the London route).
I've started posting my trip report on a blog, and will add links and photos as I get a chance to update. Feel free to ask any questions as I'll monitor this thread.
Oh and before you ask -- I didn't break macabus' record. How did that guy do 8 bottles of Dom?! I did have a few bottles of the 2004 though, enough to more than pay for the fuel surcharge
Full posts:
Introduction/Booking
New Star Alliance Lounge at LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal
Singapore A380 Suites LAX-NRT
ANA Suite Lounge/United Club NRT
Singapore A380 Suites NRT-SIN
Changi Terminal 3 Transit Hotel
Singapore Airlines Private Room (and a day in Singapore)
Singapore Airlines New 777-300ER First Class, SIN-BOM
And a preview ...
If you'd like to read other trip reports:
LAN Business Class to Peru (Lima/Machu Picchu) and Chile (Easter Island/Santiago) - February 2012
Hollywood to Bollywood, the long way - United/SWISS/Thai 77W/Emirates A380 First Class + Singapore Business - April 2012
American Airlines Inaugural A321T JFK-LAX in First Class - January 2014
Last edited by amolkold; Feb 20, 2014 at 6:18 am
Feb 15, 2014, 1:54 am
#2
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Introduction/Booking
Full post
I love it when travel plans just come together so seamlessly. My sister recently got married and since my extended family (as well as my new brother-in-law’s family) is split between the US and India, they planned wedding events in both countries. I never know my schedule more than a couple months out in advance, so when they settled on a date for a January 2014 reception in India back in April 2013, I simply searched for a one-way award ticket from Los Angeles to Mumbai to get there the day before.
I decided I’d figure out my return at a much later time (I ended up taking a one-day side-trip into the Southeast Asia region and then redeemed a return on 1 Thai A380 and 2 Lufthansa new First Class flights using 70,000 United miles before they severely devalued that award).
Imagine my reaction when I saw that Singapore A380 Suites from Los Angeles to Singapore was available the exact day I needed! It was something like this, but replace “trampoline” with “suites.” From there, all 3 flights that day to Mumbai had availability, but only the latest flight had a First Class cabin. Singapore is actually one of my favorite cities to have a daytime stopover, since I can explore the city and eat its food without having to pay way too much for a hotel room. Plus I love taking advantage of the 23hour and 59minute connection rule. I decided to take the extra-long layover.
From the West Coast USA region to India, Singapore Airlines charges 125,000 miles one-way in First Class (while that seems excessive, United now charges 140,000 miles one-way for partner First Class, and you can’t book Singapore Airlines flights). If you book Singapore Airlines flights online, you get a 15% discount on miles, so the total price came to 106,250 miles one-way. I had just earned 100,000 Membership Rewards through the early-2013 American Express Platinum bonus, so I simply transferred 107,000 points to Singapore Krisflyer. The transfer took about 18 hours.
The one catch was when I went to book the exact flights I wanted, the award booking engine wouldn’t let me book the extra long layover with First Class on the Mumbai route. I ended up having to call Singapore Airlines to book over the phone. When it came to price the ticket, I explained to the rep that I tried to do this online but the website didn’t see it, and that I only had enough miles to book with the discount. Fortunately, they honored the 15% mileage discount, but fuel surcharges + taxes/fees came out to ~$500 one-way! Ouch.
I didn’t want to say no to this trip since the dates aligned perfectly and I’d been aching to fly Singapore Suites/First, so I went ahead and booked. I was still really excited about this trip – I love being able to depart internationally out of my home airport instead of having to trek to another airport on a domestic flight. Plus I haven’t seen many trip reports of Singapore Airlines #11 service in Suites, since it was not bookable during the “SQ award floodgate” a couple years ago, so I’m excited to share it.
Read more ...
I love it when travel plans just come together so seamlessly. My sister recently got married and since my extended family (as well as my new brother-in-law’s family) is split between the US and India, they planned wedding events in both countries. I never know my schedule more than a couple months out in advance, so when they settled on a date for a January 2014 reception in India back in April 2013, I simply searched for a one-way award ticket from Los Angeles to Mumbai to get there the day before.
I decided I’d figure out my return at a much later time (I ended up taking a one-day side-trip into the Southeast Asia region and then redeemed a return on 1 Thai A380 and 2 Lufthansa new First Class flights using 70,000 United miles before they severely devalued that award).
