What would you choose MI vs JQ HKT - SIN

[NZflygirl]

Looking at travel coughet to Singapore next year and not really sure what to choose. The values listed are per person.

MI 1hr50m
Y NZD $190 = Y award 12,500
J NZD $588 = J award 20,000
Y-J upgrade 15,000 = $NZD 398 difference

JQ
Y NZD$148 20kg
NZD$158 25kg
NZD$178 extra leg room seat + 25kg

QF points = 9,600 miles = ?Y with 20kg

I know paying $588 for short haul J isn't an option.
I'm just guessing the QF points Y award gets us the basic 20kg allowance so we would need to pay an extra $30 to get extra leg room seating.
I'm guessing there's no starches for the A320 so didn't even go looking.

The MI award will come from KF miles which are a combo of personal earn, AMEX MR and SPG. Because it's a combo I'm not really sure how I value these.
I'm wondering if JQ with extra leg room might be the more comfy option. There's 3 flights a day I think so options if a plane went tech.

The plan is to actually come from Krabi. I looked at flights from Krabi to SIN but only Air Asia and Tigerair were on offer. Air Asia is out. Tiger air I'm still trying to find out info about but it looks like we can take the bus or ferry or a Qantas transfer from Krabi to coughet which sounds like a better option than the Krabi departures.

My other question which I may pose to the SQ forum if not answered here is that I'm planning on a SIN-AKL F award flight and I don't know if there's any way of adding on the coughet to Singapore leg in J which on its own requires 20,000 KF miles, for lesser miles, like married segments? (if that's the right term).

Please push me in 1 direction or another

 

[Denali]

MI = Silk Air?

Although perfectly good to travel with, I think of the Silk Air FAs as SQ poorer cousins in training and polish. And when in Y I don't even consider the food as its been that disappointing. Have flown J with them a few times, nicer food, very comfortable seats, FAs try very hard. A couple of times empty cabin but us.

If I was paying $, I would try JQ J, especially if they have a few flights per day but if it's with points, MI J.

MI J should give you access at T2 KF gold lounge, by memory. It was quite nice.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

IIRC you can get a stopover on a singapore airlines one way saver award for USD100. You could then add on the Silkair flight to HKT in the ticket. Some folk have reported agents having a problem with mixed class bookings... but the award chart still shows mixed class being an option, so hang up and call again if this is a problem:

• Singapore Airlines Suites and First Class are only available on selected SingaporeAirlines flights. SilkAir does not have a Suites/First Class cabin. Business Classseats will be allocated to members who redeem their miles for SingaporeAirlines Suites and/or First Class on Singapore Airlines flights which do not havea Singapore Airlines Suites/First Class cabin. The number of miles required forthe entire trip may be determined at the redemption level of the highest classof service flown. Please check the classes available on the flight before makinga redemption.

 

[DaveB]

Have flown MI J half a dozen times and have always had excellent service with food quality better than Oz domestic J in QF or VA.
Having just flown EY F/J to YYZ returning on CX J, you remember how good SQ or MI is after flying with someone else.
SQ J from SIN-AKL is the same as HKT-AKL being 58,000 points so would do both legs in J on the one ticket over trying to do SIN-AKL overnight in F which is 80,000 points with the HKT leg on a separate ticket.

 

[NZflygirl]

Yes MI = Silk Air.

We will have lounge access in coughet regardless of airline so have taken this out of the equation.

One of the stink things about NZ AMEX MR is that it's a 2:1 transfer. I have over 200,000 MR but that would only translate to 100,000 KF miles. Then there's the SPG points which I'm going to buy more in this 35% promo which would transfer at 1:1 but that's an expensive use. I have around 8,000 KF miles from just flying. Will transfer some VA points as well. So I'm not really sure what value to place on these numbers vs the JQ option. Most of the points will go towards SQ F x2 awards but there will be some leftover.

I only had max bundle offers, not star class so I don't think Jetstar J is available on this route?

