point fu

Well, we've ticked off another of those plane nerd boxes: flying Singapore Airlines' JFK-SIN flight, the longest scheduled commercial flight in the world (for now...). I know it's nuts, but I've wanted to do this forever, even back when they were flying this route on a specially configured A340 .  So how the heck do you survive nearly 19 hours in the air? Well, let's start with the most important thing, fly Business Class . Normally this flight goes for $7k-ish round trip in Business, but I'd found a relatively cheap points ticket (200k round trip) and decided to go for it. We were actually en route to Sydney, but I booked that as a separate ticket and we spent a couple days on both ends of the trip eating our way around a delicious, new-to-us city.  ( Yes, Singapore Airlines will sell you a points ticket all the way thru to Sydney from NYC, but there were only 'waitlist' seats available, so we opted for a second, cash ticket ) The A350-URL (Ultra Long ...

I've been wanting to go to Singapore for years and two big things have been pushing me toward finally doing it: the return of the world's longest flight ( NYC – SIN ), and the blockbuster summer movie Crazy Rich Asians . (Go see it if you haven't yet!) I would have seen the movie even if one of my besties wasn't in a starring role, but I think him being in it did get me interested in reading the books that the movie is based on. Nico Santos plays cousin Oliver in Crazy Rich Asians Fair warning: those books make you huuuungry, so don't read them on an empty stomach! If you follow my Instagram you probably know that food is a huge part of why I travel, and I want to go everywhere in the book and graze for days! Of course some enterprising folks in Singapore have already put together a " Crazy Rich Asians Tour " that probably has some similarities to the " Sex and the City " tours that we occasionally run into here in New York. It's ...

An early-departing daytime flight to the East Coast from Europe – 8 hours in an exceptionally wide, leather seat with 81" of pitch and a lie-flat mode. Breakfast and lunch services.   Pros Great food Amazing service Staff are super vigilant about cleaning the lavatories A380 feels very spacious and quiet Espresso machine onboard (and staff willing to use it)  30MB of free Wi-Fi included with a Business Class ticket 3 door boarding is very calm and orderly Cons The flight is very early (8:30am departure, meaning a 6:00am check in) The flip-over bed is extra inconvenient on a daytime flight where you might want more fluidity between the sleep and sit positions  Tips Back of the plane (row 96) feels very private, despite the proximity to the galley and lavs The middle two seats are great for couples, but you won't have window access The back of Business Class is known for being much colder than the front " Book the Cook " feature lets you choo...

A perfectly-timed overnight flight from the East Coast to Europe – 7 hours in an exceptionally wide, leather seat with 81" of pitch and a lie-flat mode. Dinner and breakfast services. Pros Well-timed flight (10am arrival into Frankfurt) Great food Amazing service A380 feels very spacious and quiet Espresso machine onboard (and staff willing to use it)  30MB of free Wi-Fi included with a Business Class ticket TSA Prechek Cons No pajamas The flip-over bed is a little inconvenient, but the staff are super helpful about making the bed up for you  Tips Back of the plane (row 96) feels very private, despite the proximity to the galley and lavs The middle two seats are great for couples The back of Business Class is known for being much colder than the front "Book the Cook" feature lets you choose your meals from a huge menu The Frankfurt airport has a high-speed rail terminal so easily reach other parts of Germany ( Baden Baden is only an hour awa...