- Part 1:
- BA CityFlyer : Economy – London City to Zurich
- Part 2:
- Hilton Zurich Airport, Switzerland
- Part 3:
- Swiss Senator Lounge (A Gates) – Zurich Kloten Airport
- Part 4:
- Singapore Airlines : First Class Suites – Zurich to Singapore
- Part 5:
- Singapore Airlines : The Private Room – Singapore Changi Airport T3
- Part 6:
- Singapore Airlines : First Class Lounge – Singapore Changi Airport T2
- Part 7:
- Singapore Airlines : First Class – Singapore to Manila
- Part 8.1:
- Busuanga Bay Lodge : Palawan, Philippines – Part 1
- Part 8.2:
- Busuanga Bay Lodge : Palawan, Philippines – Part 2
- Part 9:
- Fairmont Manila : Gold Room – Manila, Philippines
- Part 10:
- PAGSS Lounge – Manila Airport T1
- Part 11:
- Thai Airways : Business Class – Manila to Bangkok
- Part 12:
- Bangkok Airways Economy Lounge – Bangkok Airport
- Part 13:
- Bangkok Airways : Economy Class – Bangkok to Koh Samui
- Part 14.1:
- Conrad Koh Samui, Thailand – Part 1
- Part 14.2:
- Conrad Koh Samui, Thailand – Part 2
- Part 15:
- Bangkok Airways Blue Ribbon Lounge (Business Class) – Koh Samui Airport (International)
- Part 16:
- Thai Airways : Economy Class – Koh Samui to Bangkok
- Part 17:
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge (First Class) – Bangkok Suvarnabuhmi Airport
- Part 18:
- Thai Airways : First Class – Bangkok to London Heathrow
Planning
After very kindly offering to test out SQ Suites on a short hop between SIN and PVG, I was able to verify to my girlfriend Kamara that the product passed muster.
Upon my return I immediately began to pore over the SQ award chart, noting the sweet spots in the chart as well as picking out the availability trends online. Flying SQ Suites long-haul was going to be the focal point of our next trip, the only question was how and when. I’d gotten a taste and now I wanted more, way more.
SQ already has some pretty hefty fuel surcharges and we all know that departing ex-LHR can add quite substantially to the cost of any flight. Moreover, the award availability in Suites tends to be fairly poor, with two seats on a single flight being a distinct rarity. As such, I started to look elsewhere for a European departure point…
We live very close to LCY and have started to use it as a feeder mechanism for our long haul flights (a flight to ZRH or FRA for two is significantly cheaper than a taxi to LHR plus two lots of UK long haul Air Passenger Duty). We can get from our front door to either ZRH or FRA in a little over two hours. Heathrow during a Friday evening rush hour? More or less the same.
Not only that; availability tends to be significantly better out of Europe than ex-LHR.
So:
- Cheaper
- More convenient
- Greater flexibility
We had a particular set of dates in mind and ZRH had two seats available less than two months out, on a Saturday! These were super easy to book via the SQ website.
We had a couple of Hilton Free Credit card nights saved up and had been longing to try out the Conrad in Koh Samui. The base level room is a free standing villa on stilts with an ocean view and a private infinity pool – cash rates tend to be around the $580 mark.
I lived in Thailand for a few months and have returned multiple times since. It was the starting point for my first ever F flight as well as the origin for my first ever flight on the Whalejet. As such I have a fond place in my heart reserved for the Land of Smiles.
Nonetheless, I really wanted to try something new.
It turned out that we could connect onward to MNL from SIN in First Class with a very comfortable connection time, at no extra mileage cost. This is the longest free First Class connection route ex-Europe on Singapore Air.
So, it was decided – we would start the trip with four nights in the Philippines.
Using Avianca miles I was able to find availability on Thai Business from MNL-BKK and then home on Thai First on the refurbished 744, from BKK back home to LHR.
