While KrisFlyer may not be the most generous frequent flyer programme out there, one of the unspoken rules was that it would always offer the best Singapore Airlines award space. In fact, if you wanted to redeem long-haul First or Business Class seats on Singapore Airlines, the only way to do so was via KrisFlyer.
However, that rule appears to have changed in recent times, to the point that partners sometimes see even better award space than KrisFlyer members! This is bound to raise their ire, especially when Saver awards are harder to come by than ever before.
SIA has historically blocked partner redemptions for long-haul premium cabins
First, some context: airlines can and do make subsets of their award space available to partners.
For example, SWISS only allows Miles & More Senator members to redeem its First Class awards, while Air France only allows Flying Blue Platinum members to redeem its La Premiere cabin.
Singapore Airlines has historically gone one step further and blocked entire aircraft types from partner redemptions, at least in First and Business Class. That policy began in 2006, and while it’s softened somewhat in recent years, the general rule is that partner programmes like Avianca LifeMiles and United Mileage Plus can book:
For a detailed history on how this “rule” came into being, refer to the post below.
| ❓ What about Miles & More? |
| Lufthansa Miles & More members were exempt from the blocking. However, given how hard it was to earn miles in that programme (it’s not a transfer partner of any major points currency in the USA), the impact on award space for KrisFlyer members was minimal. |
Selected partners can now book these seats
Singapore Airlines announced a frequent flyer partnership with Alaska Airlines in 2017, and in October 2019, Alaska Mileage Plan added the ability to book Singapore Airlines awards- including the so-called “forbidden cabins”. You could even redeem A380 Suites on flights to Hong Kong!
Needless to say, this was bad news for KrisFlyer members, since it meant more competition from miles chasers in the USA, who generally speaking have easier access to miles thanks to generous sign-up bonuses and avenues for manufactured spend. Yes, KrisFlyer was already a transfer partner of American Express, Capital One, Chase and Citi at the time, but all things equal, a USA-based member was more likely to have a ready stash of miles in Mileage Plan than KrisFlyer.
But at the very least there was parity: whatever Mileage Plan members saw, KrisFlyer members saw too. It was a case of fastest fingers first.
Not anymore.
Over the past few months, MileLion readers have been spotting numerous instances where Singapore Airlines Business Class awards are available through Mileage Plan, but not KrisFlyer.
Here’s an example on the Singapore to Sydney route. Notice how Mileage Plan members can redeem seats on SQ231…
…while KrisFlyer members have to make do with the waitlist. Can I also point out that I’m running this search from a Solitaire PPS Club account, which should theoretically have access to the most award space of all.
Or consider Singapore to Melbourne. Mileage Plan members can instantly redeem seats on SQ237…
…but KrisFlyer members (even Solitaire PPS Club!) have to make do with the waitlist- and at Advantage prices, no less.
Suite Smile documents a few other instances where availability through Mileage Plan is superior to KrisFlyer.
As if that weren’t bad enough, the problem is set to be further compounded by the fact that Aeroplan members are now getting in on the party too.
A few weeks ago, One Mile at a Time (OMAAT) wrote about how Aeroplan was seeing a ton of long-haul Singapore Airlines award space from Singapore to the USA, up to four seats depending on route. People initially had issues booking these awards, which raised questions as to whether this was just phantom space. But OMAAT later clarified that a temporary glitch was interfering with bookings; that glitch has since been resolved and Singapore Airlines awards are very much bookable through Aeroplan again.
While I can’t guarantee that Aeroplan’s award availability on Singapore Airlines will always be as good as it is now, I have been able to confirm that this award availability isn’t a mistake. That’s to say that someone at Aeroplan obviously worked hard to make this happen.
While I don’t know how Aeroplan negotiated this, all I can do is use my imagination, and point out that the folks at Aeroplan are both really committed to building a great program, and also somehow really convincing with their airline partners.
-OMAAT
TPG carries the following quote from an Aeroplan official:
“We have indeed worked with Singapore to strengthen our partnership behind the scenes,” said Scott O’Leary, Air Canada’s vice president of loyalty and product, in a statement to TPG. “As a result, our members will enjoy better redemption availability on Singapore flights going forward.”
-TPG
Based on my searches so far, Aeroplan members do not have the same kind of “preferential space” that Mileage Plan does. However, MileLion readers have found instances where space is available through Aeroplan but not KrisFlyer. For example, Aeroplan members can book two Business Class seats from Singapore to Los Angeles on SQ36.
That doesn’t even show up as an option for KrisFlyer members.
What’s also interesting is that there are certain days where only Advantage awards are available through KrisFlyer, yet Aeroplan members can still book seats. It used to be that partners only had access to Saver space, but apparently no longer.
To be clear: I’m not saying this is a regular pattern. I’ve found other instances where award seats are only available via KrisFlyer, not Mileage Plan or Aeroplan. But on the other hand, it’s also undeniable that there are numerous dates where KrisFlyer members don’t get the the seats offered to members of other programmes.
What are the implications?
Now, I obviously don’t blame Alaska Mileage Plan and Aeroplan members for booking up SQ seats. I’d be doing the same if I were in their position.
Moreover, my gripe isn’t so much that partner programmes can book SQ’s premium cabins. Objectively speaking, this should have happened a long time ago. While it was nice that KrisFlyer members historically had privileged access to these seats, it’s not something I can defend because being part of an alliance entails opening up your seats for redemption by members of other programmes. I can’t say that I should be able to book ANA’s First and Business Class with KrisFlyer miles, but ANA Mileage Club members shouldn’t be able to do the same with Singapore Airlines.
That said, this development is clearly bad for KrisFlyer members. It’s hard enough to find Advantage awards on some routes, let alone Saver space. And ultimately there’s only so many seats on each flight, so each seat redeemed by a partner programme is one less seat for KrisFlyer members.
Where I do have a gripe is why partner programmes sometimes enjoy more award space than KrisFlyer members. It just doesn’t seem right to me that Mileage Plan members get award seats that even Solitaire PPS Club members don’t get. Parity, fine. Preference, I don’t think so.
Some might characterise this as a money grab by Singapore Airlines, but I’m not so sure. From what I understand, reimbursement rates for award seats aren’t very high, so unless those economics have changed recently, I don’t see what the upside is for Singapore Airlines by making more seats available to partners than its own members.
If anyone has an inkling as to why this is happening, I’m all ears.
Singapore Airlines long-haul premium cabin awards, which were once the exclusive domain of KrisFlyer members, can now be booked through partner programmes like Mileage Plan and Aeroplan. Not just that, but in certain situations, partners have even more access than KrisFlyer!
With award seats so hard to come by these days (unless you’re able to book a year in advance), this is bound to be a sensitive issue for KrisFlyer and PPS Club members.
Have you observed other cases where award space is available to partners, but not KrisFlyer?
