Spontaneous Escapes for October 2018 including non-stop USA discounts

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Welcome to the latest round of Singapore Airlines’ monthly Spontaneous Escapes promotion. This month we’re looking at the KrisFlyer redemption discounts offered for October 2018.

Book by 30th September 2018 to be eligible for 30% off the miles needed on selected routes.

There’s also a special discount of between 23,000 and 30,000 miles for some non-stop USA flights on the A350ULR to San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York in both Premium Economy and Business Class.

What is Spontaneous Escapes?

There’s nothing too complicated about the Spontaneous Escapes offer – these are seats Singapore Airlines can’t fill in October even at saver award rates. The cost for them to have you occupying a seat which would otherwise fly empty is minimal (you’re still paying the taxes remember). In return they get to reduce the number of KrisFlyer miles in circulation which reduces liability on their balance sheet.

If you can fit one of these discounted redemptions into your travel plans at short notice then none of that really matters of course – what’s important is that you’re getting a good deal compared to usual.

Do bear in mind of course that unlike a normal KrisFlyer redemption, any booking made under the Spontaneous Escapes offer is non-changeable and non-refundable.

Non-stop USA specials

Singapore Airlines is offering a range of discounts on new Airbus A350ULR flights this month, for travel in October and November 2018.

On selected flights, pay the Economy miles rate for a Premium Economy award ticket, or the Premium Economy rate for a Business award ticket.

These also need be booked by 30th September 2018 for the lower rates. They are for travel in October and November to New York, and November only for Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Premium Economy Class

Business Class

These are very competitive rates for non-stop flights to the USA on Singapore Airlines’ latest A350 aircraft in either cabin. 40,000 miles in Premium Economy to New York is very cheap indeed if you can cope with 19 hours in a seat like that.

Do be aware though that Singapore Airlines is aggressively discounting Premium Economy seats at the moment on these routes with cash return trips from Singapore available for around S$1,300 – S$2,200.

You would also earn at least 17,500 KrisFlyer miles for these cash round-trip bookings. That seriously reduces the ‘value per mile’ for your 76,000 / 80,000 round-trip KrisFlyer miles redemption in these cases, so do the maths as this certainly falls close to or below our minimum threshold for redemption.

You may recall our article from June this year about SIA’s new enhanced Premium Economy seat for the A350ULR. If you missed it – check out the details here.

Otherwise in Business Class it’s the 2013 J seat in a 1-2-1 configuration operating on these ULR flights. We reviewed the product earlier this year. At 65,000 miles to or from Los Angeles or San Francisco, again a great rate.

Non-stop USA award availability

We checked award availability for these non-stop USA flights and broadly found that for New York flights there are at least two Premium Economy award seats each day between 11th October and 30th November, with the rare exception of a few dates at the very start and end of the period.

For Singapore to San Francisco in Business Class we found only one day with a single award seat on SQ34, however there is much better availability in this cabin on Los Angeles flights.

As with New York, Premium Economy availability on the San Francisco and Los Angeles routes is fairly wide open.

October offers – SIA Business products

Before we get into the full route tables for the main October 2018 discounts, let’s start by addressing the most regular question people ask each time this offer comes around. Which Singapore Airlines long haul Business Class or new regional Business Class seats are included this month?

Fear not, we have a specific table with this exact information and without further ado, here it is:

Spontaneous Escapes – October 2018 SIA New Business Class products on offer
	2017 J (full seat details)
24,500 Miles: Singapore – Shanghai (SQ830) Shanghai – Singapore (SQ833) 19,250 Miles: Singapore – Hong Kong (SQ856) Hong Kong – Singapore (SQ861)
	2013 J (full seat details)
65,000 Miles: Singapore – Los Angeles (SQ38) Los Angeles – Singapore (SQ37) Singapore – San Francisco (SQ34) San Francisco – Singapore (SQ33) 24,500 Miles: Singapore – Beijing (SQ800) Singapore – Beijing (SQ806) Beijing – Singapore (SQ801) Beijing – Singapore (SQ805) Singapore – Shanghai (SQ828) Singapore – Shanghai (SQ836) Shanghai – Singapore (SQ825) Shanghai – Singapore (SQ831) 19,250 Miles: Singapore – Hong Kong (SQ860) Singapore – Hong Kong (SQ866) Hong Kong – Singapore (SQ863) Hong Kong – Singapore (SQ865)
	2018 RJ (full seat details)
14,000 Miles: Singapore – Bangkok (SQ982) Bangkok – Singapore (SQ983) Singapore – Ho Chi Minh (SQ186) Singapore – Manila (SQ918) Manila – Singapore (SQ915)

Note that some blackout dates apply, see the full route-by-route analysis tables below for full details.

SilkAir 50% discount offer

Don’t be confused by last month’s 50% off (practically network-wide) on SilkAir Business and Economy Class redemptions. While the offer period for that deal ran for two months, spanning September and October, you still had to book by 31st August to be eligible.

