SQ Tips, Trips and Tales

[Peasant]

You may have a better chance of a waitlist clearing if one of your sectors (on a connecting itinerary) is available for confirmation. Agents will be more willing to send a chaser in this case.

The odds of waitlists clearing are pretty slim. They're strictly enforcing 'quotas' for Saver and Advantage seats...once the allocation is exhausted, they are less willing to open up redemption seats, even when flights have availability.

It's also important to remember that most flights in and out of Australia are pretty much close to 100% so they're not likely to clear waitlists for seats they're confident they can sell (at very strong yields).

I won't say it's impossible - and i don't necessarily subscribe to the view that if it doesn't clear within the first two weeks - it never will. But if you really do need to travel, make sure you have a back up. You may also find that fares are quite attractive with the latest fare sale that landed yesterday.

 

[kamchatsky]

So I managed to survive (surprisingly well) LAX-SIN-SYD all in Y a couple of days ago. That was the only option to get back from USA on awards for 4 on saver awards when I booked it in May (for 4 people). LAX-SIN actually went just under 18 hours.

I have SYD-SIN-MUC and MXP-SIN-SYD booked on J Saver Award * 4 in late June and end of July. I really look forward to it.

I tried to look at SYD-SIN-HKG and a number of other routes (eg SGN, BKK, DPS, etc) to Asia during Christmas - New Year period 2023. The availability on Saver for 4 are almost non-existent, even for Y. All Y's are on Advantage Awards. For J even Advantage is hard to get.

I think the whole world is now trying to blow all the KF miles right now, and it meant SQ can just put up all awards as Advantage awards. In many ways it erodes your KF point balances by stealth. I am hesitant to transfer bank points to SQ, as I am not sure whether this will become the norm in the future.

The alternative was to look at Qantas. They don't even have awards seats available at all, even in Y during that period of Xmas-New Year. So at least on SQ you can still book on Advantage for now. But man the whole points devaluation is happening at lightning speed and everywhere.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

SQ Calendar just arrived - tad late but it is what it is:


Miss January is Hazel - she is a - I have had the pleasure of Hazel looking after me on 3 different flts so far:

 

[drron]

You look different CE. At least you have the Krug shirt on.

 

[Quickstatus]

Not bad
2/4 sectors on Advantage waitlist converted after 1 week. Not exactly cost effective but anyhow....
SYD-SIN-LHR

When i did seat selection the A350 only had 15 out of 42 seats in grey.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Not bad
2/4 sectors on Advantage waitlist converted after 1 week. Not exactly cost effective but anyhow....
SYD-SIN-LHR

When i did seat selection the A350 only had 15 out of 42 seats in grey.

Out of interest, when are the flights roughly?

ie Did you waitlist a week ago for March?, May?, October?

 

[Quickstatus]

Out of interest

May
but the successful sectors were each on a separate waitlist and a longish layover (<24hrs though) in SIN
It converted to fare class D

The return sectors did not come through but I managed to scoop one advantage CPH-SIN-SYD no stopover end of May

I looked at FRA, AMS, CPH, LHR. There are some non waitlist spots to/from these ports in May.

I had another wait list earlier in Apr-May but that didn't come through - or at least not yet.

Amex sweep to KF was instantaneous as was Velocity to KF

 

[lovetravellingoz]

but the successful sectors were each on a separate waitlist and a longish layover (<24hrs though) in SIN

I actually prefer longish layovers generally if it avoids flying out of SIN late at night, or in the wee hours.

I will often book so I can overnight in Singapore and fly out in the morning till noonish. Having say two "day" flights from MEL to Europe means that I enjoy both flights more, plus my acclimatisation to the local destination timezone is then very good.


I have a Saver J waitlist to JFK very late in May, so I am hoping it clears. So maybe I will know in the next few weeks based on your May timeline. I have confirmed J flights in Junes, but am hoping to flight a bit earlier.

