1. The plants around Changi
Look around Changi Airport and you’ll notice a distinct feature within the terminals – plants and bright flowers blooming all year round. These flowers may look artificial as they adorn displays around the airport (many passengers have been seen checking out the petals), but the flowers at Changi are genuine!
To provide passengers the best visual and scent experience, Changi Airport has its own nursery growing its own supply of plants. To keep displays looking fresh and even themed to complement the latest festival, Changi Airport has 10 professional horticulturalists supported by about 150 gardeners to ensure that all plants are in tip-top condition year-round.
2. Unusual restrooms
Some restrooms at Changi Airport offer great views for plane spotting, while one is an ideal spot in which ladies can prepare themselves for looking fabulous.
The toilets in the transit area of Terminal 1 (T1) sit right above the apron area lined with contact stands on both its left and right. When T1 was undergoing refurbishment some years back, the engineers chanced upon this wonderful view and decided to share it with passengers. Shedding opaque walls for full-height glass walls, you can watch as planes taxi into the area right before you. They are so close it almost feels like you can reach out to touch them.
If you want to feel like a star at Changi Airport, visit the unique Powder Room at T1 and T3 Transit. Its design is inspired by back-stage make-up rooms, where the make-up desks are separated into consoles and mirrors are embellished with light bulbs all around. This creates an exclusive and luxurious environment for passengers to prepare themselves or just to relax as they await their friends still in the cubicles.
3. Sweet reprieve for parents
Parents, how many times at an airport have you wished you could grab a coffee, sit down somewhere to take a rest and just let the kids run loose? At Changi Airport, that’s all possible.
We understand how crucial it is to have your kids within sight, no matter what you are doing. Hence, we have strategically located rest areas next to children’s playgrounds, so that you can still keep an eye on them even while you give your tired feet some needed reprieve. Best of all, some of these rest areas are equipped with free foot massage machines!
4. Peace and quiet
Throughout Changi Airport, whether at check-in or in the hustle and bustle of the transit areas, we pride ourselves on maintaining a quiet and relaxing mood for passengers. We minimize the number of flight announcements and take advantage of specially designed and strategically placed carpets to reduce noise levels. All this to create an idyllic ambience while teasing passengers with eye-catching carpet designs.
5. Intelligent lighting
Ever noticed that T3 always seems bright in the day but is still comfortable? This is because the amount of light entering the terminal is regulated by computerized louvers on the terminal rooftop that are programed to respond to the brightness of daylight outside the terminal. On a sunny day, they open minimally to reduce the amount of sunlight entering the terminal, while on a gloomy day, they will open up to allow more light in. In doing so, the lighting condition within the terminal is kept consistent, while allowing for energy savings from the reduced usage of fluorescent lighting.
6. Feeding more than 50 million passengers a year
With close to 140 food and beverage (F&B) outlets in Changi’s three terminals, passengers are thoroughly spoilt for choice. From Japanese to Indian, Chinese to Western, F&B outlets range in size from quick bite stations to fully-fledged restaurants.
The food options have been carefully curated by Changi’s team to suit different palettes and wallets. Most of the food outlets are located on the same level as the retail outlets, to facilitate the easy flit between shopping and getting your stomachs filled. There are also kid-friendly meals in the restaurants, in line with our philosophy that children are just as important to us as their mummies and daddies.
7. The Raffles Long bar
Now everyone can have a Singapore Sling – on the house at the airport!
Partnering with Singapore icon Raffles Hotel to bring the famous drink synonymous with Singapore to passengers at Changi Airport, the Raffles Long Bar is on the top level of the new Wine & Spirits duplex in the middle of the Terminal 3 transit hall.
On the menu also are other cocktails to choose from. Adjacent to the Long Bar are branded boutiques for wines and spirits, which showcase their heritage and finest products. If you are in luck, you can also get up close and personal with master distillers, blenders and brand ambassadors for more insights into your favorite spirits.
8. Bask in tropical sunlight anyone?
Possibly the only airport rooftop swimming pool anywhere in the world, the Changi Airport swimming pool located next to the Aerotel Transit Hotel at Terminal 1 is very popular with passengers from temperate countries.
While some Singaporeans wonder what the fuss is about, we have found that passengers, especially Europeans passing through during the northern winter, love to soak it all in, before they continue on their journey.
With full shower facilities and a view into the tarmac area at the far corner of the pool, the swimming pool is one of the many leisure options available at Changi Airport. So remember to bring along a set of swim wear when you next fly through Changi!
9. Don’t miss your flight!
Why wait until you board your flight to catch that movie you missed? You can do it in Changi Airport while waiting for your flight.
Built just like the real thing, the movie theatre in T3 isn’t equipped with alarm clocks to remind you to board your flight, but there is a large digital clock just next to the big screen for passenger’s easy reference. There are super-wide aisles so that passengers can park their trolleys right in front of their seats, rather than leave them at the back of the theatre unattended. There is a smaller theatre in Terminal 2 (T2).
The theatres are open 24/7, with movies running round the clock. The schedule is published on the Changi Airport website.
10. Look like a million bucks before you fly!
Passengers can actually get pampered with an entire suite of beauty treatments at Changi Airport, and can get a haircut, facial, or body massage, or enjoy complimentary flash makeup and even a mani-pedi before they fly.
If you only have time for one stop, be sure to check out the top level of The Shilla Duty Free duplex at T3, where you can enjoy a facial massage at the SKII Salon, or a complimentary makeup session at Dior, where a makeup artist with runway experience would be delighted to not only doll you up, but share tips and tricks as well.
March 17, 2016