Changing planes at Changi

[Paul Lupp]

Greetings all.
In May I have to make a bit of a sad trip in connection with things left undone when my dad passed away in late 2016.
I'll be flying from LHR to SIN landing at T1 and have to take a flight to Malaysia. I've booked a budget airline for that shorter flight which should also leave from T1 at Changi. There are 3 hours between scheduled arrival and departure. I presume that I will have to reclaim my luggage and check in "from scratch" for the second flight, and 3 hours should be long enough assuming to delay on arrival.

Does anyone know if there a transfer system or will I have to exit and queue at the normal check-in desks at T1 ?
What happens if my inbound flight is late and I miss the connection? Are the budget carrier likely to say my ticket is invalid and I have to book a new ticket with them or someone else? (My connecting flight is apparently the latest departure they operate in the day from Changi to my onward (and final) destination).

Thanks in advance

[rog747]

you will have to collect your luggage at SIN - clear customs and then check in again at T1 departures for your onward budget airline flight to Malaya

3 hours should be fine but if your flight from LHR is delayed and you miss your onward flight then you will likely have no recourse with either airline - you will just have to buy another ticket

the airline from LHR may take pity on you and assist but i very much doubt it - am sure you will be OK though with 3 hours

[S.o.S.]

Hello Paul Lupp and Welcome to the Fabulous Cabin of PPRuNe! I'm glad that your question was answered quickly. Do come back later and tell us how the connection went. Changi is a fabulous airport and, on both out and return will keep your mind occupied.

[compressor stall]

I'm currently travelling from Europe to KL via SIN, departing in 2 hours. My bag was checked through to KL, although my travel agent had said it won't be. Ask the gate staff.

I'll know in 15 hours if it gets to KL....

[Paul Lupp]

Thanks for the welcome, especially to SoS.
I've been through Changi before but not for about 8 years, so not having to change terminals is only a slight bonus. I'm going out in mid May; the banks in Malaysia work slowly and bureacratically and it's taken over 2 years to get agreement to sort out what needs to be sorted out after dad passed away. I'll be accompanied by younger daughter, and we will be stopping in Changi on the way back for 3 nights. Am just a little concerned about making the connection as we have had an issue in the past with delayed flights, when we managed to make the connection to Malaysia but our luggage didn't, so it was sleep in the hotel "as-is" and the cases arrived by taxi at the hotel the next morning.

However this time it's different with 2 different airlines that do not have any arrangements between them. Plus I've purchased the tickets through different sources (direct from the 2 airlines involved).
Am kind-of looking forward to the trip but it will be tinged with a great deal of sadness in view of the circumstances..... mum should have been travelling with me but since dad died, she's had one collapse that resulted in a hospital stay over Christmas-New Year 2017-2018 and is too weak to make the trip with me. In fact she was born in Malaya and has UK citizenship (was before it became independent), moved with her family to Singapore and is one of the few remaining people still alive who was interred in Changi prison camp during WWII

[Hotel Tango]

compressor stall, I believe that KLM and Malaysia Airlines have an agreement in place which allows baggage to be checked through to final destination. The OP's situation is somewhat different as it involves a legacy airline and a loco.

[Asturias56]

If you have any time at all landside you can get a taxi round to the old Changi prison - it's very close to the Airport and a very moving spot..............

[Cool banana]

Are you flying on a normal or full fare ticket and flying with Jetstar Asia (3K)? If so then after landing at T1, make your way to Transfer Lounge C near Gate C1, which is well sign posted. Then to check in for your Jetstar flight, At the transfer lounge counter, show the staff your old boarding passes, Passport, onward flight Itinerary or Booking reference (preferred paper copy) & luggage tags for them to arrange your luggage transfer from your Jetstar flight. You can remain airside and do not need to pass through immigration.

The transfer staff are very friendly and helpful normal takes a few minutes. However if this is separate tickets then you will bear the risk if your miss the connecting flight. You will be classed as a no show and need to buy another ticket - which could be expensive at the last minute.

If you travel on the ID or staff travel ticket then you will have to collect your luggage at SIN - clear customs go upstairs and then check in again at T1 departures landslide counter, (3K counter closes 45 minutes before flight departure) before going back through security and immigration then your onward flight to Malaysia.

[mgahan]

I've made the Changi transit many, many times in the past couple of years and, except for flights ex Nadi with FJ, I've found that it you have a ticket to show at the original check in your bags can be tagged through to destination. Boarding passes are another issue and unless there are interline arrangements you'll need to do the terminal change and get your boarding pass at the relevant transfer desk - all airside.

MJG

[Paul Lupp]

Well, I'm back and as requested can update you.
Our outgoing flight from LHR was nearly 50 minutes late due, we were told, to ground equipment blocking the path of push-back. Surely when the plane was put on stand it was known what time it was due to depart and the airline/LHR should have made sure that all the trucks etc were out of the way?
Little time was made up on the flight, we had just over 2 hours to go through formalities, collect our bags, enter the arrivals hall and then turn the corner, up 2 escalators and check in for the budget airline flight from SIN to PEN. I can't fault JetStar at all, they were amazing with plenty of staff on hand, no queue to check the luggage in. Even the in-flight budget food I had pre-ordered was good! The flight pushed back exactly on time and arrived early in PEN.

On the way back, everyone was on board about 20 minutes before scheduled departure, we pushed back 15 minutes early and by scheduled departure time we were airborne!
We had 3 days in SIN before returning to LHR so managed to see the Jewel as well as T1..... it's a glorified shopping mall with an indoor water feature.

BTW the Bank and our lawyers in Penang had everything in order and it took just 2 visits of several hours each to conclude matters. RIP Dad, we had a safe and good trip even if it was sad at times thinking of you out there....

[S.o.S.]

Thanks Paul Lupp for checking back. I'm glad that the paperwork turned out to be simpler than is often the case. Paperwork in one's own country is usually difficult enough, leave alone in a totally different culture. Changi Airport is in a world of its own! Do stay in the cabin and you may find others asking about that neck of the woods.

[cooperplace]

Luckily you'll be in the best airport on Earth. A few years ago I had a tight connection (45 minutes) in Changi. My incoming flight was 40 minutes late and I eventually had 3 minutes (!!) to change terminals. Luckily on carry-on only. By running, and luck with trains and gates, I made it. On the other hand, if you have to spend hours in a terminal, there's no better place than Changi. They do a great job there.

[JLSF]

I had a 4 hour connection between flights and run through the whole main terminal (there is even a smail rail shuttle inside the terminal) and it was a thrill. Planes, shops, resting areas, all the best one can get.

[Paul Lupp]

Ah yes..... the Jewel is not part of "airside" so anyone can visit it, and when we were there it appeared that many locals were taking the opportunity to visit to see what it was like.

If anyone has been to the USA or lives in NYC, for example, you will probably have heard of "Shake Shack"... there is one in The Jewel (presumably the first in Singapore, if not the first in Asia) and the queue was insanely long, so much so that they had staff patrolling it to keep people in order! All that just for a cheeseburger!

I checked over the week-end and the last time I was there was 2011, then previously in 2007. Looking through the old photos was interesting, in 2007 the site where the Marina Bay Sands hotel stands was a clearance/building site. In 2011 the hotel itself was opened but it appears that Gardens by The Bay was under construction as I can see parts of some of the artificial tree structures in the background. Mum hardly recognises Singapore now from the days when she went to school in what is now Chijmes !

EDIT: Anyone know what happened to the Whiteaway store in Battery Road?