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October 11 is the day Singapore resumes services on the longest flight in the world between Singapore and Newark. Singapore previously flew this route until 2013 when they got rid of the one type of plane they had capable of the long haul flight. One of Singapore’s new A350-900ULR, loaded only with premium economy and Business seats, no economy, will make the ~18 hour journey in each direction.
While the Singapore to Newark route was announced (and went on sale) at the end of May, premium cabin award space wasn’t too hot until just recently. Yesterday award space for Business Class opened up to an impressive extent, with people reporting up to six seats open per flight. The first three searches I performed on sinagporeair.com, specifically for February 4, 5, and 6, and all had three Saver level Business Class award seats available each.
Where to Search
The majority of Singapore Krisflyer premium cabin award space is only available for booking to Krisflyer’s own members, so you’ll need to search on singaporeair.com to see the full picture. Create a Krisflyer account if you don’t already have one. You don’t need any miles in order to search for award space.
Unfortunately Singapore’s website does not have a calendar search function, so you’ll have to go through results day by day.
Booking
For the same reason I stated above, you’ll need to use Singapore miles to book Singapore Business Class. Lucky for you, they are easy to come by, as they transfer 1:1 from all the major transferrable point currencies.
- Amex Membership Rewards
- Citi ThankYou Points
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Amex SPG points
If you’re concerned with losing the award space and have the option to choose between points, I’d transfer Ultimate Rewards over any other option. They should arrive within a business day to your Krisflyer account. SPG points are the worst option if time is of the essence, as transfers can take a while (I’ve seen reports from four days up to a week, some say they are deposited on Mondays…either way, not ideal).
Singapore doesn’t “officially” allow holds, but supposedly it is possible to put a Singapore award on hold for free. Some say you have to have 50% of the required mileage already in your account, others say 30%, and others have reported needing none. It probably just depends on the agent. If you don’t get a good one, call back until you find one that will hold your award if you are concerned. Upon Arriving has a post with tips outlining how to put a Singapore award on hold.
*For whatever reason, Lufthansa miles tend to have more access to premium cabin Singapore awards than other partners. And their 67,000 mile price tag is much lower than Singapore’s 92,000. If you’ve got SPG points you’re looking to burn, you could transfer 57k of them to Lufthansa which would translate to the required 67,000 miles. Lufthansa transfers from SPG can take up to 4 days but Miles & More agents will hold your award (likely for 48 hours on Singapore).
Bottom Line
Act fast if you want to book a Business Class on the world’s longest flight that ramps back up in October of this year. There are plenty of Saver level seats (92k Singapore miles a pop) to be had throughout 2018 and 2019.
Hat tip to Svenblogt
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