Apologies I'm going to respond to it in bits.
July through to 14 August so I know it's still a little while for things to change with the Krisflyer Lounge.
Agree, I'd wait until a bit closer to see what is actually open.
We are only going Economy so can't use the Plaza Premium Lounge
Correct, unless in business class or holding star alliance gold status then you won't have access to the contract lounge that SQ are using for the evening departure. They're still only opening their own lounge for the 9am and 2pm flights to Singapore.
We are flying VA from ROK-BNE then SA BNE-SIN-BKK (return). I see that access to the Krisflyer lounge (in BNE) is quite limited in the times that it is open atm. We arrive in BNE at 17:40 and our international flight leaves BNE at 23:50.
You've got a large 6 hour layover and would have plenty of time to even go into the city for a bit. There is plenty of things to do or even go for a bite to eat within a 10-15 minute uber/taxi or take the train into the city. A round trip train ticket is $28 purchased online and you can select domestic airport and get off at the international terminal (to save a couple dollars for a round trip fare).
The tickets have been booked all the way from our home airport (ROK) so that should mean our bags are checked right through to BKK??
On paper this is what is meant to occur but more recently VA has not been through checking baggage onto partner carriers as they don't want to perform the document checks. Family members flew Hawaiian airlines on a single ticket last month from BNE-SYD-HNL with a 2hr transit in Sydney, VA in Brisbane was unable to check them in or check luggage despite it being a single ticket. Therefore I wouldn't be banking on the ability of VA in ROK to through check to BKK, you may have to see the SQ desk once it opens.
If luggage isn't checked through then you'll need to obtain a boarding pass from Singapore airlines desks which are only open 3hrs prior to departure at 8:50pm, the desk then closes 40 minutes prior to departure.
As Krisflyer Lounge will be closed (unless something changes in the meantime) by the time we arrive in BNE are we allowed to just hang in the VA domestic Lounge until it gets closer to us having to go through security etc over at International?
Assuming you have VA Plat/Gold status then yes you can use the VA lounge on arrival, technically this access is only allowed for 60 minutes after arrival of the VA flight however I don't think you'd have a problem staying a bit longer. Obviously the VA lounge closes around the time of the last VA flight departure (~8pm) so don't expect to stay in the VA lounge all night and regardless you'll need to make your way over to the international terminal via bus which takes some time.
Also on the way over at Changi we have a layover of 3HRS 45MINS and on the way back the layover is 2h 25m. That's enough time for a Lounge visit isn't it? As a VA Plat I can access a Changi lounge according to VA's site. As of this moment there is one SilverKris one open in Terminal 3 and one KrisFlyer Gold open in T3 as well.
The layovers you have in Changi are plenty of time for a lounge visit. At changi security isn't done right until boarding at the gate so you can just step off the plane and head directly to the lounge.
Singapore airlines have two open lounges in Singapore right now:
- The SilverKris lounge is only open to people travelling in Business class (and with some SQ status).
- The Kirsflyer Gold lounge which is open to VA Gold and Platinum card holders (with 1 guest). If your frequent flyer number is on your boarding pass they should just be able to scan it otherwise just show your VA card.
The lounge have been very crowded recently so you might also find it nice to go for a long walk through Changi's extensive terminals.
3hrs 45mins is in my opinion also long enough to clear passport control (you'll need to fill out a electronic arrival card and submit your Australian vaccine cert to the app before departure to do this but no testing requirements). The benefit of clearing passport control is you'll be able to visit the Jewel shopping center which is attached to the airport (but it's landside so open to the public hence the need to enter Singapore). Jewel has plenty of shops and place to eat. Singapore has outbound smart gates for passport control so there is never a queue to get back into the airport when done.