mika_duffer
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2022
- Posts
- 18
I am currently in Changi airport transiting from our flight from Rome to Melbourne (via Copenhagen then Singapore).
After landing, passengers staying in Singapore were asked to disembark the plane first; then followed by those transiting onwards.
Business class were then invited to exit the plane but were stopped at the top of the tunnel by airport staff wearing full PPE and were asked to don a green wrist band.
We then waited about 10 minutes for all of the passengers getting off the plane to be segregated into our onward destinations; Melbourne on the right side, everywhere else on the left before we were then marched through the airport in single file to the intra-airport train to a big transit lounge.
Bearing in mind that everyone on this flight was fully vaccinated and had to have tested negative to board the plane!!
So we were marched about 1 kilometre through the airport (15 minute walk) in single file through the middle of the duty free shopping area (with other passengers all around us wondering who these 100 green wrist band prisoners were
)
Anyway, my girlfriend and I had garnered at this point that we wouldn’t be going to the SilverKris lounge. When we arrived at this transit lounge area there was about 200 passengers already here. Add the 100 from our flight made 300.
As you can see in the photos there was a sign that read PREMIUM WAITING AREA. You could see through the glass that this premium waiting area actually looked to have less comfortable chairs than the normal waiting area so we opted to sit in the normal area armchairs instead.
For interest’s sake I decided to go into the premium area to see if there was anything resembling a lounge in there.
I walked up with my boarding pass. Yet there was no staff checking who was getting in there. So I waltzed straight in there. The seats were indeed your less comfortable stock boarding gate seats and there were 4 vending machines in the corner with chocolate bars, nuts, crisps and soft drinks. These were free, make a selection and it dropped down. I walked back out to the normal waiting area, again, no staff at the gate to the premium waiting area, to return to our more comfortable arm chairs in the busy normal waiting area.
I think if word spread through the 300 people quick enough from someone who watched me walk through there unchecked to the free vending machines they wouldn’t have had much left for much longer!
Firstly, I think the safety measures are about a year behind. The full PPE when all passengers are fully vaccinated and have tested negative in the last 24 hours was already a bit much, but then the marching through the airport right next to all the other passengers shopping in duty free made it laughable.
Fortunately I purchased our flights on points, had I paid full fare for our business class tickets to find that the only lounge available for our 3 hour layover was a non-policed uncomfortable boarding gate with some free vending machines giving out Snickers bars and iced tea I’d be ropable.
I’m not trying to be pompous but when you fork out for business class you expect a business class experience. This was second rate from Singapore Airlines who I normally hold to a high regard.
Therefore;
TL;DR
If you’re looking at booking flights with a lengthier layover in Changi, do your search again or you’ll be made to feel like a prisoner 2 and a half years into a pandemic.
I’ll comment with an update in a couple of hours when apparently we’ll be marched to our actual boarding gate… more to come
After landing, passengers staying in Singapore were asked to disembark the plane first; then followed by those transiting onwards.
Business class were then invited to exit the plane but were stopped at the top of the tunnel by airport staff wearing full PPE and were asked to don a green wrist band.
We then waited about 10 minutes for all of the passengers getting off the plane to be segregated into our onward destinations; Melbourne on the right side, everywhere else on the left before we were then marched through the airport in single file to the intra-airport train to a big transit lounge.
Bearing in mind that everyone on this flight was fully vaccinated and had to have tested negative to board the plane!!
So we were marched about 1 kilometre through the airport (15 minute walk) in single file through the middle of the duty free shopping area (with other passengers all around us wondering who these 100 green wrist band prisoners were
) Anyway, my girlfriend and I had garnered at this point that we wouldn’t be going to the SilverKris lounge. When we arrived at this transit lounge area there was about 200 passengers already here. Add the 100 from our flight made 300.
As you can see in the photos there was a sign that read PREMIUM WAITING AREA. You could see through the glass that this premium waiting area actually looked to have less comfortable chairs than the normal waiting area so we opted to sit in the normal area armchairs instead.
For interest’s sake I decided to go into the premium area to see if there was anything resembling a lounge in there.
I walked up with my boarding pass. Yet there was no staff checking who was getting in there. So I waltzed straight in there. The seats were indeed your less comfortable stock boarding gate seats and there were 4 vending machines in the corner with chocolate bars, nuts, crisps and soft drinks. These were free, make a selection and it dropped down. I walked back out to the normal waiting area, again, no staff at the gate to the premium waiting area, to return to our more comfortable arm chairs in the busy normal waiting area.
I think if word spread through the 300 people quick enough from someone who watched me walk through there unchecked to the free vending machines they wouldn’t have had much left for much longer!
Firstly, I think the safety measures are about a year behind. The full PPE when all passengers are fully vaccinated and have tested negative in the last 24 hours was already a bit much, but then the marching through the airport right next to all the other passengers shopping in duty free made it laughable.
Fortunately I purchased our flights on points, had I paid full fare for our business class tickets to find that the only lounge available for our 3 hour layover was a non-policed uncomfortable boarding gate with some free vending machines giving out Snickers bars and iced tea I’d be ropable.
I’m not trying to be pompous but when you fork out for business class you expect a business class experience. This was second rate from Singapore Airlines who I normally hold to a high regard.
Therefore;
TL;DR
If you’re looking at booking flights with a lengthier layover in Changi, do your search again or you’ll be made to feel like a prisoner 2 and a half years into a pandemic.
I’ll comment with an update in a couple of hours when apparently we’ll be marched to our actual boarding gate… more to come
emoji was not enough, I thought your response was one of the best I have read in a while. In our family MissM has already asked if I will fund her travel in the future and I need to save points so she can travel with her friends J. The kids of today 
