Singapore - Overnight layover in SIN. Bag worries?

I was hoping someone can help me engineer this...

We're arriving SIN at 11:55 PM from Tokyo on United, and then departing around 9:00am on AirAsia.

We were hoping to stay in the transit hotel but are worried about what to do with our bags.

We will be checking our bags but I do not believe that I will be able to check them through both United and AirAsia. Seems like we'll have to clear immigration, pick up bags, check into AirAsia and check bags, clear immigration again, and then check into transit hotel. This seems like a lot of work and depends on the airasia counter to be open at 1am. If it's not, we'll be stuck on the public side of the airport until they reopen.

Any hints on how else we can work it?

Thank you!
John

I was hoping someone can help me engineer this...

We're arriving SIN at 11:55 PM from Tokyo on United, and then departing around 9:00am on AirAsia.

We were hoping to stay in the transit hotel but are worried about what to do with our bags.

We will be checking our bags but I do not believe that I will be able to check them through both United and AirAsia. Seems like we'll have to clear immigration, pick up bags, check into AirAsia and check bags, clear immigration again, and then check into transit hotel. This seems like a lot of work and depends on the airasia counter to be open at 1am. If it's not, we'll be stuck on the public side of the airport until they reopen.

Any hints on how else we can work it?

Thank you!
John

As a gentle opening comment - please research the threads - this issue has been discussed at length before. But the short version is that you will not be able to interline your bags to AirAsia. What others who stay at the transit hotel have done is to not pick up their bags until they have had caught a few zzz's first. SATS (the UA ground handler in SIN) will pick up your bags and set them aside. When you're ready just go through Immigration, after that is the baggage area; go to wherever the SATS baggage office is located. Once you've got your bags, exit Customs. I think Air Asia's check in counter is in T1, so take the Skytrain to get there. I assume you know that Air Asia is a budget or low cost carrier so a lot of things about them will be restrictive eg limited check in hours (but that's why the tickets can be cheap).

A word to the wise: AirAsia charges an arm and a leg for checked baggage and limits the amount of hand carry as well. Be sure you're not carrying tons of stuff or else the baggage charges will be impressive.

Thank you.

Should we be worried about the security of our bags if we leave them for SATS to set aside and pick up later?

I can't comment directly on this, there's always a first (in this case, unfortunate) time. This is because at SIN there is no claim check/luggage tag check before the passenger can take his bags out of the baggage carousel area. Then again I can't think of many airports where this is done.

Having said that, my presumption is that it should be ok. SATS is a reliable company and Singaporeans are quite honest. It's also worth keeping in mind the entire baggage carousel area is in the sterile customs zone (before red/green lane), thus there are security cameras everywhere. Can a bag be stolen? Yes. But there would be evidence of it.

If we choose to pick up our luggage and spend the evening on the public side of the airport, what will that be like? Are there places to hang out on that side? Or does it only make sense to hang out on the air side?

First step - go online and check out the website for Changi Airport. They list out the various amenities that are offered. Having said that, it has seemed to me that the interesting things that Changi has to offer are largely on the airside; as an example, I believe there's a cinema that screens movies, there's tons of shopping, some food and beverage places. Note that if your experience has been with US airports, they don't compare with what Changi has to offer - it's easily a few notches above. Groundside I believe that many of the amenities are food and coffee places, although I could be wrong (considering I live here, Changi has always been a place for me to go through rather than spend time in).

Offhand my guess is that you're better off on airside. Groundside, my expectation is that most amenities will be on skeleton staff if they're even open at all, better chance that more things will be going on for passengers transiting on airside.

One crazy option - there's a left luggage place at Changi. Thus, if you're willing to pull an all nighter what you do is to drop off your bags with left luggage, then take a cab to one of the hawker centres that's open all night (the cabbie should be able to recommend something), grab a bite and then head back to the airport. If you can leave the airport at say 12 midnight, you can take up say two, maybe three hours this way. Note: you'll still have to figure out what to do until say 7AM.

I can't comment directly on this, there's always a first (in this case, unfortunate) time. This is because at SIN there is no claim check/luggage tag check before the passenger can take his bags out of the baggage carousel area. Then again I can't think of many airports where this is done.

Having said that, my presumption is that it should be ok. SATS is a reliable company and Singaporeans are quite honest. It's also worth keeping in mind the entire baggage carousel area is in the sterile customs zone (before red/green lane), thus there are security cameras everywhere. Can a bag be stolen? Yes. But there would be evidence of it.

I have left bags due to late arrivals early in the morning around 1-2am and there has not been any missing bags. I am just too cheap to pay full hotel rates for a few hours of sleep.
Like the other poster mention, there is always a first time for everything.

IMHO:
I agree Singaporeans are up there in terms of honesty. Also with law of Singapore so strict I personally doubt anyone would try to take a stolen bag through customs unless they have very high pain tolerance.
But YMMV.

If you decide to use the transit hotel make sure you book well in advance, there is very high demand and they do sell out.

If we choose to pick up our luggage and spend the evening on the public side of the airport, what will that be like? Are there places to hang out on that side? Or does it only make sense to hang out on the air side?

There is a food court at the basement of T3, which stays open very late (at least until 2am if not later). If you are carrying your own computer, Wi-Fi should be available and can keep you entertained.

Generally, T1 has the least in terms of shops and amenities - both airside as well as landside.

Thank you.

Should we be worried about the security of our bags if we leave them for SATS to set aside and pick up later?

I had a bag sit unclaimed for 5days. This is Singapore, not LAX or JFK and it would be difficult for someone to take off with it. To see the story follow this link http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/950151-bag-s-misadventure.html On this trip I did a Delta to Air Asia connection the next morning and stayed in the terminal one transit hotel.

Since I do the transit hotel on almost every entry it is an easy procedure. The last time I actually had to prove to the SATs folks that the bag was mine by producing a claim check.

As a poster above said, this subject has been repeatedly covered and is easy to discover through the search feature.