IMG_9871 by Globe Trekka, on Flickr
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For some unknown reason I agreed to travel to Europe for Christmas. As I write up this report, I still don’t know how I was persuaded to do it. The cold and I just do not seem to get along, and given the reports that it was getting really cold, I was really not looking forward to it.
But before I boarded my plane, first was a stop at JetQuay CIP terminal. I will write a more complete review later as I was a bit too tired to take videos/photos. However, these were some of my initial thoughts.
The JetQuay Terminal is located next to Terminal 2. It is open to any passenger travelling in any class or any carrier (with a few exceptions).
There are three types of services available
GATEWAY – Meet & Greet service in main Airport terminal (Escort only, no electric buggy)
QUAYSIDE – GATEWAY service with the use of electric buggy, in-house immigrations and customs clearance, dedicated check-in counters, baggage assistance and usage of Jet Quay Private Airport facility.
JETSIDE – QUAYSIDE service but with limousine transfer on the tarmac.
The service I opted for this time round was the Quayside. Actually I didn’t opt for it. It was the only option available to Citi Prestige credit card customers. I provided the link here, but bear in mind that I am not suggesting that this card is value for money.
Here is my separate post on reward credit cards. This Prestige card is not necessarily the best value for money out there, but I use it for its various perks.
Unfortunately because I had an extremely busy couple of weeks, I wasn’t really minded to take videos or lots of photos of this experience. Also, this was my first time using JetQuay, I didn’t want to get banned for taking too many photos.
This was my experience.
I took a limousine taxi (complimentary when arranged through the Citi Prestige card) to the airport. The CIP terminal is situated to the right hand side (same side as terminal 2). Once at the entrance gate, the security guard has a list of passengers and flights expected. Once he lowers the barrier, the car drives in and winds round to the terminal entrance.
A member of staff opened my car door, and immediately welcomed me. The driver handed my check in luggage to another member of staff, who confirmed whether this was my only check in. He carried it off and that was the last I saw of it until I got to Heathrow baggage claim. This was all done in the first 10 seconds of getting out of the car.
After this, a different member of staff escorted me to a group of chairs. You can wait there, or select wherever you want to sit. Basically the terminal is one big lounge. In fact, I was spoilt for choice. When I arrived there were two men sitting near the entrance, and within 10 minutes they left for their flight. So I selected a seat that gave me a decent view of the lounge. As I sat down, the staff member who escorted me to my seat offered me a drink. Since I wanted to have an excuse to wander around, I declined. When other passengers arrived I heard whiskey and champagne being offered.
IMG_9861 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
IMG_9860 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
IMG_9859 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
After offering me a drink, the staff member ask for my passport, and off she pottered. I didn’t know what exactly to do, so I just sat there for 5 minutes waiting for my passport to be returned. 5 minutes turned into 10 minutes into 15 minutes and still no sign of my passport. I was hungry so damn it, I went to the dining area to grab some food. I’m not sure what to say about the food. The offerings were pretty limited for a private terminal. There is no way it is better than say the SilverKris lounge (you can see the types of food available on my
Singapore to London business class flight earlier this year).
IMG_9854 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
IMG_9864 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
IMG_9862 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
IMG_9855 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
Because I guess the passenger turnover is low, the food does not look fresh. It looks like it's been sitting there a number of hours. Having said that, the beef curry was very good as were the chicken wings.
But that didn't stop me from helping myself to some food as well as some drinks. Thank you very much!
IMG_9858 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
IMG_9853 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
IMG_9865 by Globe Trekkaon Flickr
After a couple of hours, it was time to leave. Basically, when the boarding pass says it's time to close for boarding, a JetQuay representative will come and collect you. You walk out into the entrance hallway of the JetQuay terminal and this is when the staff hands back your passport! I'm glad I didn't panic. I guess it's normal for this to happen to superstars. You pass through immigration. The scariest part here, is the immigration officer smiles at you. Shock! Horror! And the words that came out of his mouth after doing the necessary checks ..."have a nice trip sir".... what?! you are wishing me a nice trip? Have you put a comment in my passport that I should be aware of? This traveller is a PITA? What did you say?!
Of course, it then dawned on me that I was travelling through a private terminal and he probably thought I was some big deal. Sorry to burst your bubble ... I'm just a DJ, yeah, that's right. A Desk Jockey. I spend a good 12 hours of my day stuck in front of a computer.
As I was still getting over the shock of being spoken to like a person, the JetQuay employee indicated for me to follow her into a lift which took us up one floor (frankly we could have just taken the stairs), and to what looked like a parking lot for buggies. There were at least 10 buggies and at first, there was no indication which one I should ... mount (?). Until another JetQuay staff appeared and pointed to one. I was to sit in the second row passenger seat until I requested to be at the front. And then we were off.
As mentioned earlier, the JetQuay Terminal is located next to Terminal 2 so the buggy emerges in terminal 2 and if you want to get to the other terminals (1 and 3) you basically have to round the whole U shape of the building. My BA flight was from Terminal 1 which meant that we went through the whole of Terminal 2 and then half of Terminal 1 to get to my gate. On the way there, the buggy gets its beeper activated as the driver gets closer to people wandering around the terminals. I can understand why the driver gets frustrated as some times people clearly ignore the cart and especially given that someone has clearly paid good money for this service. Anyway, after a 5 minute ride or so, we made it to the gate, and they hadn't even started boarding yet.
In conclusion, Jetquay is an interesting service to offer in Singapore. I had read about it in the past but frankly, it seems a bit unnecessary in an airport as efficient as Singapore Changi. The problem I have with this service is that on the Citi Prestige Card which offers both Priority Pass lounge access and JetQuay, is that I would probably prefer the Priority Pass more as the food is better, and I get to choose which terminal the lounge is in.
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