The JQ option seems good if I compare it to AKL-SYD for 18,000 points for flytime of 2.5-3hrs vs coughet to Singapore for 1hr50min for 9,600 points + I think $30 NZD for extra leg room

 

[MEL_Traveller]

you're correct... no jetstar business class on the intra-Asia flights. Hopefully the decision is a moot point if you can include the MI on your existing F award for $100 (assuming you want a stopover on the way, of flying straight through no extra charge)

 

[NZflygirl]

IIRC you can get a stopover on a singapore airlines one way saver award for USD100. You could then add on the Silkair flight to HKT in the ticket. Some folk have reported agents having a problem with mixed class bookings... but the award chart still shows mixed class being an option, so hang up and call again if this is a problem:

So I could use 80,000 for an F saver award and pay USD100 = NZD$138 for a stopover in SIN? Or would I still have to add the 20,000 KF miles for J?
What's the shortest time frame for a stopover in SIN? I don't mind whipping out for a day but not overly keen on staying the night although we could factor that in if necessary.

Have flown MI J half a dozen times and have always had excellent service with food quality better than Oz domestic J in QF or VA.
Having just flown EY F/J to YYZ returning on CX J, you remember how good SQ or MI is after flying with someone else.
SQ J from SIN-AKL is the same as HKT-AKL being 58,000 points so would do both legs in J on the one ticket over trying to do SIN-AKL overnight in F which is 80,000 points with the HKT leg on a separate ticket.

I did see the J award the whole way through but I'd like to do the F award this trip. It would be nice to fly MI J but was hoping that flying MI then SQ might be cheaper than separate SQ and MI award tickets. I know how to book a one way award on SQ but don't know much more than this. If we did redeem for 2 separate tickets I think I'd protect them by a fairly large time margin.

I'm unsure if 20,000 KF miles is a good use of points on MI J for 1hr50min.

I was able to book AKL-MEL-HBA via QF for the same points as AKL-MEL. I don't know if something similar exists for SQ or if I can get the price for HKT-SIN-AKL down to say 90,000 KF miles instead of 80,000 F award + 20,000 J award.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So I could use 80,000 for an F saver award and pay USD100 = NZD$138 for a stopover in SIN? Or would I still have to add the 20,000 KF miles for J?
What's the shortest time frame for a stopover in SIN? I don't mind whipping out for a day but not overly keen on staying the night although we could factor that in if necessary.



I did see the J award the whole way through but I'd like to do the F award this trip. It would be nice to fly MI J but was hoping that flying MI then SQ might be cheaper than separate SQ and MI award tickets. I know how to book a one way award on SQ but don't know much more than this. If we did redeem for 2 separate tickets I think I'd protect them by a fairly large time margin.

I'm unsure if 20,000 KF miles is a good use of points on MI J for 1hr50min.

I was able to book AKL-MEL-HBA via QF for the same points as AKL-MEL. I don't know if something similar exists for SQ or if I can get the price for HKT-SIN-AKL down to say 90,000 KF miles instead of 80,000 F award + 20,000 J award.

If you are flying straight through, no need for a stopover, you include the HKT sector in addition to the AKL-SIN. New Zealand to Thailand is a zone 9 to zone 3 award, 75K in F saver (although the MI flight is in business... see the note i posted above regarding mixed class awards).

If you want to stop in Singapore, you can do so for the same 75K (assuming you are booking through Krisflyer), and add a stopover for USD100, giving you flexibility.

 

[dajop]

Just curious why is Air Asia and Tiger out coming back from Krabi? If it is concerns over connecting/ cancelling etc I get it. If it is safety concerns I do feel much safer to spend the time in a plane than on the roads in most of Thailand ...

 

[NZflygirl]

If you are flying straight through, no need for a stopover, you include the HKT sector in addition to the AKL-SIN. New Zealand to Thailand is a zone 9 to zone 3 award, 75K in F saver (although the MI flight is in business... see the note i posted above regarding mixed class awards).

If you want to stop in Singapore, you can do so for the same 75K (assuming you are booking through Krisflyer), and add a stopover for USD100, giving you flexibility.

