Hello Flight-Report #avgeeks. This first leg of a round the world, 29,950 mile trip (which was scaled back believe it or not) began with a short hop to New York on JetBlue to catch the long awaited Singapore Airlines Suites flight to Singapore via Frankfurt. I won't bore you with the million iterations I made on this trip but suffice it to say, I was sure glad I scaled it back as this trip was exhausting. Three overnight flights in the first 4 days is not advisable, at least for me. Even so, it was a great journey. I hope you enjoy it!
jetBlue ORD-JFK Economy Class - This Report
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class JFK - FRA / JFK Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class FRA-SIN / FRA Air Canada Lounge Thai Airways A350 Business Class SIN-BKK / SIN Private Room Thai Airways B747 First Class BKK-SYD / BKK Thai Royal First Lounge and Spa Air New Zealand B787 Business Class SYD-AKL / SYD Air New Zealand Lounge Air New Zealand A320 Economy Class AKL-WLG / AKL Air New Zealand Domestic Lounge JetStar A320 Economy Class WLG-AKL Emirates A380 Business Class AKL-BNE / AKL Emirates Lounge Qantas B737 Business Class BNE-SYD / BNE Priority Pass Lounge American Airlines B777 First Class SYD-LAX / SYD Qantas First Class Lounge Virgin America A320 First Class LAX-ORD
I've heard a lot about JetBlue over the years, mostly positive, but I've never flown them. From Chicago they only fly to Boston and New York, and maybe a city in Florida. This was a perfect time to try them out as I needed a flight to JFK to catch Singapore Airlines. Incredibly there are only a handful of daily flights from the third largest city in America to the largest city in America's main airports. American has one daily, Delta has 4 or 5 and JetBlue has a couple. Everything else goes to LaGuardia and Newark. These aren't necessarily easy transits to JFK, depending on the time of day.
And the price was right. Net $61 after AMEX chipped in $100 with a travel credit and that includes the JetBlue gouge of $50 for Even More space. The only reason I caved for Even More was I wanted to be sure I had overhead space for 2 carry-ons. I didn't need Even More. The plane was half full.
JetBlue check in is located at the lonely end of T3 with all the other wannabes at ORD, Spirit, Alaska, Virgin America, etc. It's nice, no crowds to deal with. Having passed security on this end twice recently, in total I had to wait for 0 people in front of me.
Of course none of these carriers that occupy the "L" gates have a lounge, so don't come too early.
Today's ship is a 10 year old Airbus A320. (Notice they are adding another concourse to T3 at O'Hare.)
We pushed on time and headed to 28R, past the Terminal 5 International. ORD gets it's share of 777's.
Weather was building to the west but we were in the air before delays plagued ORD later on that day.
25 rows of 3x3.
The front 5 rows are "Even More" space for $50 on the JFK run (price varies on distance) and $35 for row 10 and the exit row 11.
The 4 inches would no doubt make a difference on a longer flight than 90 minutes.
The seats on this aircraft were pretty tired.
There are no power ports, just a controller for the IFE monitor in the retractable armrest.
The seat back monitor is ancient and tiny.
JetBlue has live DirectTV which is a great feature. Today was the day of the lunar eclipse in America.
Totality.
Apparently this was an emotional moment for the Weather Channel reporter.
You can purchase food on JetBlue. Here's the menu. With Singapore Suites later on, I was fasting.
Except for a coffee. Wonder if they serve donuts in the morning?
You also get free wi-fi on JetBlue, or Fly-Fi as they coin it.
And the speed wasn't too bad.
In no time we began our descent.
The approach flight path vectored us east then south of the airport, then west with a turn back north only to land to the east on 13L.
There are some nice areas of New York if you look hard enough.
Aqueduct race track.
A LATAM 787 waiting for it's evening flight back to Santiago.
And one of the hundred or so daily BA flights to London.
One of two daily Etihad A380 flights out of JFK was preparing for departure.
I've landed numerous times at airports around the world and snapped a photo of a Singapore Airlines A380; Paris, Shanghai, Sydney just to name a few. My comment was always "someday". Well today is the day.
See more
Verdict
JetBlue Airways
3.9/10
Cabin5.0
Cabin crew5.0
Entertainment/wifi4.0
Meal/catering1.5
Chicago - ORD
6.5/10
Efficiency7.0
Access7.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness6.0
New York - JFK
5.0/10
Efficiency5.0
Access5.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness5.0
Conclusion
This was a pleasant flight on JetBlue, especially given the cost of $61.00. However the main event sat on the tarmac. But first a visit to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse where some pretty incredible food was in the kitchen.
