Business or First

[lonewolf]

Hi Guys,

I have quite a lot of KF points partly because initially i was told to just use them for First class flights as i will probably never be able to afford them via cash alone. But they seem quite rare and hard to find available seats on and i have just ended up not using the points and booking a normal economy flight via cash instead and hoping to save and use them later. Of course i know they will expire in a couple of years so i really need to get around to using them, then recently i got told by other people they actually feel First class isnt that worth to fly because its pretty much just more pampering and luxurious which is nice and fine to do as a once off maybe but generally the main parts of making a flight enjoyable and comfortable are all catered for in business these days with a flat bed and enough privacy to make it comfortable for you.

So now i am thinking maybe i should have started using my points already on just business class flights instead of saving them up and on the off chance actually having them expire.

For people who have flown both first class / suites and business class, what are your experiences and opinions? The suite sounds fun but i presume (the flights i will be mainly flying are around 8 hours) you sleep for a decent amount of it and also once you have done it, its nice but is it worth the extra points as well as also the extra wait / having to book far in advance? What other benefits do you get? Do you find waitlisting works well for you guys?

 

[Scr77]

There are lots of ways to look at this. But, there’s no way I would pay for economy if I had the points for Business. I flew First with SQ a couple of weeks ago, but would have happily gone business.

 

[lilkid28]

Business up to 10 hours. Above 10 hours, you can consider First. First not worth it for flight below 8 hours, unless its day flight and you want to go out on Champagne, shower.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

F/R over J no-brainer on any length of flt provided it is not o/n - if you going to sleep for majority of flt then it is different matter - depends on dep/arr ports.

 

[SponsorSFC]

I would take SQ First/Suites over Business on any route it is available with the current points differences. I would also use points for business over paying for economy but wouldn't use points for economy unless I really had to.

There is no point saving points they are to be earned and burned.

Other people may have a different opinion but F/R on SQ is sufficiently better than J that it is worth the point premium. Having said that I don't think I would pay for F.

Try F at least once and make your own decision. If I hadn't had a Suites trip booked for next month already would be trying to get into old Suites ASAP before they disappear.

 

[penegal]

Suites/First class is better than business class
Business class is better than economy class

Whether you want to "save" your points for a R/F redemption, or are happy to fly J is up to you.

I personally wouldn't rush to fly economy class, except on shorter segments, or during the day. I find it difficult to sleep sitting in an economy class seat, so prefer business class or above for overnight segments.

 

[lonewolf]

Do you guys generally book the F/R several months in advance because generally that seems to be the only option otherwise they are all booked out.

Also is there a big difference from the A380s and the 777 for F/R and J? As predominantly the flights i was looking at were just sydney to singapore and then i will just get a short flight from singapore to another asian country as thats where i spend majority of my travel anyway. I figured no point wasting points flying business and above for a 1-3 hour flight?

I notice the A380 seats seem to go so much quicker than the 777s...

 

[lilkid28]

Do you guys generally book the F/R several months in advance because generally that seems to be the only option otherwise they are all booked out.

Also is there a big difference from the A380s and the 777 for F/R and J? As predominantly the flights i was looking at were just sydney to singapore and then i will just get a short flight from singapore to another asian country as thats where i spend majority of my travel anyway. I figured no point wasting points flying business and above for a 1-3 hour flight?

I notice the A380 seats seem to go so much quicker than the 777s...

For Syd to Sin F flights, can get few months out, for Sin to Europe, you be looking at when the calendar opens. Yes SQ A380 suites are better than 777 where possible.

 

[Isochronous]

I would always go for SQ F if available - I find the SQ seat uncomfortable and not at all conducive to sleep because you can't lay down straight.

 

[Drew]

For people who have flown both first class / suites and business class, what are your experiences and opinions?

Howdy Lonewolf

Hopefully, my answer will help guide your decision. I have flown with both First and Business class and they're both amazing experiences. To put it into perspective, having spent most of my adult life travelling in economy, when I had the opportunity to fly in business it cemented my decision to only fly business (on international flights). However, when I flew in first class I can't say the feeling was the same.

Sure, it was a fantastic experience and I'd do it again if it wasn't the cost-benefit of business vs first.

Travelling first class is an experience like no other, caviar, showers and Krug in the air is astonishing. If you've never travelled business, I can confidently say that you'll have your mind blown and if you are points poor (like I am) a smaller flat-bed, damn fine food accompanied by a very good selection of booze should suffice.

its nice but is it worth the extra points as well as also the extra wait / having to book far in advance?

I kinda answered this question earlier. One thing I will say is that if you're flying business. I'd try to fly on an aircraft that isn't fitted with a first-class cabin. This is going to sound pretentious but, walking through the business class from first on the Emirates A380 will feel like cattle-class for business. Emirates has78 seats on their As380 and it won't be as special compared to a Singapore Airlines (36 seats). Weird rationale, but hey, that's just me.

What other benefits do you get?

The two best benefits for me is a lounge to relax in while you kill time and priority boarding.

Do you find waitlisting works well for you guys?

It's a hit and miss sometimes. I travelled on Singapore's 'new' A380 last year and received confirmation a few days before flying out (I had already booked a flight but waitlisted the new cabin). It was an easy process, confirm via email/web/app (I can't remember which).