Ah! I was looking at them separately thinking I'd have to add them rather than a one way the whole way through. Would rather fly straight through. The saver award chart I looked at said 80,000 Thailand to NZ. https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/ppsclub_krisflyer/charts/SQMI_AwardChart_23Mar.pdf

This rocks my boat! No extra miles needed.
When I tried on the redemption calculator it was a no go so thought it wasn't possible as a one way even flying F one leg and J the other and booking the F leg was what I was focussed on the most.

Just curious why is Air Asia and Tiger out coming back from Krabi? If it is concerns over connecting/ cancelling etc I get it. If it is safety concerns I do feel much safer to spend the time in a plane than on the roads in most of Thailand ...

Yeah safety concerns. I don't actually have any issues flying JQ or TZ from a safety point of view. Air Asia I do and Tiger Air Singapore I need to spend some more time looking. It's really whether planes get maintained by the same places SQ gets theirs done and what pilot recruitment is like. If I don't find the answers then I don't fly them. Africa, Vietnam, and India which are probably my worst driving experiences to date. Vietnam and India someone else was driving. Do you think Thailand is worse than these places? To date my impression is that Qantas chooses fairly reliable people/companies for transfers although I see for Krabi one group wasn't rated highly. Ferry is an option also but will be weather dependent but I presume a nice way to get to coughet.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Ah! I was looking at them separately thinking I'd have to add them rather than a one way the whole way through. Would rather fly straight through. The saver award chart I looked at said 80,000 Thailand to NZ. https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/ppsclub_krisflyer/charts/SQMI_AwardChart_23Mar.pdf

This rocks my boat! No extra miles needed.
When I tried on the redemption calculator it was a no go so thought it wasn't possible as a one way even flying F one leg and J the other and booking the F leg was what I was focussed on the most.

Ok, for some reason a google search for the kris flyer award chart brings up the old one first (ie 75K). Yes it looks like 80K. But you should be able to combine both sectors for that price - it'll need to be done through the call centre. If the call centre agent wants to charge two awards, draw their attention to the text I quoted above (also on the award chart). If they don't budge, hang up and call again. No use paying extra $$ or points for the sector if it can be included for free.

 

[NZflygirl]

Ok, for some reason a google search for the kris flyer award chart brings up the old one first (ie 75K). Yes it looks like 80K. But you should be able to combine both sectors for that price - it'll need to be done through the call centre. If the call centre agent wants to charge two awards, draw their attention to the text I quoted above (also on the award chart). If they don't budge, hang up and call again. No use paying extra $$ or points for the sector if it can be included for free.

Thank you to you and others that replied.

Turned out to be easier than what I was thinking initially. I need to wait for the dates to come through as I'm > 12 months out but want to know what I'm doing when my dates pop up.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Africa, Vietnam, and India which are probably my worst driving experiences to date. Vietnam and India someone else was driving. Do you think Thailand is worse than these places?

Life and death on Thailand's lethal roads - BBC News

Road accidents in Thailand

2nd in the world for road accident deaths, after Libya

24,000 people are estimated to die on Thai roads every year

73% of those killed are motorcyclists

36.9m vehicles ply Thai roads - it's gone up by 30% in the last five years

 

[NZflygirl]

Life and death on Thailand's lethal roads - BBC News

:-|

Ferry maybe? 2.5hrs seems a long time but hopefully weather is nice. I'll take sea legs just in case.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Ferry maybe?

If you have concerns about road and flying safety, you should make sure to research water transport safety too, noting some major incidents over the years.

Statistically, the likelihood of an incident is not high but ultimately it's what level of risk you are comfortable with. We all make some determinations that aren't based purely on statistics.

(As an aside, ICAO has not set a firm date for removing Thailand's red flag status, but says the country's procedures for awarding air operator's certificates have improved.)

 

[oh_lol]

Silk are now doing 50% off redemptions so I guess they probably tips it

 

[JohnK]

I have done short haul economy with both and either airline would be fine in economy for a short trip. I normally try to get bulkhead for longer trips but happy to just pay for standard selection for these short trips.

Have a 3K SIN-BKK economy flight coming up next month followed by an MI CNX-SIN economy flight a few weeks later.