Imagine my reaction when I saw that Singapore A380 Suites from Los Angeles to Singapore was available the exact day I needed! It was something like this, but replace “trampoline” with “suites.” From there, all 3 flights that day to Mumbai had availability, but only the latest flight had a First Class cabin. Singapore is actually one of my favorite cities to have a daytime stopover, since I can explore the city and eat its food without having to pay way too much for a hotel room. Plus I love taking advantage of the 23hour and 59minute connection rule. I decided to take the extra-long layover.
From the West Coast USA region to India, Singapore Airlines charges 125,000 miles one-way in First Class (while that seems excessive, United now charges 140,000 miles one-way for partner First Class, and you can’t book Singapore Airlines flights). If you book Singapore Airlines flights online, you get a 15% discount on miles, so the total price came to 106,250 miles one-way. I had just earned 100,000 Membership Rewards through the early-2013 American Express Platinum bonus, so I simply transferred 107,000 points to Singapore Krisflyer. The transfer took about 18 hours.
The one catch was when I went to book the exact flights I wanted, the award booking engine wouldn’t let me book the extra long layover with First Class on the Mumbai route. I ended up having to call Singapore Airlines to book over the phone. When it came to price the ticket, I explained to the rep that I tried to do this online but the website didn’t see it, and that I only had enough miles to book with the discount. Fortunately, they honored the 15% mileage discount, but fuel surcharges + taxes/fees came out to ~$500 one-way! Ouch.
I didn’t want to say no to this trip since the dates aligned perfectly and I’d been aching to fly Singapore Suites/First, so I went ahead and booked. I was still really excited about this trip – I love being able to depart internationally out of my home airport instead of having to trek to another airport on a domestic flight. Plus I haven’t seen many trip reports of Singapore Airlines #11 service in Suites, since it was not bookable during the “SQ award floodgate” a couple years ago, so I’m excited to share it.
Read more ...
Last edited by amolkold; Feb 15, 2014 at 2:03 am
Feb 15, 2014, 1:59 am
#3
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New LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal and Star Alliance Lounge
Full post
I arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal at about 11am, about 3 hours before departure. I knew ahead of time that Suites was sold out on this flight, so I wasn't surprised there was already a couple checking in (and taking forever). I walked on to the red Singapore Suites carpet and an agent at a business class desk immediately came forward, approached me, and confirmed I was in Suites, inviting me to his desk to check in (but not before saying it was okay to wait if I wanted to check in at the Suites desk!).
I made some small talk and queried if the station manager was around, since I had been introduced to him by a friend of mine with ties to SQ. He called the station manager who came to meet me, and then escorted me to the front of security and eventually to the beautiful new Star Alliance lounge. Connections! (For what it’s worth, the agent in the Suites lined offered the same to the couple checking in with her).
The new LAX Star Alliance lounge is an ENORMOUS upgrade from the old one. Sure, it's no Lufthansa First Class Terminal, but it's much better than similar lounges, like the Star Alliance Lounge at London Heathrow. Funny enough, the Star Alliance lounge is run by Air New Zealand, which is still in Terminal 2 (and has their own Koru Lounge) before they move to TBIT.
At the top of the elevator is the entrance to the Business Class/Star Gold side, while the First Class lounge has a smaller entrance off to the side. However, both lounges are connected within, with a door that requires PIN access to go from Business -> First side.
The First lounge is rather small, with seating for no more than maybe 30 passengers at once. I was joined by other SQ Suites passengers as well as Lufthansa First passengers.
Read more ...
I arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal at about 11am, about 3 hours before departure. I knew ahead of time that Suites was sold out on this flight, so I wasn't surprised there was already a couple checking in (and taking forever). I walked on to the red Singapore Suites carpet and an agent at a business class desk immediately came forward, approached me, and confirmed I was in Suites, inviting me to his desk to check in (but not before saying it was okay to wait if I wanted to check in at the Suites desk!).
I made some small talk and queried if the station manager was around, since I had been introduced to him by a friend of mine with ties to SQ. He called the station manager who came to meet me, and then escorted me to the front of security and eventually to the beautiful new Star Alliance lounge. Connections! (For what it’s worth, the agent in the Suites lined offered the same to the couple checking in with her).
The new LAX Star Alliance lounge is an ENORMOUS upgrade from the old one. Sure, it's no Lufthansa First Class Terminal, but it's much better than similar lounges, like the Star Alliance Lounge at London Heathrow. Funny enough, the Star Alliance lounge is run by Air New Zealand, which is still in Terminal 2 (and has their own Koru Lounge) before they move to TBIT.
At the top of the elevator is the entrance to the Business Class/Star Gold side, while the First Class lounge has a smaller entrance off to the side. However, both lounges are connected within, with a door that requires PIN access to go from Business -> First side.
