The airline continues to offer a $1,000-off promotion for round-trip Business Class travel if you pay with a MasterCard, but our research shows that you’re better off in most cases buying the lowest published fare. As you can see below, the MasterCard deal only saves more than $1,000 on two routes.

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Details: http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/local/US/mastercard.jsp.

Air New Zealand ‘Concierge in the Sky’

Starting in April, the carrier will have a concierge on its flights to Auckland from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver. “Air New Zealand will employ up to 90 concierge staff, which will be dedicated to making every customer’s journey before, during, and after an Air New Zealand service a special event,” said Roger Poulton, Air New Zealand VP Americas. The new International Airline Concierge service will offer a combination of 4,593travel advisers, loyalty, and destination experts. Concierge service staff duties may include: escorting passengers to and from the aircraft; recommending “must-do” activities while visiting New Zealand; assisting customers with onward bookings; supporting customers affected by a weather disruption; advising passengers on Star Alliance network options; and talking through the finer points of customers’ in-flight wine selections.

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Singapore’s New Houston-Moscow-Singapore Route

The carrier will operate its newest B777-300 Extended Range aircraft on flights from Houston in a three-class configuration: 8 First Class, 42 Business Class, and 228 economy class seats. First Class will have the airline’s new 35-inch-wide seat, which converts to a 180-degree flat bed.

The new Business Class seat, the largest in aviation history, also converts to a 180-degree flat bed, and features a spacious 1-2-1 configuration, providing direct aisle access from every seat. Round-trip Business Class starts at $12,200 to Moscow and $15,600 for First Class. Fly all the way to Singapore and the fares are $12,708 in Business, $14,112 in First.

Flying Singapore’s A345 non-stop from Los Angeles to Singapore, the flight time can be less and the Business Class fare 40%+ less. While LAX flights don’t offer a First Class cabin, the Executive Economy cabin can be a great value.