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-How true! The original plan had 3 overnights in a row, JFK-FRA-SIN-AKL. Glad I switched.
SQ25? So after I returned I booked another SQ flight using the *A chart, SYD-SIN-NRT-ORD on SQ 380/777 and ANA 777 in first. Saved 25K points! SQ flights are day flights, overnight layover in SIN and 23 1/2 hours in NRT. Only bad part is its a year away. Maybe I'll get the new A380, they are supposed to fly it to Sydney, that would be cool.
I assume your trip went well? Polaris lounge in Chicago? ANA RT? Look forward to those reports myself. Any luck with TG first down to SYD? It''s totally worth it. I noticed space open next summer. Book before November. The spa is worth the 40K points :)
Greetings Mark. Things are as well s can be without any flights on the horizon...
"So after I returned I booked another SQ flight using the *A chart, SYD-SIN-NRT-ORD on SQ 380/777 and ANA 777 in first. Saved 25K points! SQ flights are day flights, overnight layover in SIN and 23 1/2 hours in NRT." -That sounds like a dream redemption to me. Two long layovers in two of my absolute favorite places for short layovers. And two of the best airlines in the world to top it off. Fantastic trip!
"I assume your trip went well? Polaris lounge in Chicago? ANA RT?" -Yes, thank you. Loved the lounge and, well, what's no to love about ANA F?!? I am behind on reports.
" Any luck with TG first down to SYD? It''s totally worth it. I noticed space open next summer. Book before November. The spa is worth the 40K points :)" -I have to revisit that. I'm sure once I read your report I will very motivated to find that space. I feel like it was always there...until I wanted to book it...
I know how much time and effort you put into your reports so I won't pester you to put up the Clubhouse/JFK-FRA portion. But come on and put it up!
Hey Mark - How many Krisflyer miles should SYD-SIN-NRT-ORD run using the SQ *A chart? They way i read it the total should be 127,500. I want one sooooo badly! Trying to cobble together the points... Thanks - Christian
Excellent, I'm pulling the trigger...if the space is still there... Did you pick SQ232 on the SYD-SIN leg in hopes of the new Suites? I read that...but who knows this far out...
Loved the lounge report form the blog. That is really a special business Class lounge. The service, food and cocktails make for an exceptional package. It's too tempting right before the feast on SQ25!
Thanks again for sharing your expertise. I feel like I'm asking a Doctor for free medical advise...
Go for it! I took SQ222, the later flight as I'm flying down from Cairns which is too tight a connection. So I hope one of us gets the new seat! Glad to help. Now, are you taking TG down to Sydney?
Once thing about the Virgin lounge. It's better than the seats on their aircraft! Those poppers were beyond delicious.
This is my outline. All the space is there and I have the points....I'm just hesitant to start booking...not sure why. Maybe too exhausting, like we discussed with your original plan on the trip you just finished. There's an overnight in SIN and one in TYO.
CX881 LAX 0:55 HKG 6:45 F TG601 HKG 13:10 BKK 14:50 F TG475 BKK 19:20 SYD 7:20 F SQ232 SYD 11:00 SIN 17:30 S SQ634 SIN 13:55 HND 21:50 F NH6 NRT 17:05 LAX 11:00 F
The outbound may be problematic. Can you get something to HKG at a different time, take a break in HKG? Maybe something that leaves mid day and gets in during the evening? If you can other than TPC you only got 1 overnight on TG down to Sydney. Have some Dom and go to sleep!
You know of course you've got the HND-NRT transfer. That NRT day flight is difficult to get as it's a 4 seater, the HND is 8. But the return gives you 20 hours in SIN and NRT. That's awesome.
You can always book the SQ part now, cancel fee is $30 so no big deal. I assume Thai is with UA, that fee is $75 unless you have status. Then CX is Alaska? No fee until 60 days and free changes. So $100 is the risk to hope for a better CX flight. Or am I missing something?
"The outbound may be problematic." -I agree but the CX midnight departure is the only one that can make this work for me. It gets me to HKG without being away from home for an additional night (wife, kids, etc.)
"You can always book the SQ part now, cancel fee is $30 so no big deal." -Concur, and I most likely will when I have some time to spend on the phone with them.
"I assume Thai is with UA, that fee is $75 unless you have status." -Correct again. Not a big deal there, you're right.
