What Is JetQuay?

The JetQuay CIP Terminal is an elite airport terminal at Singapore's Changi Airport which opened in September 2006. Passengers who use JetQuay receive a personalized service that includes check in, immigration and baggage clearance. Our team will handle your travel formalities while you make use of the CIP Terminal facilities and you need only arrive at the airport one hour before your flight departs.

From: http://www.jetquay.com.sg

Pre-Trip Booking

An early morning departure from SIN after a whirlwind tour of Asia presented a great opportunity to try out JetQuay. Rather than wake up at some ungodly hour to make my way to the airport, I could arrive the evening before and get a good night’s sleep in one of their nap rooms...and still comfortably make my 7AM flight back to Sydney.

Communication via email was a breeze and a quote of SGD$125 for the Quayside Departure service was received within 24 hours. Booking was secured by reply email but a slight miscommunication resulted in a higher SGD$150 price being listed on my confirmation – rectified by a quick reply with the original quote attached.

The week before my trip, an opportunity came up for a daytrip up to Kuala Lumpur so another quick email was all it took to arrange to be met off my return flight to Singapore.

My JetQuay Experience

My flight from Kuala Lumpur arrived around 8:30PM at Terminal 2 and as expected I was met by a JetQuay employee with a name board. Strangely, there was no electric buggy present...as it turns out the entrance to the CIP terminal is no more than five meters walk from the gate. Having checked-in that morning (at the same time as for my flight up to Kuala Lumpur), I was looking forward to ending my trip smoothly.

Upon entering JetQuay, you are required to clear Immigration even if you are only transiting. I was somewhat taken aback since one of the best things about Changi Airport is the ease of transit and transfers...meaning no Immigration clearance is normally necessary.

Once in the terminal proper the double-storied lobby is most tastefully appointed but the atmosphere was somewhat lessened by a group of airport staff lounging around a sofa cluster. Although I only passed through briefly, it was not the best first impression.





After a brief guided tour of the facilities including a modest buffet, nap rooms, private meeting rooms and mini-gym it was time for a shower. There are two sets of showers – one by the mini-gym and the other by the bathrooms. Being closer to the gym, I chose the closest shower room only to find out that there was no hot water...even after waiting for ten minutes. Thankfully, the showers by the main bathrooms had a reasonable supply of hot water so the day was saved.





Wireless internet is available throughout the CIP terminal in addition to quite a few computers made available for guest use. Probably due to low usage the speed was consistently fast and surfing the web was a breeze.

Feeling like a little supper, I approached the buffet to discover that the only hot food on offer was instant noodles in chicken, curry or tom yum flavours. While it would be unreasonable to expect the quality to surpass the food offering at Qantas’ First Class Lounge in Sydney (Neil Perry menu, Sofitel staff) one would at least hope that it would be better than the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge in Terminal 3. One saving grace is that the (instant) noodles are cooked to order and served promptly.


Fruit Plate, Qantas First Class Lounge (Sydney, T1)


Refreshments, KrisFlyer Gold Lounge (Singapore, T3)

By this time, the lounge had filled up...with a rather boisterous group of 15 people gathered around the buffet (which doubles as the bar). From the looks of things, they had just attended a conference and the atmosphere would be familiar to those who have experienced Friday drinks back at the office.

So I decided to have my noodles delivered to my pre-reserved nap room (the four other rooms remained empty) and then settle in for the evening. The room was probably the best part of the lounge, quiet and comfortable (the bed particularly)...perfect for a good night’s rest.



The next morning a knock on the door at precisely 5:30AM woke me up...just as requested. An invigorating shower (having remembered the lesson from the previous evening) was followed by a bowl of Koko Krunch cereal for breakfast...again there was a dearth of hot food on offer.

By now it was 6:15AM and time for me to settle the bill and finally try out the electric buggy to the departure gate. What should have been a simple transaction ended up taking over 20 minutes as the staff fumbled about first with the final pricing (they couldn’t find my quote), then with printing the invoice (they couldn’t figure out how to just print the third page of a MS Word document) and finally with charging my credit card (they couldn’t figure out how to print out the customer copy of the receipt).

Worse still the final bill came to over SGD$250...as a transit passenger you are apparently charged both the Quayside Arrival AND Departure fees (SGD$110 and SGD$150 respectively, plus tax). With approximately 20 minutes before my flight there was no time to dispute this since at the gates close 10 minutes before departure and I was told that the buggy ride over to Terminal 3 could take up to 15 minutes.

The buggy ride itself was an enjoyable novelty, though the foot traffic in Terminal 2 and 1 (which you have to pass through in order to reach Terminal 3) made progress quite tedious.

Thankfully, I just made my flight back to Sydney.

Postscript

I emailed the JetQuay reservations team upon my return to Sydney and received a prompt response to the billing issues outlined above. A goodwill refund of SGD$25 (the difference between the SGD$150 charged and SGD$125 quoted for the Quayside Departure service) was offered.

While I appreciate the minor correction to the bill, it would have been nice to have known that by requesting to be met at the gate on arrival an additional charge of SGD$110 applies. Quite possibly the most expensive five meter walk I have ever undertaken.

When I made this known to JetQuay, an apology was forthcoming with the assurance that in future they will let customers know when there will be an additional charge. And lastly “We look forward to be of service to you again.”

Summary

JetQuay is an excellent concept that unfortunately did not live up to (my) expectations of a streamlined premium travel experience on this occasion.

Beyond the buggy transfer, the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge in T3 has a superior food & beverage offering while the Ambassador Transit Hotel offers Deluxe Rooms with en-suite at a fraction of the price.

While all the staff I encountered were unfailingly polite and courteous, there just isn’t enough value to make this more than a one-time novelty. And a walk to remember...