Flight Review – Singapore Airlines Suites Class New York to Frankfurt
I had the pleasure of flying Singapore Suites on the New York (JFK) – Frankfurt (FRA) route with my wife this past month. It was the first of two segments we had on Singapore Airlines during our travel to Southeast Asia. Below is a review of my experience and details on how YOU, TOO can fly through the sky in a Singapore Suite just by applying a few points and miles techniques!
The moment that I first read a review about Singapore Airlines Suites Class is the moment I knew that one day I HAD to experience it first-hand. Flying through the sky in a suite – complete with a double bed – was something that I never could have imagined the points and miles hobby would allow me to accomplish… but it happened, and the flight did not disappoint!
The Pre-flight Experience:
The flight left from New York. We live in Tampa. No big deal – we hopped a quick non-stop Delta “positioning” flight to JFK and were all set to go!
Now we just had to wait for 3 hours until our flight boarded… which was not so bad since we had access to the Virgin America Clubhouse Lounge as Singapore Suites passengers!
We relaxed for a bit, and sampled some of the food and drink offerings…
The lounge was energetic and fresh and we really enjoyed our time there, but we headed out as soon as we heard the call for boarding – time for the flight!
The Airplane:
Singapore Airlines flies an Airbus A380 aircraft on this route, which is a HUGE aircraft: two stories, with Business Class occupying the entire the 2nd floor, Economy in the middle and rear of the 1st floor, and then Suites Class in the nose of the 1st floor.
Following the dinner service, our friendly flight attendant approached our suite to ask if we would like a to take a tour of the full plane with the flight attendant. So, not wanting to miss out on the full experience, we decided to take her up on the offer and see the plane from nose to tail (on both levels)!
The Suite – Seat & Bed:
Though I read multiple reviews and viewed pictures of the Suites cabin plenty of times prior to flying, I was still impressed by how incredibly luxurious, spacious, and just all around delightful the Suites cabin was.
While there are 8 individual suites in the cabin, there are only two sets of side-by-side suites that allow you to combine into one large suite, complete with a double bed – perfect for traveling with a companion!
We selected seats 3C and 3D (a combined suite) and made ourselves at home!
We ate, we drank, we watched movies and played games. Eventually, we requested our beds to be made (a process that the flight attendant will complete upon request) and were able to get a couple hours of sleep. Even as we sprawled out on our “beds”, we still tried to stay alert as long as possible, since we wanted to experience Suites Class awake for as much time as we physically could (and also because our end destination was Singapore rather than Frankfurt, so we were trying to time our sleep to align with the local time).
The Entertainment:
Long plane rides are the perfect opportunity to catch up on movies, so that is just what we did! And the entertainment system –complete with a 23 inch TV screen and Bose headphones – kept us busy (when we weren’t busy eating and drinking!) during the overnight flight.
We watched movies…
We watched the plane…
We played Battleship…
The Food & Drink:
Other than the double bed, the feature I was most eager to indulge in was the champagne selection! I love champagne. I normally stick to the cheap stuff because my taste buds probably aren’t classy enough to know the difference… but in Suites Class I put my champagne palate to the test and attempted the ultimate taste test – distinguish between Dom Perigon and Krug!
So which was better? After a 3 glass sampling of each (maybe it was 3, or maybe it was 6…who’s counting!?) we came to the determination that they are both wonderful 🙂
The food service on the plane proved as delectable as the champagne! Many people don’t enjoy airplane food (probably because they taste like TV dinners…), but the meals in Singapore Suites more closely resemble Bern’s Steakhouse (a local Tampa favorite) than your everyday TV dinner. One great feature of Singapore Suites is the ability to “Book the Cook”, and select your gourmet meals months before flying!
The Amenities:
Airline amenity kits are a really neat part of flying first class (and business class), and they are especially neat when they are his-and-hers Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kits!
My favorite amenity though? The pajama set offered to each passenger! Sitting for 8 hours in the same clothes can feel a bit stale, and though we normally travel pretty relaxed and comfy, the extra soft pajamas had us on a whole different comfort level!
The Service:
Year after year Singapore Airlines earns top honors for customer service, and we had the pleasure of experiencing why! From the moment we entered the plane, we received nothing but the most attentive and considerate customer service. I feel #blessed.
The attentive staff made sure that there was never a moment during the flight where I found myself wanting for anything… it seems they were always one step ahead in providing me with whatever I may have needed! Now that I think about it, this could have been the reason why 3 glasses of champagne turned into 6 glasses so quickly!
The Landing:
Smoooooth… enough said!
The Overall Experience:
AMAZING! Even in writing this review I am taken back to how truly wonderful the experience was. In every aspect, this was the best flight that I have ever taken (and may ever take)! The plane, the suites, the food and drink, the service – every single item was carefully thought through and it was evident throughout the entire flight.
Everyone CAN have this sort of flight experience at least once in their lives, which brings me to my next point!
You Too, Can Fly Singapore Suites:
Seriously, you can, and it is relatively cheap – from a points/miles perspective that is!
What makes Singapore Airlines so great is that they are transfer partners of all the major rewards programs (Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi Thank you Rewards and Starwood Starpoints). That means that you can transfer all the points from multiple credit cards in order to accumulate a large Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles balance for your flight. Make sure to sign-up for a free Singapore Airlines’ Frequent Flyer Account and then you can search for available flights directly on the Singapore Airlines website! As an added bonus, Singapore Airlines give you a 15% discount on the point redemptions booked online through their site!
This exact flight will cost you just 57,375 Krisflyer miles per person + about $200 in taxes (at the lowest “Saver” level of award tickets), meaning a Chase Sapphire Preferred sign-up bonus (50k), adding of an authorized user (5k), and meeting of minimum spend ($4k = 4k points) will provide you enough Chase Ultimate Rewards (59k) to transfer to Singapore Airlines and take this flight! While the taxes and fees are a little higher than what is typical on a US-Europe first-class award redemption, the additional value greatly outweighs the extra cost.
If you only take away two things from this review, please remember that 1 – it was incredible! and 2 – you, too, can have this experience!
So what are you waiting for!?
Final Thought
Though I am an avid points and miles collector, I wouldn’t say that flying first class is the “norm” for me, so I still get really excited at every opportunity I get to do so, and this was no exception! Both Mallory and I agree that this is the greatest flight that we have ever taken, and it is going to be tough (if not impossible) to ever top!
Remember, this experience was all made possible by leveraging credit card points and frequent flyer miles. Points and miles really will allow you to achieve your travel dreams – whether that means redeeming points for Singapore Suites, or for flying two great grandparents, three kids and their spouses and two grandchildren all back to Wichita, Kansas for the family reunion!
Points and miles can make it all happen – you just have to let it!
Any and all questions on how to book Singapore Suites, points and miles, or just travel in general – email me at accountingyourpoints@yahoo.com
Happy Travels!
DW
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