The First lounge is rather small, with seating for no more than maybe 30 passengers at once. I was joined by other SQ Suites passengers as well as Lufthansa First passengers.
Read more ...
Feb 15, 2014, 2:02 am
#4
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Singapore A380 Suites, LAX-NRT
Full post
Singapore Airlines #11
Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Wednesday, January 15th, 2014
2:15pm – 6:20pm (+1) : 11 hours, 05 minutes
Airbus A380-800: Suite 3F (Suites Class)
I walked down the jetway to Door M1L, reserved for Suites passengers. One of the flight attendants came just outside the doorway to greet me and escorted me to my seat 3F. Row 3 is the only row that has 3 windows in it. Row 1 and 2 are more private, but they have a staircase to the upper deck right next to them. Row 4 is closer to the galley. I preferred my Row 3 selection (although I am a big window seat guy, so having 3 windows was a big positive).
Read more ...
Singapore Airlines #11
Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Wednesday, January 15th, 2014
2:15pm – 6:20pm (+1) : 11 hours, 05 minutes
Airbus A380-800: Suite 3F (Suites Class)
I walked down the jetway to Door M1L, reserved for Suites passengers. One of the flight attendants came just outside the doorway to greet me and escorted me to my seat 3F. Row 3 is the only row that has 3 windows in it. Row 1 and 2 are more private, but they have a staircase to the upper deck right next to them. Row 4 is closer to the galley. I preferred my Row 3 selection (although I am a big window seat guy, so having 3 windows was a big positive).
Read more ...
Feb 15, 2014, 2:07 am
#5
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ANA Suite Lounge/United Club at NRT
Full Post
The transit time for Singapore Airlines 11 and 12 is about 2 hours. Transit security can be a while if you’re in the back of economy. The flight crew seem to do a good job of allowing Suites passengers off first, then business passengers, then economy.
From the multiple times I’ve flown Singapore Airlines flight 11/12, the A380s seem to be always parked at gates 43/44. You go through transit security on the top floor, which feeds to escalators right above the gate. That means that the Satellite 4 ANA lounges are the closest ones to both transit security and the gate. The Suite (First Class) lounge is on the 4th floor while the Business/Star Gold lounge is below on the 2nd floor.
The First Class lounge is a bit smaller and has fewer people. When I arrived, an attendant offered a cold towel and a drink – I chose water. After that, they mainly hang around near the food area, meaning the First lounge experience is very similar to the Business lounge experience (except there’s a Sake Bar in the Business Class lounge).
I surveyed the food options, but nothing interested me except for a beer (mainly so that I could use the cool automatic beer machines). I love how precise the caloric labels were for the food on display.
I requested to have a shower and didn’t even realize that I carried my beer with me into the room. Inadvertent showerbeer, anyone?
#ShowerBeerFriendly
Read More
The transit time for Singapore Airlines 11 and 12 is about 2 hours. Transit security can be a while if you’re in the back of economy. The flight crew seem to do a good job of allowing Suites passengers off first, then business passengers, then economy.
From the multiple times I’ve flown Singapore Airlines flight 11/12, the A380s seem to be always parked at gates 43/44. You go through transit security on the top floor, which feeds to escalators right above the gate. That means that the Satellite 4 ANA lounges are the closest ones to both transit security and the gate. The Suite (First Class) lounge is on the 4th floor while the Business/Star Gold lounge is below on the 2nd floor.
The First Class lounge is a bit smaller and has fewer people. When I arrived, an attendant offered a cold towel and a drink – I chose water. After that, they mainly hang around near the food area, meaning the First lounge experience is very similar to the Business lounge experience (except there’s a Sake Bar in the Business Class lounge).
I surveyed the food options, but nothing interested me except for a beer (mainly so that I could use the cool automatic beer machines). I love how precise the caloric labels were for the food on display.
I requested to have a shower and didn’t even realize that I carried my beer with me into the room. Inadvertent showerbeer, anyone?
#ShowerBeerFriendly
Read More
Feb 15, 2014, 3:26 am
#6
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,992
Great TR thanks for sharing.
One thing I wanted to point out: I recently made a redemption booking with SQ over the phone and also got the 15% discount. However, during the conversation I mentioned that we would love to get a stop over in Singapore and the lady said that for $100 we could...I was rather surprised at this as I didnt think it was possible...however she charged us the $100 per person and we got it....cant complain at all!!! ^
One thing I wanted to point out: I recently made a redemption booking with SQ over the phone and also got the 15% discount. However, during the conversation I mentioned that we would love to get a stop over in Singapore and the lady said that for $100 we could...I was rather surprised at this as I didnt think it was possible...however she charged us the $100 per person and we got it....cant complain at all!!! ^
Feb 15, 2014, 4:41 am
#7
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Great TR thanks for sharing.
