In 2017 I touched virtually every continent on earth, minus the poles and experienced some immensely enjoyable flying. At the end of the day, flying is about getting you to a destination – but as a plane geek, it’s hard not to love the journey too. This year, there are a few seats I can’t wait to explore for the first time, or to reacquaint myself with.
How I’ll Book: I’ve been squirreling away Singapore miles from good business class deals on Swiss and ANA. I also convert many of my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Singapore. I’m planning to cash in 115,000 for a one way Suites ticket from Singapore to London. The ticket is currently waitlisted, which I exclusively uncovered as a possibility this week.
Why I’m Excited: I’ve experienced many of the very best first class seats, but this experience looks to top them all. With both a bed and swivel chair, and fully private ceiling height door – it doesn’t get much better. With 13+ hours of flight time, it should be enough to get a taste.
How I’ll Book: We just had an incredible time in Australia and New Zealand, but I’m always game to go back. I’ll wait until Air New Zealand offers a great fare sale and ensure I can secure a SkyCouch. I’ve written about it extensively, and I should put my money where my mouth is. I do have a great trick to grab a whole row on any plane though, by the way.
Why I’m Excited: This is a really interesting concept which can make economy more than palatable. These seats are designed to offer increased comfort when put into “SkyCouch” mode. I enjoy flying economy for comparison sake and will relish this opportunity to put it to the full test.
How I’ll Book: As a British Airways Gold Executive Club member, I earn a healthy amount of Avios from flights on OneWorld airlines. I’ll cash in 85,000 Avios for a one way flight from London to Tokyo, my favorite city in the world. 85,000 points is steep, but I do worry of impending doom for the Avios program in 2018 and will be happy to get great value here.
Why I’m Excited: This seat was originally designed as a first class concept. It features amongst the most privacy and largest entertainment screen in business class. JAL consistently offers excellent service and flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner helps mitigate jet lag.
How I’ll Book: I’ll wait for a tempting, sumptuous Qatar Airways business class sale and book something incredibly cheap. Remember – the airline has offered $500+ dollar round trip business class tickets on multiple flash occasions. You’ll read about any of them here!
Why I’m Excited: There’s no doubt the QSuites are the most wowing business class seat on the market. But I am admittedly unimpressed thus far, not by the seat, but the plane. The current Boeing 777 is by no means a cutting edge plane. I will wait until the suites are installed on the far more passenger friendly A350 to give these another whirl.
How I’ll Book: Spending more time in Europe this year and with lots of travel plans in the works- budgeting is important. I am a huge fan of Singapore Airlines Premium Economy and rated it the best Premium Economy seat in the world last year. I’ll make a point of booking some premium economy trips between Frankfurt and New York City in sales, which can drop as low as $700 round trip.
Why I’m Excited: Diabolic reasons really. Consistently is extremely important in any travel experience, much like food. I’ll be curious to see how Singapore Premium Economy fairs in a new year, when airlines are ripe and rampant with cuts. It’s also just a great moderately affordable way to fly. Will it win again in 2018? We’ll see.
When will the Avios doom occur and is there any info on changes?
I have 150k points and a 2-4-1 which I was hoping to use for 2019……