 

[Bell21]

I assume this is right place to post this, but SQ gave my wife and I a lovely surprise on SQ211 (SIN-SYD) last Thursday. Given time of year and scarcity of reward flights, it wasn't surprising when booking this trip, that I had to 'resort' to premium economy from AMS-SIN-SYD especially given we are a family of 5, but after AMS-SIN in premium, when my wife and I turned up at the gate to board SIN-SYD, they said we'd been upgraded to J (I am KF Gold and wife is KF Silver which no doubt helped, as the young adults didn't get an upgrade...) --- it was a lovely way to end the trip. Thanks to SQ.

 

[Quickstatus]

I will often book so I can overnight in Singapore

Yea I got midnight arrival into SIN and the next day midday departure to LHR.

Have booked CP Changi for the sleepover

 

[Phoenix-1]

Not sure if this is the right place for it, but is it normal that VA has more reward seat availability on SQ than KF? I can see ADL-SIN flights available in J on VA on certain dates (multiple seats, too) but there's nothing on KF (advantage or saver).

 

[Scr77]

Not sure if this is the right place for it, but is it normal that VA has more reward seat availability on SQ than KF? I can see ADL-SIN flights available in J on VA on certain dates (multiple seats, too) but there's nothing on KF (advantage or saver).

That would be unusual. Are you sure the VA search isn’t showing via another city?

 

[dajop]

I booked SIN-MEL last year using velocity points (in economy) when KrisFlyer only had waitlists available - and I get better availability than most using KF miles in economy (actually books into a commercial fare class) due to status Go figure.

 

[MattA]

Not sure if this is the right place for it, but is it normal that VA has more reward seat availability on SQ than KF? I can see ADL-SIN flights available in J on VA on certain dates (multiple seats, too) but there's nothing on KF (advantage or saver).

I've noticed this too. Here's a live example. SQ search is showing only two non waitlist itineraries on this day (in Advantage) and doesn't show the 8:50pm LHR departure at all. What's going on here?

 

[Phoenix-1]

I just checked again, ADL-SIN actually seems to match up. I believe I was originally searching ADL-BKK. Velocity reward seat available on 27/1 but nil available on KF.

I guess flights to SIN are OK but to somewhere else partners are getting preference?

 

[Scr77]

Thats interesting. The 8.50pm shows availability as a cash fare.

 

[drron]

There are probably no seats left in the reward bucket for the 8.50pm LHR flight.
This is what BA does. I have checked with them when the flight I prefer isn't listed for an awards search but shows up as a cash fare. The answer I got was there is no more award inventory.

 

[dxwell]

DId a search this morning BNE-LHR J across various future dates. Nothing available.
Did search for SIN-LHR J across various future dates. Heaps of Saver fares available across vast swathes of dates.
Did search for BNE-SIN across various future dates. Nothing available.
Is there something particular about AUS to SIN award flights/capacity/demand?
I understand there is demand peaks, but the non-availability is consistent.

 

[MattA]

There are probably no seats left in the reward bucket for the 8.50pm LHR flight.

Yeah that makes sense. The odd thing here is that Velocity members apparently have access to award inventory on that sector where KrisFlyer members do not.

It would make sense if it was the other way around (i.e., VA getting only a subset of saver availability), and I have seen examples of that, but I don't know why SQ would offer award space to a partner over and above what it offers its own members.

Are they two separate buckets? Is this phantom award availability that errors out if you try to book it?

[For context, I've been keeping an eye on flights back out of various EU airports around the end of May -- have confirmed booking but with a long layover so checking in case something comes up with better timing -- and this is not the only example I've seen of this mismatch where VA apparently has award space that SQ does not.]

 

[serfty]

Is there something particular about AUS to SIN award flights/capacity/demand?
I understand there is demand peaks, but the non-availability is consistent.

This is pretty normal and not just awards. A decade ago when I travelled a lot more, would book moany fares ex SIN with different nested bookings between Singapore and Australia.