"Then CX is Alaska? No fee until 60 days and free changes. So $100 is the risk to hope for a better CX flight. Or am I missing something?" -Sort of embarrassed to say it but CX will be Avios under this plan. I have an orphan Avios balance and the 40% bonus on AMEX transfers to Avios makes it somewhat more reasonable. 75k AMEX points "out of pocket" to get me to the amount of Avios needed... That said the Avios cancel policy is the taxes or $50something...IIRC...
So, yeah, what the heck, do it. Thank you for putting the $ risks in perspective. If the whole thing falls apart It's not the end of the world.
Or Asia Miles is 85K plus $75 from either SFO or LAX to BKK and you get the benefit of more choices. The 85K includes the oneway 15% penalty they impose. Still not a bad redemption. BA had to be outrageous, even with the 40% bonus.
Or use Aeroplan and EVA for 77,500 + $5.00. Lots of availability when I looked. I can help if you give me dates. EVA and CX has the same seat in business. EVA is a great choice. [email protected]
Thanks for all of the great routing ideas Mark. I ended up booking it exactly as above a it just worked for be with the AMEX -> Avios bonus and my orphan Avios balance. It didn't feel like as much of a ripoff in light of those circumstances. Anyhow all segments are set and seats selected. It's for May 2018 so still a long way off. Also, SQ232 is still showing the old A380 seat map. Thanks again Mark and happy flying.
An update on SQ232. I'm not on it, and it appears 232 has the new seats. I'm on 222 at 3PM. SQ222 at 11AM was available when I booked but for whatever reason I thought 222 was the one reported to have the new seats. So the other day I went to change it to 232 and it was waitlisted. I called Sat and was on hold forever and decided I'd call back. That flight has now been removed from the waitlist, and I checked 20 or 30 days and it's not available, even waitlist. So it looks like that's the one. Good for you! Too bad for me, but the award gods were still kind. I was going to book a business class seat on ANA/SQ down to Sydney but waited until 331 day mark when other options became available. The other option I was looking at wasn't avail so I went to book the business seat and it was gone too! I started looking around and found Qatar from Paris to Sydney available all the time in first on their 380. The problem was there's a 23 hour layover in Doha where it's average 105 degrees and nothing to do there anyway..QR has a 9AM flight out of CDG to DOH on the 777 with Q-Suites, but no award space. I looked from Feb-Aug and couldn't find a single day that flight was available. So I figured I'd book the A380 and either hope something came up or maybe try standby for the Q. So before I called to book I looked up the flight numbers. I searched on KVS to get them and I couldn't believe my eyes when the result showed 777 Q and A380 F with a 5 hour layover! I had to squint at the screen to make sure I didn't make a mistake! Within a minute I called AA and booked. Unbelievable. I'd checked 30 minutes earlier and it wasn't there. Only the A380 route. I still don't believe it but I'm sitting in 3K Q-Suites. Then I booked KLM 747 to AMS to get to Paris. Not sure how I'm going to wait for a year for this trip. Thought you'd appreciate the luck!
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18 Comments
"Three overnight flights in the first 4 days is not advisable, at least for me."
-So true for me too. It seems so exciting in the planning stage...
Also, thank you for the rare look into the back end of a Jet Blue aircraft. That was en exceptional value with the AMEX offer.
Thanks again and happy flying.
-How true! The original plan had 3 overnights in a row, JFK-FRA-SIN-AKL. Glad I switched.
SQ25? So after I returned I booked another SQ flight using the *A chart, SYD-SIN-NRT-ORD on SQ 380/777 and ANA 777 in first. Saved 25K points! SQ flights are day flights, overnight layover in SIN and 23 1/2 hours in NRT. Only bad part is its a year away. Maybe I'll get the new A380, they are supposed to fly it to Sydney, that would be cool.
I assume your trip went well? Polaris lounge in Chicago? ANA RT? Look forward to those reports myself. Any luck with TG first down to SYD? It''s totally worth it. I noticed space open next summer. Book before November. The spa is worth the 40K points :)
"So after I returned I booked another SQ flight using the *A chart, SYD-SIN-NRT-ORD on SQ 380/777 and ANA 777 in first. Saved 25K points! SQ flights are day flights, overnight layover in SIN and 23 1/2 hours in NRT."
-That sounds like a dream redemption to me. Two long layovers in two of my absolute favorite places for short layovers. And two of the best airlines in the world to top it off. Fantastic trip!
