Cheap STARLUX business class, Gulf Air's Saudi "hub," and a Turkish business deal to Singapore

Hey {{first name | reader}},

Happy Wednesday!

Today's edition is a nice mix of avgeek fun, industry weirdness, and a interesting cash deal. A really nice niche redemption on STARLUX if you want to try one of the most exciting premium products in Asia without spending a ton of miles, a Gulf Air story that made me stop and think: have I ever seen an airline do this before?, and a Turkish Airlines business class fare to Singapore that's worth a look if you're based in Europe and don't want to burn miles.

I love finding niche ways to try premium products without committing to a big long-haul redemption, and STARLUX is a perfect example.

A great option is to book a short intra-Asia hop in business class using Alaska miles. One of the best examples is Hong Kong to Taipei, bookable for just 15,000 Alaska miles one-way in business class. It's only about a 2-hour flight, but you still get a proper premium experience. And look, I'm an aviation geek, so I don't think business class is only worth it on long-haul flights. I genuinely love a short flight up front too, and even more so when there are true lie-flat seats involved. Don't even get me started on suites.

This route is often operated by STARLUX's Airbus A330-900neo, with a 1-2-1 business class layout and direct aisle access (no doors on this one, but still a great product). Availability is also pretty good across a lot of dates, so there might be some that work for you.

An even more interesting option is Tokyo Narita to Taipei, also bookable for 15,000 Alaska miles one-way when you find availability (much harder than the TPE-HKG route). This one is more exciting because it's a longer flight (around 3 hours 30 minutes) and it's usually operated by STARLUX's Airbus A350-900, their flagship widebody. Business class on the A350 is laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration with high partitions and sliding doors. That's what we call a proper suite.

So for just 15,000 Alaska miles, you can choose between:

That's the kind of redemption I enjoy: niche, fun, and doable.

This story is one of the strangest airline operational workarounds I can remember. Because Bahrain's airspace has effectively been shut, Gulf Air has moved aircraft out of Bahrain and is now operating some essential services from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, instead of from its normal home base. And even more, Gulf Air has already been selling flights from Dammam, including routes to London Heathrow, Mumbai, and Bangkok, because Bahrain remains inaccessible for normal operations.

I had honestly never heard of an airline doing exactly this in modern scheduled operations. Is it completely unprecedented in aviation history? Probably not, airlines have improvised and used nearby foreign airports during wars and extreme disruptions before. But as a commercial, branded workaround for a full home-hub shutdown, this is still extremely unusual. Even during the current Middle East crisis, most carriers have either reduced service, canceled flights, or run limited repatriation services, but not effectively shifted part of their hub function across a border. I imagine the move makes sense because Dammam may simply be safer operationally right now.

For people traveling from Bahrain, I don't expect this to be a massive disruption in practice since Dammam is about an hour away by car, which is honestly closer than many major airports are to their own city centers around the world.

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Now for the deal.

Turkish Airlines is currently offering business class fares to Singapore starting at around $2,250 from Oslo, $2,300 from Sofia, and Copenhagen at a slightly higher price of around $2,430. That's a good business class fare to Singapore on a full-service airline, especially one with a very good premium product.

The exact onboard experience depends on the routing. On the European sector to Istanbul, Turkish typically uses narrow-body aircraft with a regional business cabin. Don’t expect anything flashy, but it is fine for a short hop. The magic comes on the long-haul portion from Istanbul to Singapore, which is usually operated by A350-900s in a 1-2-1 configuration. That's a very good hard product for this length of flight.

Turkish does a lot of things right: catering, lounge quality in Istanbul, and an overall premium experience that consistently punches above its weight. So this deal might be worth checking now that the Middle East (a.k.a. the main hub for connection between Europe and Asia) remains affected by current events!

That's it for today. More deals and strategies coming your way on Friday.

Catch you in the clouds,

Tomi from Points Master