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
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app