"World's Best Airline" & "Best U.S. Domestic Airline" offer frequent flyers topnotch service and global rewards.
SAN FRANCISCO – Singapore Airlines and Virgin America announce that they will expand their existing codeshare agreement to include a frequent flyer partnership that will allow members of both airlines’ loyalty programs to earn and redeem points or miles for travel on the airlines respectively named the best for international and domestic service. As of this week, the partnership allows savvy travelers to book travel rewards across the entire combined network of two airlines that have received an unrivalled accumulation of prestigious awards for the quality of their service. Singapore Airlines has consistently been named Travel + Leisure‘s “World’s Best Airline” since the magazine inaugurated the world rankings 17 years ago and has topped Conde Nast Traveler‘s list of foreign carriers for 24 of the past 25 years. For its part, Virgin America has swept the major travel awards every year since its launch in 2007, including being named “Best U.S. Airline” in Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards and “Best Domestic Airline” in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards for the past five years.
Members of Singapore Airlines’ PPS Club and KrisFlyer loyalty frequent flyer programs, will be able to earn KrisFlyer miles when travelling on all Virgin America flights, and can redeem their KrisFlyer miles for award travel on all Virgin America routes. Members of Virgin America’s Elevate frequent flyer program can now earn Elevate points when flying with Singapore Airlines, as well as redeem their Elevate points for international reward flights on all routes flown by Singapore Airlines. Since the launch of the two airlines’ codeshare agreement in December 2012, Singapore Airlines guests have been able to seamlessly book using the Singapore Airlines code (SQ) on a single ticket for guests traveling between Asia and the multiple Virgin America destinations in the U.S. including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago (ORD), Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington D.C. (IAD).
“Through our new partnership with Singapore Airlines, we’re able to offer enhanced international travel options to our Elevate members, tapping into an extensive route network across Asia in particular. As an airline that differentiates itself through our distinctive service and unique amenities, Virgin America looks to partner with airlines where the quality of service across cabins is well-aligned with what our most frequent flyers have come to expect,” said Phil Seward, Virgin America’s Director of Guest Loyalty. “That is why we’re extremely pleased and proud to partner with Singapore Airlines, an airline that has been recognized by travelers from the world over for its superlative guest service and in-flight experience.”
Singapore Airlines’ Regional Vice President Americas, Mr Foo Chai Woo, said, “Singapore Airlines is constantly looking to provide new benefits for our PPS Club and KrisFlyer members and this partnership with Virgin America does just that. It is an attractive way for our customers to access a range of popular destinations across the United States through a partner airline which is widely recognized for delighting its customers with its innovative cabin products and customer experience.”
To celebrate the launch of the partnership, Virgin America is offering the chance for one Elevate member to win two (2) round-trip Economy class tickets on Singapore Airlines on their choice of routing between Los Angeles (LAX) and Tokyo (NRT), San Francisco (SFO) and Seoul (ICN) or San Francisco (SFO) to Hong Kong (HKG). Members must enter their information on facebook.com/virginamerica to enter to “Win a Stylish Ride on Singapore Airlines.” Members will also earn 500 reward points for entering the promotion.
Bringing together the best of the East with the best of the West, the codeshare and frequent flyer partnership between the two carriers will offer an attractive array of award redemption opportunities for business travelers. Singapore Airlines is the fourth airline to join Virgin America’s Elevate frequent flyer program, which also includes Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia and Hawaiian Airlines.
Known for beautifully designed cabins and unparalleled in-flight entertainment, Virgin America’s new fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft offers custom-designed mood-lit cabins and amenities like fleetwide WiFi, power outlets and personal entertainment – with live TV including MSNBC, CNN, CNBC and more – at every seat. The Red platform offers guests their own seatback touch-screen TV, with 25 films, live TV, Google Maps, video games, seat-to-seat chat, music videos, a 4000 song library and an on-demand menu – so flyers can order a cocktail or snack from their seatback any time during a flight. In addition to a Main Cabin that offers custom-designed leather seating with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, the airline’s First Class offers plush white leather seating with 55 inches of pitch, 165 degrees of recline and lumbar massagers. The carrier’s Main Cabin Select option offers 38-inches of pitch, free food and cocktails, an all-access pass to media content, dedicated overhead bins and priority check-in/boarding.
Last summer, Virgin America launched a suite of enhancements to its Elevate frequent flyer program – including Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver status levels that offer perks such as: priority check-in, security clearance and boarding; points earning bonuses; free checked bag allowances; enhanced digital/social rewards; private discounts; an expanded advance purchase upgrade window for the airline’s exclusive eight-seat First Class; complimentary space-available upgrades to the carrier’s premium Main Cabin Select service; and complimentary access to the best seat assignments within Main Cabin. In December 2012, Virgin America opened its first airport lounge – the Virgin America Loft at LAX, which offers guests a sleek and modern retreat, with a selection of amenities and a space that reflects the look and feel of the airline’s mood-lit aircraft and overall design aesthetic.
Since its founding in 1972, Singapore Airlines has evolved from a regional airline to one of the most respected travel brands around the world. It flies one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world to destinations spanning a network spread over six continents, with the Singapore Girl as its internationally-recognizable icon providing the high standards of care and service that customers have come to expect of them. Singapore Airlines has made a habit of leading the way, and along the way developed a reputation for being a trendsetter with an ever-growing list of industry-leading innovations.
Virgin America flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. (IAD), Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Cabos, Cancun, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Portland, and Washington D.C.’s Reagan National (DCA). In April, Virgin America will inaugurate service to its 20th airport destination – Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). In May, the California-based carrier will launch service from Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). The airline will begin seasonal service to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) in June.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.