J Saver on 744 to NRT

[sabian]

Hi

After 9V-SIA's Japan TR, I am thinking of a trip to Japan. I know a lot of SQT folks are fans of F on 744. What about J?

From what I have "trawled" so far, saver awards are not going to be around for too long and maybe the window to just try out J for once (even though it is an old J product) may not remain open for long?

I notice that SIN-HND only offer J Std. Is that a better option?

*There may be an infant coming along, would you still recommend J in the 744 or do you feel Y can accommodate the infant better?

Thanks.

[kelvgoh]

J Saver awards to Japan are still available on the A330-300, which currently serve Nagoya and Osaka, and will soon serve Fukuoka. But if you're thinking of flying into Tokyo, then yes, only the 744 offers saver awards in J.

I like the long haul J offered on the 77Ws (which will operate SIN-HND-SIN). But that being said, I will not redeem at standard rates, it's just not worth it.

The 744 J in itself is a good product. Dated yes, but it is a good product compared to many other J products in the market. Anyway SQ11/12 to and from Tokyo are day/evening flights so I don't think you'd be sleeping much - and as such, if it were me, I'd go for the 744 J experience, and if possible, on the upper deck.

When flying with an infant, J would probably offer you more space to cradle out of the bassinet. That being said though, and this is purely subjective, you and Mrs Sabian might feel slightly more self-conscious in a J cabin if your child is feeling vocal that day.

Hope this helps.

[sabian]

Hi kelvgoh

Thanks for the tip.

I will see how the trip planning pans out. The original plan was to use ANA miles for SIN-NRT but we decided to use KF miles instead and use ANA for internal flights.

Hmmm...45k KF miles for Y (77W) or 70k KF miles for J (744).

[KC*]

Hi kelgoh

Thanks for the tip.

I will see how the trip planning pans out. The original plan was to use ANA miles for SIN-NRT but we decided to use KF miles instead and use ANA for internal flights.

Hmmm...45k KF miles for Y (77W) or 70k KF miles for J (744).

I'd go for the 744 if I were you. First of all, the J seat in 744 is far more comfortable than even the J in 77W to sit on (and it is a day flight).

I also feel that it is much more worth your miles to use them for J than Y esp if you look at the cost difference of the tickets.

[sabian]

Hi KC*

Yep. I agree with you on J redemptions being more worthwhile. I am giving it serious thought.

J Savers on 744 are really rare. I checked other 744 routes, either not offered or waitlist, even 350 days out!

[Pinkfloyd]

Hi KC*

Yep. I agree with you on J redemptions being more worthwhile. I am giving it serious thought.

J Savers on 744 are really rare. I checked other 744 routes, either not offered or waitlist, even 350 days out!

I have actually managed to get an F saver on SQ 26 one day before the flight... And this was not possible at least two weeks prior to the date... Probably they release the seats at the last minute in the hope that paying pax might buy them out? Probably the same with J redemptions...

[sabian]

I have actually managed to get an F saver on SQ 26 one day before the flight... And this was not possible at least two weeks prior to the date... Probably they release the seats at the last minute in the hope that paying pax might buy them out? Probably the same with J redemptions...

Actually, I had a similar experience in Feb when I was trying to redeem a Y seat for my mom, there were no availability until the night just before the flight (I already got her a HKG-SIN morning flight although she wanted to leave on a later flight but at the point of booking the SIN-HKG leg, only the 10am HKG-SIN was open)

Anyway, I was up at 3am just to check if somehow the bean counters were done trying to "sheperd" the herd into to the $$$ den and I thought they might blink now since it is so close to departure. So they did.

It was open season for all Y flights. But I had to call KF to arrange the switch to the A380 (my mom was raving her upper deck Y experience, it was her first time on the whale) and since the switch was done so near to the departure, I got charged the "facilitation fee" (not to mention the overseas call charges, 38 mins worth)

Well...that's their yield maximization for you but it leaves a very bad taste "in the mouth" having to play this cat & mouse with them. It's like they tease you into accumulating all that miles with them and then make you jump through hoops of fire to redeem them.

Why make it so painful since they are going to be redeemed anyway. They have to take the hit somehow and it will show up on the P&L eventually.

[Pinkfloyd]

Like you said, hoping (fingers crossed, rabbit's foot, lucky charms, etc., etc.) for that last minute yield of sheep who need to fly so they can charge top dollar (full Y/C/F fare) and make the P/L ledgers look good....

As for those with all those points, well, they will probably try and hold them back for 3 years and before one can say "WTH??", the miles will vanish into thin air....