Weekend in Singapore, flying UA - accomodations and transfers
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: YVR SFO
Programs: UA G
Posts: 4,866
Weekend in Singapore, flying UA - accomodations and transfers
I've read through this thread on how to deal with UA's late (midnight-ish) arrivals -- http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/singa...n-transpo.html
I am flying UA 895 (HKG-SIN), arriving around midnight on a Friday night, staying the weekend in Singapore (first time there), and then leaving on Monday morning on UA 804 (SIN-NRT) at 7am. Given the late arrival and early departure of both flights, I am thinking of doing something like this...
Arrive on Friday night and cab/limo it into town (~1am S$30-40). Stay in a downtown hotel (well, hostel...) for Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday night, head back to the airport ~11pm via MRT and then check in to a transit hotel there until 5:30/6am and then head off to my 7am flight.
Does this plan make sense? Can I checkin at a chicken on Sunday night and get a BP into the transit area to get to the transit hotel?
I am flying UA 895 (HKG-SIN), arriving around midnight on a Friday night, staying the weekend in Singapore (first time there), and then leaving on Monday morning on UA 804 (SIN-NRT) at 7am. Given the late arrival and early departure of both flights, I am thinking of doing something like this...
Arrive on Friday night and cab/limo it into town (~1am S$30-40). Stay in a downtown hotel (well, hostel...) for Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday night, head back to the airport ~11pm via MRT and then check in to a transit hotel there until 5:30/6am and then head off to my 7am flight.
Does this plan make sense? Can I checkin at a chicken on Sunday night and get a BP into the transit area to get to the transit hotel?
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: SPI
Programs: AA Gold, UA LT Plat, Mar LTT
Posts: 18,147
There are no chickens in SIN, because you have to usually answer security questions and they put a sticker on your passport.
Good luck on your weekend!
Dave
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: YVR SFO
Programs: UA G
Posts: 4,866
This part doesn't work. 1) There's no reason to head to the airport that early on Sunday nite, and 2) UA doesn't open for checkin until about 4:30am. So, NO, you can't get a BP to get airside.
There are no chickens in SIN, because you have to usually answer security questions and they put a sticker on your passport.
There are no chickens in SIN, because you have to usually answer security questions and they put a sticker on your passport.
How does one normally get back to the airport for the 7AM UA flight? Do I have to suck it up and do a cab super early? MRT doesn't start running until 5AM, which makes the connection somewhat tight.
Will UA let me checkin the night before?
#4
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Chapel Hill, NC - UA Nobody (sigh)/0.925MM, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 3,510
You can checkin online 24 hours prior to the flight, but I've never been able to print out a BP online.
#7
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Chapel Hill, NC - UA Nobody (sigh)/0.925MM, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 3,510
Just checked my taxi receipts from my last two trips.
Trip 1: Left the Conrad at 04:52 and made it to Changi by 5:07 AM. 15 minutes, 18.7 KM.
Trip 2: Left the Conrad at 05:10 and made it to Changi by 5:23 AM. 13 minutes, 18.6 KM.
Drivers tend to go pretty fast that time of the morning.
#9
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Chapel Hill, NC - UA Nobody (sigh)/0.925MM, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 3,510
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: YVR SFO
Programs: UA G
Posts: 4,866
(FWIW, I was planning on doing hostels in Singapore... should be around $20/night, I think. I don't mind doing hotels if they're a few bucks more and at least of the same quality.)
#12
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
Fragrance/Hotel 81 has really bad reviews on Tripadvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...Singapore.html). Is this really worth staying at?
(FWIW, I was planning on doing hostels in Singapore... should be around $20/night, I think. I don't mind doing hotels if they're a few bucks more and at least of the same quality.)
If you do end up picking a hostel, you could do much worse than these guys, and they have private rooms as well.
* Sentosa View, 105 Spottiswoode Park Road (Near KTM railway station), ☎ +65-91009123 ([email protected]), http://sentosaview.com/ . Small but clean hostel located on the 23rd floor of a public housing block, the location is reasonably handy if you're coming from Malaysia by train but inconvenient for anything else, about 10 minutes walk (or a short bus trip) to Chinatown. Living room with TV, PC, free wifi, basic breakfast. No lockers. Dorm $20-25.
#13
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,846
I was recently at Changi airport when the HKG flight arrived a bit early. It was pretty amusing to see a guy with only carry-on running for the cab line at 11:55pm, trying to avoid the 50% midnight supplement. Looked to me like he made it!
#14
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
Unfortunately for the running guy, the midnight supplement applies proportionally to any trip that extends past midnight, so while you may save $1.20 on the initial fee, you'll still pay 50% extra for every km after 00:00.
#15
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,846
They think of everything here in SIN. The Straits Times today said a certificate to own a car for 10 years (required before you can buy a car) was going up to over US$20k on April 1. This is apparently in addition to 100% import duty on the vehicle itself.