Not long ago you saw us report on the prevalence of Etihad First Class Apartment award space available between Abu Dhabi and New York City.

“Redeeming American Airlines Miles” Series Index

Part 1 — 5 Ways to Stretch American Airlines Miles on Economy Redemptions
Part 2 — 6 Ultra-Luxurious First Classes to Book with American Airlines Miles (this post)
Part 3 — Where to Search Award Space for All Partners
Part 4 — Award Rules and How Many Miles You Need
Part 5 — Taxes, Fees, and Fuel Surcharges
Part 6 — Redeeming for Domestic Awards
Part 7 — Redeeming for Hawaii
Part 8 — Redeeming for East and Southeast Asia
Part 9 — Redeeming for Middle East and Indian Subcontinent
Part 10 — Redeeming

Singapore Airlines is altering its routes to the United States in October 2016. Currently, Singapore flies from four American cities to Singapore with stops along the way in Europe and Asia.

San Francisco to Seoul (ICN) to Singapore
San Francisco to Hong Kong to Singapore
Los Angeles to Tokyo (NRT) to Singapore
Houston to Moscow (DME) to Singapore
New York (JFK) to Frankfurt to Singapore

Singapore is making several changes though.

Qatar Airways First Class on its A380 is available nearly every day between Paris and Doha and widely available between Doha and Bangkok.

There used to be two programs that offered Emirates First Class and Business Class redemptions at reasonable rates:

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Now there is only one.
Current State of Alaska/Emirates Awards
Sadly, Alaska Airlines massively devalued their Emirates chart with no notice.

Here is a video I filmed in January inside the Etihad A380 shower that you can access if you fly in a First Class Apartment:

It is part of a series of trip reports on the flight:

Anatomy of an Award: India to United States in Etihad and American Airlines First Class for 90,000 AA Miles
Trip Report: Etihad Business Class from Chennai to Abu Dhabi
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi (Including Shave and Massage)
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to New York: Seat, Suite, Vanity, Amenity Kit, Pajamas

Anatomy of an Award: India to United States in Etihad and American Airlines First Class for 90,000 AA Miles
Trip Report: Etihad Business Class from Chennai to Abu Dhabi
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi (Including Shave and Massage)
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to New York: Seat, Suite, Vanity, Amenity Kit, Pajamas, Bed, Sleeping
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to New York: Food, Drink, and Onboard Lounge (this post)
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to New York: Shower and Bathroom
Trip Report: Etihad

Anatomy of an Award: India to United States in Etihad and American Airlines First Class for 90,000 AA Miles
Trip Report: Etihad Business Class from Chennai to Abu Dhabi
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi (Including Shave and Massage)
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to New York: Seat, Suite, Vanity, Amenity Kit, Pajamas, Bed, Sleeping (this post)
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to New York: Food, Drink, and Onboard Lounge
Trip Report: Etihad First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to New York: Shower and Bathroom
Trip Report: Etihad

Singapore Airlines offers an efficient and convenient way to waitlist Saver award space on most flights in any cabin when Saver space is unavailable.
What is Waitlisting?
Singapore Airlines has three prices for award space in each cabin on each route: Saver, Standard, and Full.

Saver is the cheapest, around one-fifth to one-eighth of the price of Full.

I am in the air flying the Etihad First Class Apartment on its A380 from Abu Dhabi to New York.

This is one of the best flights of my life, but "First Class" is a misnomer, since Etihad offers a three room "Residence" on the same flight, making my accommodation technically second class.

For a day, there was a 1% chance in my mind I'd be flying the Residence.

About two days before my flights, I finally sent a direct message on Twitter to American Airlines asking for my Etihad confirmation number, so I could select seats