This month there are no SilkAir flights included in the Spontaneous Escapes offer.

New ‘2017 Business Class’ award availability

Shanghai

Shanghai on the new A380 with the 2017 Business Class seats is a good value way to try this new product in October for 24,500 KrisFlyer miles each way, down from the usual saver award rate of 35,000 miles.

Outside the blackout dates award availability looks very good, especially on the Shanghai – Singapore sector with 6 or more saver award seats in Business Class offered on several days.

Singapore to Shanghai (SQ830)

Note: WL – Waitlist. Spontaneous Escapes blackout dates 1st-8th October for this route.

Shanghai to Singapore (SQ833)

Note: WL – Waitlist. Spontaneous Escapes blackout dates 1st-8th October for this route.

Hong Kong

For Hong Kong it’s a similar story – generally good availability on the SQ856 morning service from Singapore to Hong Kong, and excellent availability on the return sector SQ861 with 6 or more saver awards available for grabs in Business Class on 19 of the 25 days included in the Spontaneous Escapes offer at 19,250 miles.

Singapore to Hong Kong (SQ856)

Note: WL – Waitlist. Spontaneous Escapes blackout dates 4th-8th October for this route.

Hong Kong to Singapore (SQ861)

Note: WL – Waitlist. Spontaneous Escapes blackout dates 1st-3rd October for this route.

Singapore Airlines October Economy Class discounts

Here’s the full list of Singapore Airlines Economy Class routes on offer (30% off) for October 2018. Required miles are shown for a one-way redemption, with aircraft types operating the flights also indicated.

Note that aircraft type information is correct up to the end of the northern summer season – approximately 27th October 2018. For the last few days of October 2018 aircraft types may vary as the winter season commences.

Economy Class

South East Asia

North Asia

South Asia

Singapore Airlines October Business Class Discounts

Listed below are all the routes with 30% off in Business Class with Singapore Airlines in October 2018. The required miles are shown for one-way redemption. We also indicate not only the aircraft types operating these flights, but the all-important seat types too. See these links for further details about the seat types:

2006 J – 2009 RJ – 2013 J – 2017 J – 2018 RJ

Note that aircraft and seat type information is correct up to the end of the northern summer season – approximately 27th October 2018. For the last few days of October 2018 aircraft and seat types may vary as the winter season commences.

Business Class

South East Asia

North Asia

South Asia

See the following links for further details about the Business Class seats:

2006 J – 2009 RJ – 2013 J – 2017 J – 2018 RJ

Terms and conditions

Most of our readers are familiar with the rules regarding Spontaneous Escapes bookings, however if it’s new to you or you need a recap here’s a reminder of the T&Cs:

• Book by 30th September 2018.
• Valid for flights from 1st – 31st October 2018, with the exception of New York (11th October – 30th November 2018) and Los Angeles / San Francisco (1st -30th November 2018).
• Valid for ‘Saver’ award tickets on selected routes.
• Blackout dates apply on certain routes (e.g. Singapore to Shanghai in Business Class blocked 1st-8th October).
• Once booked, these promotional redemption rates are non-changeable and cancellable.
• All flights in the chosen itinerary must be included in the offer, otherwise the miles rate reverts to standard ‘Saver’ rates for the whole itinerary with no discount. We recommend booking one-way legs so you can still save, for example on one direction of a return trip.
• Stopovers are not allowed (again, think one-way redemptions with this offer).
• Waitlist Saver redemptions are included in the discount, however the waitlist must clear on or before 30th September otherwise the regular ‘Saver’ rate will apply.

Summary

The headline this month is the option to pay ‘one class lower’ on selected Singapore Airlines A350 ultra long-haul flights to and from the USA. This offers some very competitive miles rates on these flights like 38,000 miles one-way in Premium Economy and 65,000 miles in Business Class.

Unfortunately New York is not included in the Business Class offer and availability of Business Class saver award seats on the non-stop San Francisco route looks sparse.

On the whole however for the regular Spontaneous Escapes offer it’s a rather thin list compared to usual, with no Europe or Australia / New Zealand options. SilkAir redemptions have also disappeared completely for October.

There are two routes with discounts on the latest long-haul 2017 Business Class fitted to the new A380s with good award availability as we’ve shown. There are also a good number of options flying the 787-10 aircraft in the new regional Business Class seat, though that is restricted to shorter routes this month with no offers on longer routes like Tokyo, Osaka or Perth.

Remember if you’re unable to secure a return flight at the discounted rates, book two one-way tickets instead. You’ll pay the usual ‘Saver’ rate for the non-discounted sector but at least the whole itinerary will not be at the standard rate.

One last ‘golden rule’ to always bear in mind with this offer is that you will want to have pretty firm plans before taking advantage, because you can’t modify or cancel these bookings once made.

(Cover Photo: Böhringer Friedrich)