V-Flyer

Firstly do they exist? If so, as a product is business any patch on a G in upper?
Second; which route holds better chance for getting two reward seats together if at all?? (can't seem to find any in G next spring) [?]

Ultimately trying to get to OZ; ideally first (long) leg in Business/upper, rest a bit more cramped. [n]

suggestions on the best way to hunt them down..

Yes they do exist - they are not as straightforward to get as VS ones, though.

You have to ring the Flying Club and they check with SQ for availability. This can take quite a long time.

See our LHR-SIN TR's from earlier this year,here and here, for a comparision of VS UC and SQ J - there were pros and cons for both.

There are several posts about booking SQ rewards - be patient and be flexible - I am also not sure about availability on the A380.


Nick

Currently SQ are not allowing Business or Suites rewards on the A380.

Thanks, I'm not surprised about the A380, however we'd be looking ideally at MAN-SIN- or LHR-SIN for the rewards

I've been through the Singapore booking saga as above. It's very unlikely (but not impossible) to get two first class seats on a flight - one seems to be the usual allocation. There are sometimes two on day flights, but not normally on night flights. It's usually possible to get two business class seats if you book far enough ahead. And A380's a no-no in business & first - unless you book on a 747 service which subsequently turns out to be replaced with a 380. I found the best thing to do is to look at the Singapore airlines computer, and when you see what you want, get Virgin to book it immediately. Sometimes the Singapore Silver Kris people are helpful, as long as you understand they can only tell you about availability, and that they can't book anything for you as you're using Virgin miles

Good luck!

Originally posted by PeterStansfield
I found the best thing to do is to look at the Singapore airlines computer, and when you see what you want, get Virgin to book it immediately. Sometimes the Singapore Silver Kris people are helpful, as long as you understand they can only tell you about availability, and that they can't book anything for you as you're using Virgin miles

How do I get to look at the SQ airlines availability [?] Does this involve the (yet to be tried) expert flyer?

Two conjoining business seats on any aircraft is all thats needed, although obviously the A380 would be nice - more likely to get my luggage checked-thru LHR without problems...!

I was shown by V-Flyer members how to register with the ANA Frequent Flyer scheme (It's free) and then you can use ANA's Computer to see all seats, including seats for rewards on their system.

I'm sure you can do it as well with Expert Flyer - just that I haven't done that myself

Regards

Originally posted by northernhenry
How do I get to look at the SQ airlines availability [?] Does this involve the (yet to be tried) expert flyer?

Currently EF supports the following airlines for reward/upgrade availability:
Aer Lingus - EI
Air Canada - AC
Air China International - CA
Air France - AF
Air New Zealand - NZ
Air Tahiti Nui - TN
Alaska Airlines - AS
American Airlines - AA
British Midland Airways (BMI) - BD
CSA Czech Airlines - OK
Delta Air Lines - DL
Emirates - EK
Finnair - AY
Frontier Airlines - F9
Mexicana - MX
Northwest Airlines - NW
Qantas Airways - QF
Shanghai Airlines - FM
SWISS - LX
United Airlines - UA

I managed to find 2 reward F seats on SQ, LHR-SYD, return using seatcounter.com - it's a real shame they don't display *A reward seats anymore but ANA is also pretty good once you get the hang of it - I found F availability with UA last week via ANA so it's a handy tool!

So - does that mean I can check availability of Air China reward tickets from LHR -> Beijing and then get VS to book them for me on Virgin miles?


Dom

Yes, that's as I understand it. The Virgin staff seem to like it if you've done your homework and know what you want, and that it's available - it must make their job SO much easier....