There is Good Business & First Class Award Space on Routes Singapore is Cutting This Year

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Singapore Airlines is altering its routes to the United States in October 2016. Currently, Singapore flies from four American cities to Singapore with stops along the way in Europe and Asia.

• San Francisco to Seoul (ICN) to Singapore
• San Francisco to Hong Kong to Singapore
• Los Angeles to Tokyo (NRT) to Singapore
• Houston to Moscow (DME) to Singapore
• New York (JFK) to Frankfurt to Singapore

Singapore is making several changes though. It is changing which West Coast city flies to Seoul, and adding a direct flight from San Francisco.

• Subtracting San Francisco to Seoul (ICN) to Singapore October 22, 2016
• Adding Los Angeles to Seoul (ICN) to Singapore October 23
• Adding San Francisco to Singapore October 23

It also changing the routing from Houston to Singapore.

• Subtracting Houston to Moscow (DME) to Singapore October 29, 2016
• Adding Houston to Manchester to Singapore October 30

That means from October 30, 2016, the new routes will be:

• San Francisco to Singapore on the A350-900
• San Francisco to Hong Kong to Singapore on the new 777-300ER
• Los Angeles to Tokyo (NRT) to Singapore on the new 777-300ER
• Los Angeles to Seoul (ICN) to Singapore on the new 777-300ER
• Houston to Manchester to Singapore on the new 777-300ER
• New York (JFK) to Frankfurt to Singapore on the A380

The new route map, from October 30, 2016 will look like this:

I’ve already written about Business Class award space on the new routes here; this post will focus on Business and First Class award space on the routes that are being cut.

Singapore Business Class Product

Singapore Airlines Business Class is among the best in the world. The massively wide seats/beds are laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration on the A350, 777, and A380.

The seats look almost exactly like the Singapore First Class seat and better than the First Class seat on many airlines. In addition, you will get top-notch service, delicious food, expensive alcohol, and lounge access during your journey.

Singapore Business Class is world-class.

Singapore First Class is mostly distinguished by the incredible service, food, and alcohol. I flew Singapore First Class in May and loved it. Click here for the full trip report.

Getting Singapore Miles

Singapore Business and First Class awards can only be booked with Singapore miles, not partner miles like United miles, because Singapore only releases longhaul Business and First Class award space to its KrisFlyer program and not to partners.

You can easily get Singapore miles because Singapore is a 1:1 transfer partner of every major transferable points program. The best ways to earn Singapore miles:

• The Citi Premier® Card
• Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Award Space on Ending Routes

Houston to Moscow

The last Houston to Moscow flight is October 29, 2016. Until then you can find 2 First Class award seats on many flights, 2-4 Business Class award seats on many flights, and up to 6 Business Class award seats the week of departure.

After the automatic 15% discount for booking awards on singaporeair.com, the total price per person from Houston to Moscow is:

• 48,875 miles + $202 one way in Business
• 57,375 miles + $212 one way in First

San Francisco to Seoul

The last San Francisco to Seoul, South Korea flight is October 22, 2016. Right now, the only First Class award seats I see are in the last week before departure, like the 2 on Friday’s flight.

In Business Class, I see one seat per flight on some flights in September and October.

After the automatic 15% discount for booking awards on singaporeair.com, the total price per person from San Francisco to Seoul is:

• 65,875 miles + $193 one way in Business
• 74,375 miles + $203 one way in First

Those are about 17,000 more miles for a flight that is two hours longer than Houston to Moscow.

Sao Paulo to Barcelona

The last Sao Paulo to Barcelona flight is October 20, 2016. I love this route because it connects two fantastic cities without a connection in the United States and because there are no fuel surcharges ever when departing Brazil.

Unfortunately there isn’t much First Class award space at the moment, just one seat here and there.

There is tons of Business Class space, though, with up to 6 Business Class seats the week of departure and 2 on many flights through October.

After the automatic 15% discount for booking awards on singaporeair.com, the total price per person from Houston to Moscow is:

• 50,150 miles + $35 one way in Business
• 58,225 miles + $35 one way in First

Bottom Line

Singapore is ending some of its routes from the Americas, presumably for lack of demand. Lack of demand usually means plenty of award space, and these routes follow that pattern. Book now to travel by October from Houston to Moscow, San Francisco to Seoul, or Sao Paulo to Barcelona in luxurious Business or First Class award space.