The Queen of the Skies Flies Both Trump and Kim to Historic Singapore Summit
Say what you will about the impending demise of the Boeing 747, but there's one thing the Queen of the Skies still does better than any other airplane: make history. For the historic summit between the US president and the leader of North Korea, both leaders chose to fly the Queen.
After leaving the G-7 meeting in Canada early, President Trump's Air Force One landed at 8:21pm Singapore time (8:21am Eastern). While not technically a Boeing 747, the president's Boeing VC-25 is a militarized version of the passenger jet.
While it was no surprise how Trump would arrive at the summit, there was quite a bit of speculation about how Kim Jong Un would make the journey. On Sunday, three aircraft were spotted leaving North Korea: an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane (carrying Kim's armored limo and personal toilet) an Air China 747-400 (registration B-2447) and Kim's private Air Koryo Ilyushin Il-62M (registration P-885).
Since it's Kim's private plane, spotters widely expected the IL-62M to be carrying the leader. But, beating Trump to Singapore by a few hours, it was the Air China 747-400 that Kim stepped off of in Singapore. The 23-year-old Air China 747-400 is often seen flying commercial routes intra-China, but it's typically only flown internationally with Chinese government VIPs aboard, which some deem China's Air Force One.
The usage of the Air China VIP aircraft may indicate that the North Korean government doesn't feel its fleet of Soviet-built aircraft are safe enough to transport their leader. Or perhaps the Air China 747 was chosen as another form of safety since the IL-62M needed to stop in China along the way to refuel. Rather than having to worry about another landing and takeoff — and securing the airfield for the re-fueling visit — Kim chose the nonstop option.
While there's no commercial air service between Pyongyang and Singapore, if Kim were able to redeem miles for the flight, he'd want to use Asiana Club miles or Avianca LifeMiles. Both programs charge just 100,000 miles round-trip in first class between Korea and Singapore on Star Alliance partners. Considering the large entourage Kim travels with, hopefully North Korea was able to stock up on LifeMiles during the recent 135% promotional buy miles bonus for this theoretical redemption.
H/T: The Drive
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- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
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- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month