One thing I wanted to point out: I recently made a redemption booking with SQ over the phone and also got the 15% discount. However, during the conversation I mentioned that we would love to get a stop over in Singapore and the lady said that for $100 we could...I was rather surprised at this as I didnt think it was possible...however she charged us the $100 per person and we got it....cant complain at all!!! ^
One thing I wanted to point out: I recently made a redemption booking with SQ over the phone and also got the 15% discount. However, during the conversation I mentioned that we would love to get a stop over in Singapore and the lady said that for $100 we could...I was rather surprised at this as I didnt think it was possible...however she charged us the $100 per person and we got it....cant complain at all!!! ^
Feb 15, 2014, 1:19 pm
#9
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Singapore A380 Suites, NRT-SIN
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Singapore Airlines #11
Tokyo Narita (NRT) – Singapore (SIN)
Thursday, January 16th, 2014
8:50pm – 3:10am (+1) : 7 hours, 20 minutes
Airbus A380-800: Suite 3F (Suites Class)
Even though the LAX-NRT crew was good, they weren’t great by Singapore Airlines standards. They seem kind of frazzled by a full cabin. I could tell this crew from Tokyo to Singapore would be better. I boarded last amongst Suites passengers. A crew member came into the jetway to get my roller bag and bring it to my suite.
Once there, I was offered the First class slippers (guess they got loaded in Tokyo!) as well as eyeshade, socks, and medium pajamas (which I found funny because I got a large in LAX and had only gotten larger through all the food and drink on the first flight).
The inflight supervisor came around and notified us of our 7h10m flight to Singapore, and offered several rounds of champagne on the ground. Thankfully they poured the 2004 on the ground and not the 2003. I overheard the passenger across the aisle complain to the purser about the poor timing of this flight and how he was upset they no longer had the nonstop LAX flight (even though that flight only had business class and this guy was in Suites).
This flight is a 7-hour journey that departs at 8pm and arrives Singapore close to 3am. Talk about terrible timing. You can see why the crew wanted to serve dinner quickly.
Shortly after takeoff, satay was served. Mmmmm, my favorite.
Read more
Singapore Airlines #11
Tokyo Narita (NRT) – Singapore (SIN)
Thursday, January 16th, 2014
8:50pm – 3:10am (+1) : 7 hours, 20 minutes
Airbus A380-800: Suite 3F (Suites Class)
Even though the LAX-NRT crew was good, they weren’t great by Singapore Airlines standards. They seem kind of frazzled by a full cabin. I could tell this crew from Tokyo to Singapore would be better. I boarded last amongst Suites passengers. A crew member came into the jetway to get my roller bag and bring it to my suite.
Once there, I was offered the First class slippers (guess they got loaded in Tokyo!) as well as eyeshade, socks, and medium pajamas (which I found funny because I got a large in LAX and had only gotten larger through all the food and drink on the first flight).
The inflight supervisor came around and notified us of our 7h10m flight to Singapore, and offered several rounds of champagne on the ground. Thankfully they poured the 2004 on the ground and not the 2003. I overheard the passenger across the aisle complain to the purser about the poor timing of this flight and how he was upset they no longer had the nonstop LAX flight (even though that flight only had business class and this guy was in Suites).
This flight is a 7-hour journey that departs at 8pm and arrives Singapore close to 3am. Talk about terrible timing. You can see why the crew wanted to serve dinner quickly.
Shortly after takeoff, satay was served. Mmmmm, my favorite.
Read more
Feb 15, 2014, 1:20 pm
#10
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Feb 15, 2014, 6:32 pm
#11
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Great trip report. I really enjoyed it.
The outside area at TBIT lounge looks great.
I know that most will indulge in the Dom and Krug, but I had to chuckle at the one and only beer selection on the Singapore Airlines drink menu...Budweiser. Really?
The outside area at TBIT lounge looks great.
I know that most will indulge in the Dom and Krug, but I had to chuckle at the one and only beer selection on the Singapore Airlines drink menu...Budweiser. Really?
Feb 16, 2014, 4:33 am
#13
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Great report amolkold. The new FCL at LAX looks likes a huge improvement.
Thanks for whetting my appetite for our LAX-NRT Suites flight next month.
Thanks for whetting my appetite for our LAX-NRT Suites flight next month.
Last edited by SFO777; Feb 16, 2014 at 4:39 am