"I assume your trip went well? Polaris lounge in Chicago? ANA RT?"
-Yes, thank you. Loved the lounge and, well, what's no to love about ANA F?!? I am behind on reports.
" Any luck with TG first down to SYD? It''s totally worth it. I noticed space open next summer. Book before November. The spa is worth the 40K points :)"
-I have to revisit that. I'm sure once I read your report I will very motivated to find that space. I feel like it was always there...until I wanted to book it...
I know how much time and effort you put into your reports so I won't pester you to put up the Clubhouse/JFK-FRA portion. But come on and put it up!
But how about a sneak peak of the VS lounge:
www.rewardflying.com/lounge-reports/2017/9/7/jfk-virgin-atlantic-clubhouse
Loved the lounge report form the blog. That is really a special business Class lounge. The service, food and cocktails make for an exceptional package. It's too tempting right before the feast on SQ25!
Thanks again for sharing your expertise. I feel like I'm asking a Doctor for free medical advise...
Once thing about the Virgin lounge. It's better than the seats on their aircraft! Those poppers were beyond delicious.
CX881 LAX 0:55 HKG 6:45 F
TG601 HKG 13:10 BKK 14:50 F
TG475 BKK 19:20 SYD 7:20 F
SQ232 SYD 11:00 SIN 17:30 S
SQ634 SIN 13:55 HND 21:50 F
NH6 NRT 17:05 LAX 11:00 F
You know of course you've got the HND-NRT transfer. That NRT day flight is difficult to get as it's a 4 seater, the HND is 8. But the return gives you 20 hours in SIN and NRT. That's awesome.
You can always book the SQ part now, cancel fee is $30 so no big deal. I assume Thai is with UA, that fee is $75 unless you have status. Then CX is Alaska? No fee until 60 days and free changes. So $100 is the risk to hope for a better CX flight. Or am I missing something?
-I agree but the CX midnight departure is the only one that can make this work for me. It gets me to HKG without being away from home for an additional night (wife, kids, etc.)
"You can always book the SQ part now, cancel fee is $30 so no big deal."
-Concur, and I most likely will when I have some time to spend on the phone with them.
"I assume Thai is with UA, that fee is $75 unless you have status."
-Correct again. Not a big deal there, you're right.
"Then CX is Alaska? No fee until 60 days and free changes. So $100 is the risk to hope for a better CX flight. Or am I missing something?"
-Sort of embarrassed to say it but CX will be Avios under this plan. I have an orphan Avios balance and the 40% bonus on AMEX transfers to Avios makes it somewhat more reasonable. 75k AMEX points "out of pocket" to get me to the amount of Avios needed... That said the Avios cancel policy is the taxes or $50something...IIRC...
So, yeah, what the heck, do it. Thank you for putting the $ risks in perspective. If the whole thing falls apart It's not the end of the world.
Posted...
An update on SQ232. I'm not on it, and it appears 232 has the new seats. I'm on 222 at 3PM. SQ222 at 11AM was available when I booked but for whatever reason I thought 222 was the one reported to have the new seats. So the other day I went to change it to 232 and it was waitlisted. I called Sat and was on hold forever and decided I'd call back. That flight has now been removed from the waitlist, and I checked 20 or 30 days and it's not available, even waitlist. So it looks like that's the one. Good for you! Too bad for me, but the award gods were still kind. I was going to book a business class seat on ANA/SQ down to Sydney but waited until 331 day mark when other options became available. The other option I was looking at wasn't avail so I went to book the business seat and it was gone too! I started looking around and found Qatar from Paris to Sydney available all the time in first on their 380. The problem was there's a 23 hour layover in Doha where it's average 105 degrees and nothing to do there anyway..QR has a 9AM flight out of CDG to DOH on the 777 with Q-Suites, but no award space. I looked from Feb-Aug and couldn't find a single day that flight was available. So I figured I'd book the A380 and either hope something came up or maybe try standby for the Q. So before I called to book I looked up the flight numbers. I searched on KVS to get them and I couldn't believe my eyes when the result showed 777 Q and A380 F with a 5 hour layover! I had to squint at the screen to make sure I didn't make a mistake! Within a minute I called AA and booked. Unbelievable. I'd checked 30 minutes earlier and it wasn't there. Only the A380 route. I still don't believe it but I'm sitting in 3K Q-Suites. Then I booked KLM 747 to AMS to get to Paris. Not sure how I'm going to wait for a year for this trip. Thought you'd appreciate the luck!
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