Though Singapore has revamped its waitlist processes. Hopefully for the better

 

[Denali]

Because I have to buy 2 x and hubby suffers from point lost anxiety, we've only flown J but I eye off the F options very hard. Last SQ long haul (380, 777 & 359) left me asking how SQ gets their J side bend sleep seats so wrong.

 

[SponsorSFC]

Do you guys generally book the F/R several months in advance because generally that seems to be the only option otherwise they are all booked out.

Also is there a big difference from the A380s and the 777 for F/R and J? As predominantly the flights i was looking at were just sydney to singapore and then i will just get a short flight from singapore to another asian country as thats where i spend majority of my travel anyway. I figured no point wasting points flying business and above for a 1-3 hour flight?

I notice the A380 seats seem to go so much quicker than the 777s...

You will find most of Asia falls into Zones 1-3 in the Krisflyer Award chart. It will cost you the same number of points to fly SYD-SIN-BKK for example as it would for just SYD-SIN. You can add a free stopover on a saver return award or pay $100 USD for a stopover on a one way saver award.

https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/ppsclub_krisflyer/charts/SQMI_AwardChart.pdf

This is probably the most comprehensive guide to the seats on each of the aircraft in SQ's fleet you will find.

Singapore Airlines First & Business Class Seat Guide - The MileLion

milelion.com

 

[lonewolf]

You will find most of Asia falls into Zones 1-3 in the Krisflyer Award chart. It will cost you the same number of points to fly SYD-SIN-BKK for example as it would for just SYD-SIN. You can add a free stopover on a saver return award or pay $100 USD for a stopover on a one way saver award.

https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/ppsclub_krisflyer/charts/SQMI_AwardChart.pdf

This is probably the most comprehensive guide to the seats on each of the aircraft in SQ's fleet you will find.

Singapore Airlines First & Business Class Seat Guide - The MileLion

milelion.com

Oh, I didnt realise that, i was just going to fly some low level budget airline for the sin to bkk part as i thought not worth using points for such a short distance.

So much information on here, information overload from all the responses thanks guys.

The only problem i find is, most seats are booked out months in advance or several months in advance if its First class. Especially for the A380s too . Waitlist sounds like an option but i presume then i book a lower seat class and waitlist the higher seat class then if i get it, i need to pay a fee to upgrade / book the higher seat class and cancel the lower seat class booking. Is this a time consuming process as in having to call them to do this and repeat calls etc?

 

[lonewolf]

I just checked you were right, it is the same amount of points, makes my life easier than having to book another flight as well as potentially have to go through customs, pick up my bags and check in all over again in singapore. Only catch is there are no First class seats on flights to thailand from Singapore which means if i am making a booking all the way to bangkok then i can only book both legs in business otherwise i need to make separate bookings which means having to use more points as well i guess.

 

[Lemon_Party]

I've just booked LHR-SYD in F and a separate flight SYD-BNE to get home. I debated this for a little while, as both F legs are 777 and I'd probably rather get home sooner, but realistically I have the points, the flight was available, how many opportunities are there through life to fly F?

 

[SponsorSFC]

I just checked you were right, it is the same amount of points, makes my life easier than having to book another flight as well as potentially have to go through customs, pick up my bags and check in all over again in singapore. Only catch is there are no First class seats on flights to thailand from Singapore which means if i am making a booking all the way to bangkok then i can only book both legs in business otherwise i need to make separate bookings which means having to use more points as well i guess.

You can make a mixed class redemption by calling the KF call centre. You can't book these online. I do this as there is no F cabin out of PER.

It will cost the same amount of points as the highest class you travel ie: SYD-SIN in F and SIN-BKK in J will cost 85k KF miles.

If F isn't available you can waitlist it and confirm the available J seats. If the waitlist clears you will then just need to pay the difference between the J and F price plus a $25 USD change fee.

 

[lonewolf]

You can make a mixed class redemption by calling the KF call centre. You can't book these online. I do this as there is no F cabin out of PER.

It will cost the same amount of points as the highest class you travel ie: SYD-SIN in F and SIN-BKK in J will cost 85k KF miles.

If F isn't available you can waitlist it and confirm the available J seats. If the waitlist clears you will then just need to pay the difference between the J and F price plus a $25 USD change fee.

I notice people seem to do alot of these things by calling the call centre, is it a different experience from say calling up scoot or Jetstar etc? as I struggled to get through to them and spent hours on the phone with them to get simple answers to questions. Is Krisflyer a totally different call centre experience?

 

[SponsorSFC]

Not as bad as Jetstar/QFF but can be busy at times. Most I have spent waiting was about 30 minutes but sometimes it goes straight through to an agent.

Make sure you call 02 8228 1188 as it should take you to the SIN based all centre.

 

[lilkid28]

I've just booked LHR-SYD in F and a separate flight SYD-BNE to get home. I debated this for a little while, as both F legs are 777 and I'd probably rather get home sooner, but realistically I have the points, the flight was available, how many opportunities are there through life to fly F?

You will enjoy it, doesn't matter it's A380 or 777

 

[lonewolf]

Is one of the main benefits of business over economy and especially first over business to do with the quality of alcohol served? I dont really drink much alcohol and never really drink it on planes (hate having to get up and go to the bathrooms as well as also the idea of being tipsy or having a headache / hangover while on a flight doesnt seem like it will be fun).

Sounds like there are different types of seats for business as well, i thought they would all have been flat beds on SQ, what are side bends?