Changi Airport's Jewel sparkles for first visitors

Singapore

CHANGI Airport's Jewel welcomed its first visitors on Thursday for a preview of the new development, which is part of the airport's effort to enhance passenger experience in an increasingly competitive environment.

Starting on Thursday and up to Tuesday next week, up to 500,000 members of the public will get a sneak peek inside the dome-shaped structure ahead of its official launch on Wednesday next week.

Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, the glass-panelled Jewel houses retail and dining outlets, attractions, a hotel and airport facilities against the backdrop of a garden setting.

Making a splash is the world's tallest indoor waterfall, the 40-metre Rain Vortex; its Forest Valley presents more than 900 trees and palms and about 600,000 shrubs.

The play attractions in the Canopy Park, such as the sky nets, hedge and mirror mazes, as well as the slides open on June 10.

Twenty six airlines, including Singapore Airlines and Scoot, which cover 60 per cent of traffic at Changi will offer early check-in counters at Jewel. There is also a lounge to facilitate air-to-sea transfers for transit passengers. Baggage storage facilities will also be available round the clock.

Transit passengers will have to exit their terminal to head to Jewel, and clear immigration again before boarding their next flight.

Hung Jean, chief executive of Jewel Changi Airport Development, said: "The unique proposition of world-class shopping and dining, seamlessly integrated with lush greenery, fulfils the needs of increasingly discerning travellers for a meaningful and experiential journey, even for brief layovers."

She added that Jewel will also provide fresh experiences for Singapore residents and working professionals in its vicinity.

Built on the site of Terminal 1's former open-air car park, the S$1.7 billion Jewel Changi Airport is a 51:49 joint venture between airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) and developer CapitaLand.

The 135,700 square metre, 10-storey development is next to Terminal 1 and is connected to Terminals 2 and 3 via air-conditioned travelators.

Jayson Goh, managing director for airport-operations management at CAG, said: "Many airports are now trying to enhance the experience for passengers. At Jewel, passenger experience is a key focus in our service DNA."

He noted that transit passengers are increasingly spending more time in airports during their travels.

Nearly a quarter of the retail and food and beverage brands at Jewel are new to the Singapore market, such as US burger joint Shake Shack, London's Burger and Lobster and Spanish retailer OYSHO; local brands such as fashion store In Good Company and Tiger Street Lab, make up half the brands there.

With Jewel, Changi Airport is striving to maintain Singapore's status as a choice air hub by offering a better passenger experience that will pull in more stop-over visitors and tourists to Singapore, said industry observers.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic senior lecturer in tourism Michael Chiam said: "Besides the traditional shops and dining places, there are quite a number of attractions within Jewel which will wow visitors of all ages. All these attractions give visitors a glimpse of Singapore - especially those who have never visited this country before. For example, the garden concept presents Singapore as a garden city and the local brands give our international visitors a taste of the local cuisines." These offerings could entice travellers to return, he added.

All this comes as other airports in the region are also upping the ante. For instance, Hong Kong's Skycity project is slated to offer retail, dining, hotels, offices and entertainment; it will be ready in phases between 2023 and 2027.

Jewel expects to receive 40 to 50 million passengers annually, of which 60 per cent are projected to be Singapore residents.

Ahead of the completion of the massive Terminal 5, which will at first add a handling capacity of 50 million passengers a year when it opens in 2030, CAG will start renovating Terminal 2 this year.

The T2 renovations will lift Changi's passenger handling capacity to 90 million per year before T5 is ready.

Changi handled a record 65.6 million passengers last year, about a third of which were transit passengers.

As travel demand in Asia grows, passenger traffic is expected to grow at a pace of 3 to 4 per cent at the airport over the next two decades.