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Singapore Airlines flies to two destinations from Los Angeles — Seoul and Tokyo Narita (with continuing service to Singapore). They’re going to stop Seoul service with the re-introduction of Los Angeles – Singapore non-stop.
The Tokyo flight is operated with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, not with Airbus A380s, so first class is still a bed with great food and service but isn’t their suites offering.
Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER
You can only book long haul premium cabin award space using Singapore’s own Krisflyer miles. Fortunately you can transfer Chase, Citibank, and American Express to Singapore Airlines. It’s one of my favorite uses of points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
Singapore’s Los Angeles – Tokyo flight is wide open with saver award availability for two passengers in first class.
The best availability seems to be May onward although you’ll find space at other times as well. Here’s what saver award availability looks like for two first class passengers in May and in June.
Award Search Calendar Credit AwardNexus.com
Award Search Calendar Credit AwardNexus.com
Singapore charges 95,000 miles per person each way for Los Angeles – Tokyo Narita first class. There are no fuel surcharges.
Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER First Class
There are no doors on these first class seats, but you still get Dom Perignon and Krug along with Singapore’s fantastic broader wine selection and you still get outstanding ‘book the cook’ options for your main meals as well as famous Singapore service.
From Tokyo of course you can book Singapore space onward, ANA space to other destinations (using Singapore’s Star Alliance award chart), or book another award ticket entirely if Japan isn’t your goal (e.g. use British Airways Avios to travel on Japan Airlines).
Transfers to Singapore aren’t instant, they generally take 12-48 hours. There’s no Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer official policy I’m aware of that allows awards to be put on hold, though I’ve done 3 day holds several times.
The SQ website doesn’t seem to be allowing Saver redemptions LAX-NRT-SIN (only offering LAX-SIN direct on Saver) hence the open availability LAX-NRT I am assuming you can no longer book a stopover in NRT for $100 on a longer LAX-SE Asia itinerary and would require a separate booking to get from NRT through SIN to a final destination.
Thanks for the heads-up. Booked!
Gary – How do you come up with SQ Krisflyer results on Awardnexus? My account does not show a method for searching SQ’s own inventory, just the common Star Alliance inventory via AC/NH/UA.
looking for a company I can pay to book award flights on Singapore, is there one?