SIN to Colombo A320 which version of A320 UL309 12 MAY 2017, plus J reward seats

[zahra01]

hello,
We arrive in Singapore on the Melb-Sing Jetstar flight on 12 May 2017, and need to get the 20:05 Sri Lankan Airlines flight to Colombo.
After 7 hrs to Sin, and a 3 hr layover, I am not looking fwd to flying this next sector in Econ.
The full fare J seat is $800 aud approx per pax., which is too expensive.
I was hoping to use QF points for J seats but nothing has been coming up for weeks on end.
Should I book an econ reward seat and then see if I can bid for an upgrade ? (if that is even allowable on a reward seat)...
Also there seems to be 2 versions of the A320...one has 12 J seats, one has 20...can anyone tell me which one it is for this flight ??
Thanks everyone.

 

[defurax]

It is the 16 seats configuration. For all I know UL do not release J award seats. The Y fare is SGD316 and usually the upgrade bid starts at USD150. I don't know if you can bid on award seats. Another option would be to fly with MH for SGD699 in J (leaving SIN at 7pm and arriving in CMB before midnight).

 

[Milboo]

I've done this flight twice now (but on SQ) and personally I would not bother with a J seat. It's a short flight - just over 3 hours and given its about 10pm AEST time, you'd be likely ready to sleep/ nap after meal service anyway.

Interesting to see you've booked seperate flights - I have found that SYD - CMB is the same price as or cheaper than just to SIN (on SQ).

 

[Austman]

The J seat on UL's A320s is great! Much better than QF 737s for example. It's a regional J product but a very good one.

 

[zahra01]

It is the 16 seats configuration. For all I know UL do not release J award seats. The Y fare is SGD316 and usually the upgrade bid starts at USD150. I don't know if you can bid on award seats. Another option would be to fly with MH for SGD699 in J (leaving SIN at 7pm and arriving in CMB before midnight).

Thanks for the info re J seats. I think UL does release them, but it seems sporadic and more on day time flights or early morning flights, this 8.05pm flight never seems to have them and I have been checking for 2 months for this date.
Good idea re MH option, called QF to see if I could use the points to do those sectors but all redemption seats gone. I even thought of going SQ to Male and then to Colombo !

 

[zahra01]

The J seat on UL's A320s is great! Much better than QF 737s for example. It's a regional J product but a very good one.

Thanks, that is good to know if I can somehow snag the seats !

 

[zahra01]

I've done this flight twice now (but on SQ) and personally I would not bother with a J seat. It's a short flight - just over 3 hours and given its about 10pm AEST time, you'd be likely ready to sleep/ nap after meal service anyway.

Interesting to see you've booked seperate flights - I have found that SYD - CMB is the same price as or cheaper than just to SIN (on SQ).

I know it's a short flight, but we'll have already flown Mel-Sin and will be tired from that. Yeah we will be ready for a sleep, hence why I don't want to be in econ as too uncomfortable and impossible for a nap !
We booked Mel-Sin in Jetstar starclass for $449 each. I thought this is a cheap way of flying 7.5 hrs in comfort. We are actually flying to Seychelles...so we have to get to Colombo to pick up the CMB-SEZ flight. We used lots of points for Colombo-Sin_melbourne home in J on EK, so the starclass option over seemed like a good idea. I also like the Dreamliner...so there was method in my madness.... just cant get to Colombo now unless in econ:-(

 

[bsb]

Do the MH J option and pay $$$ as it'll nab lots of SCs if that matters to you. HOWEVER a UL Seychelles flight out of SIN BKK etc will be a lot cheaper option

 

[zahra01]

Do the MH J option and pay $$$ as it'll nab lots of SCs if that matters to you. HOWEVER a UL Seychelles flight out of SIN BKK etc will be a lot cheaper option

I cant justify purchasing the MH fare, as I will need to use UL for the CMB-Seychelles leg anyway as that is the only way to get there from Asia (unless flying to Mumbai). If I use points for SIN-CMB-SEZ it comes to 28,000 points...if I just get CMB-SEZ then that is 20,000 points ( times all this by 2 for Business class). So the Singapore Colombo leg is only costing 8000 points. So to fly out of the way to KL first and then CMB with MH and pay $600 each for the sake of a business seat, is not worth it to us as we don't collect status credits. I really am just hanging on the business seats coming up for points for the direct flight. Today I booked them in economy using points. I will still check it everyday and if the business come up, I will cancel these.

 

[JessicaTam]

I cant justify purchasing the MH fare, as I will need to use UL for the CMB-Seychelles leg anyway as that is the only way to get there from Asia (unless flying to Mumbai). If I use points for SIN-CMB-SEZ it comes to 28,000 points...if I just get CMB-SEZ then that is 20,000 points ( times all this by 2 for Business class). So the Singapore Colombo leg is only costing 8000 points. So to fly out of the way to KL first and then CMB with MH and pay $600 each for the sake of a business seat, is not worth it to us as we don't collect status credits. I really am just hanging on the business seats coming up for points for the direct flight. Today I booked them in economy using points. I will still check it everyday and if the business come up, I will cancel these.

As per bsb's comment, have you looked at SIN or BKK-SEZ?

 

[zahra01]

As per bsb's comment, have you looked at SIN or BKK-SEZ?

Hello, I don't think you can fly bkk-sez or sin-sez, the only way is via colmbo or Mumbai.

 

[JessicaTam]

Hello, I don't think you can fly bkk-sez or sin-sez, the only way is via colmbo or Mumbai.

Fair point , the last time I went to SEZ was via SIN with HM - but that was a few years ago!

There are a few more options to investigate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seychelles_International_Airport gives a list of airlines that fly to SEZ.

The ME3 (EK, EY, QR) might provide a workable option, for example.

 

[Mattg]

I would personally purchase an economy fare on the Sri Lankan Airlines flight you're after and then bid for an upgrade. It's a good product (as others have said) and this is probably the most affordable way to get it.