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THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
Singapore Airlines' secondary business class lounge at Changi Airport is nothing to write home about at all, though it does feature more readily available shower rooms |
3.0
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Prior to my Singapore Airlines 737 MAX 8 flight from Singapore to Phuket, and as part of my whirlwind journey from London to Thailand through Stockholm, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, I visited Singapore Airlines’ lounges at Singapore’s Changi Airport. I arrived early to check out the newly renovated lounge at Changi’s Terminal 3 (review here), which is the airline’s flagship lounge, serving most of the flights leaving out of Changi Airport. However, the airline also operates flights out of Terminal 2 (including mine), and the airline operates a lounge there too. So prior to my flight, I was sure to pop by the Singapore Airlines Business Class lounge at Changi’s T2.
If you don’t have enough time to swing by the lounge at Changi’s T3 (only a short and convenient Skytrain away, both landside or airside), I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to spend any time at this lounge. The lounge features basics such as seating, free WiFi, and showers, and also has a noodle bar – however, otherwise the lounge is quite rudimentary, and feels more like an outstation lounge than a hub lounge. Anyway, here’s my review.
Singapore Airlines Changi Lounges Access and Opening Hours
Singapore Airlines’ business class lounges at Changi Airport are open round the clock, and are open to business class passengers travelling on Star Alliance airlines. You do need to be travelling in business class in order to access this lounge – Star Alliance Gold status holders travelling in economy and premium economy only have access to the KrisFlyer Gold lounge. The exception is that PPS Club members flying on Singapore Airlines in any cabin can access this lounge.
You’ll be allowed to use the lounge regardless of which terminal you’re flying out of, though in any case I’d recommend spending a bulk of time in the new lounge at Terminal 3, as it’s much larger and features a far greater selection of amenities.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Location
Getting between Changi Terminals 1, 2 and 3 is really easy, and simply consists of catching an Skytrain which takes a matter of minutes (getting to Terminal 4 is a different story, and requires catching a rather infrequent bus). The terminal was going through some renovations while I was visiting, so I navigated through the signage to find the main departures hall, where I was pointed towards the SilverKris lounge.
Renovations at Changi Airport T2
Terminal 2 mainly serves regional flights, and is known for being one of Changi Airport’s least impressive terminals. However, apart from the ongoing renovations, I was surprised that the terminal felt modern, airy and spacious, despite evidently being smaller in size than Terminals 3 and 4 (it also felt more modern than Terminal 1, apart from the Jewel). I didn’t actually catch the terminal’s digital sky or Wonderfall, so I’ll be sure to pay it a visit in the future.
Much like at T3, the lounges were situated one level up from the main departures concourse.
Changi Airport T2 Entrance to Lounges
Once reaching the upper floor, the SilverKris lounge was located at the end of the hallway.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Entrance
The business and first class lounges share an entrance, and I was pointed into the business class lounge, once again reminded that there were no boarding calls within the lounge.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Entrance
By the way, Singapore Airlines operates flights out of T2 to most of Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Japan (except for SQ12, which continues onto LAX), and South Korea. These are routes where Singapore Airlines takes more of a leisure focus, and as a result they tend to be lower-yield.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Seating and Atmosphere
The Singapore Airlines business class lounge at Changi Airport’s Terminal 2 is rather rudimentary, and seating consists almost solely of different-coloured armchairs and restaurant-style seating. To the left of the lounge was a relax area, as well as the dining section, with tables more apt for eating.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Dining and Relax Area
Then to the right of the lounge was a large relax area, with lots of beige, blue and green armchairs.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Seating
This humongous relax area stretched behind the lounge’s entrance, so it did feel like a fairly big room (despite minimal partitioning of any sort).
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Seating
While the lounge didn’t feature any other variety of seating, I did appreciate that there were universal power ports, as well as USB and USB-C charging. All too often I visit a hub lounge at an airport, only to find out that most power sockets only have a “regional” power plug.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Seating
Additionally, during morning rush hour, the lounge felt cramped and crowded, though still quiet. WiFi was fast and free.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Food and Beverage
While the food selection was passable, there’s a noticeable lack of variety at this regional departures lounge – there wasn’t even a huge mix of regional Asian and South Asian options.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Food Spread
I did like that there was a noodle bar here as well, though unlike their flagship lounge at T3, this noodle bar didn’t serve laksa.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Noodle Bar
In terms of Western options, I was quite entertained by the below rotating sandwich carousel, though I found the options otherwise to be quite lacking.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Food Spread
Apart from the noodle bar, there’s no “wow” factor here – the food felt like it’d been sitting out for a while, and the Western options were particularly unimpressive.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Shower Rooms
While I didn’t need a shower room at the lounge, I did get a chance to check one out. While these shower rooms didn’t feature toilets, they were situated in the men’s bathroom (the women’s bathroom also has shower rooms, though obviously I didn’t check one of those out). My preference would’ve still been for a toilet to be situated in each of these shower rooms.
There was a rainforest shower head. Much like at the other lounge, the toiletries in these shower rooms were unbranded.
Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge Shower Room
There are four shower rooms for each gender in this lounge. I doubt many passengers use these shower rooms (unless they were connecting, since T2 mostly houses short-haul departures), though I’d imagine they would also be cleaned on a less frequent basis, based on the fact that showers aren’t housed in a separate facility. In my case, despite this being peak hour for leisure departures out of Terminal 2 during Lunar New Year, only one of the four shower rooms in the men’s bathroom were taken.
If you’re looking for a guaranteed shower room with no wait time, Singapore Airlines’ lounge at Terminal 2 could be a decent option.
Conclusion: Singapore Airlines Changi T2 Lounge
Singapore Airlines’ Terminal 2 departures are lower-yield, and this lounge reflects that. The lounge features all the basics such as good WiFi and shower rooms, though otherwise the lounge reads much more like an outstation or overflow lounge than one of the airline’s hub lounges. I’m not necessarily criticising Singapore Airlines on this, as return on investment for a better lounge in Terminal 2 is quite low, especially since passengers in the know (or on longer layovers) would be able to easily access the airline’s much more impressive flagship lounge at Terminal 3.
Regardless, Singapore Airlines isn’t interested in making their lounges “destinations in their own right”, but rather they’re a means to an end as you wait for your flight. I’d certainly recommend heading over to Terminal 3 and using the airline’s superior flagship lounge there if you have the time. I’d even recommend roaming through the updated Terminal 2 over spending time at this lounge if not, unless you’re looking for some noodles or a shower.
