Having made many trips over the years to the subcontinent through changi I have always been amazed at the overall functioning of Changi airport although my last few trips have been through other south east asian airports.
Recently I had a trip where I was flying back to MEL with a long transit in Changi. I was flying back after school holidays with the family (2 kids 6 and 2 years).
We landed in Changi at 3am local time and our onward flight to MEL was at 1945 hrs. We were in J.
Only after landing did I realize that I had overlooked the incoming time with such a long transit and not planned ahead was a huge mistake.
As I had not booked the transit hotel, it was fully booked and I was told to wait until 9am for any availability.
I also had not looked at the opening hours of Qantas lounge (we were flying QF out of SIN).
Thankfully as I had priority pass, I could access one of their lounges for 3 hours and they were helpful to let our kids sleep on their couches.
In the morning we took the available room at the transit hotel which was $180 for 6 hours. After that we could access the QF lounge which by then opened.
This was a hard lesson learned by me for my assumption that everything in Changi was open 24/7.
So henceforth I will make sure to book the transit hotel way in advance if I have an overnight or red eye flight.
Don't know if there are many others like me but I thought of sharing this so others in the same boat could benefit.
P.S - Even though the transit hotel was expensive, it was very comfortable and clean and very quiet for a good nap.
Recently I had a trip where I was flying back to MEL with a long transit in Changi. I was flying back after school holidays with the family (2 kids 6 and 2 years).
We landed in Changi at 3am local time and our onward flight to MEL was at 1945 hrs. We were in J.
Only after landing did I realize that I had overlooked the incoming time with such a long transit and not planned ahead was a huge mistake.
As I had not booked the transit hotel, it was fully booked and I was told to wait until 9am for any availability.
I also had not looked at the opening hours of Qantas lounge (we were flying QF out of SIN).
Thankfully as I had priority pass, I could access one of their lounges for 3 hours and they were helpful to let our kids sleep on their couches.
In the morning we took the available room at the transit hotel which was $180 for 6 hours. After that we could access the QF lounge which by then opened.
This was a hard lesson learned by me for my assumption that everything in Changi was open 24/7.
So henceforth I will make sure to book the transit hotel way in advance if I have an overnight or red eye flight.
Don't know if there are many others like me but I thought of sharing this so others in the same boat could benefit.
P.S - Even though the transit hotel was expensive, it was very comfortable and clean and very quiet for a good nap.