Post by Seano on Nov 18, 2012 16:58:49 GMT 7
I was quite pleased when I bought the ticket with Tiger BKK->SIN->AUS last month, since I knew that the Budget Terminal was under renovation, and we would be flying into Terminal 2 and the Transit Lounge, so I could hang around for the 16 hour stopover at Harry's Bar.
I assumed it would be rather similar to the Jetstar flights I made BKK->SIN->DRW and back in April.
I asked the girl at the checkin at Suvarnabhumi whether they were able to send my suitcase on to the final destination, and was told that I had to collect my suitcase at Changi and check it in again. What she didn't tell me was that I was going to have to go through the same rigmarole as back at the Budget Terrminal:
1. go through immigration,
2. collect the case,
3. go through customs,
4. wait for the Tiger checkin counter to open,
5. checkin the case again,
6. go through immigration,
7. wait for the plane to start boarding.
It was not until I stopped and asked at the Information Desk where I should go to collect my case from the Tiger flight, and she told me the bad news, but was quick to warn me about collecting the bag in a hurry, because if the checkin counter was not open for my flight in 14 hours, then I would be effectively stuck in the carpark for the next 14 hours.
I turned around and scurried off to Harry's to contemplate the situation.
By around 4am, with 12 hours still to wait until the flight out, I started to worry a bit about what might have happened to my case revolving around the carousel, so I did the long long walk from the far end of Terminal 1 to the far end of Terminal 2 with my trolley, passed through immigration, and there was my suitcase on the carousel not 20 metres from the immigration desk, all alone.
I picked that up and went out for a smoke in the carpark, and then had to work out how to get back in again. The flight was still 11 odd hours away.
Luckily, Tiger still have the early morning checkin system that they had in the Budget Terminal, which apparently operates between 6am and 10am if I recall. The early morning checkin counter wasn't open at 5am Friday morning, so I sidled up to the Priority queue, and tried to look smilingly, and the fellow seemed to be familiar with my sort of desperation, and checked my case in, printed off my boarding pass, and I was then able to find my way back to Harry's Bar at the other end of the airport.
The timing was in some ways lucky, and the fact that nobody had wandered up and stolen my case can only be put down to the fact that there is no such thing as crime in Singapore, but I thought it might be something worth mentioning, if anyone else is flying Tiger through Changi anytime in the next five years or so until the renovations are complete (apparently).
Take time to plan carefully if you have a long stopover, and bear in mind when the early morning checkin is open, or you may find yourself stuck in the carpark outside Terminal 2 for a very very long time.
They don't usually open the checkin counters until 2.5-3 hours before departure, and if your stopover is 8 hours or more, that is a long time to wait around to be able to get back into the Transit Lounge again.
If you really get stuck, try to find a quiet time at the priority counter, and act friendly and exhausted, and you might get your boarding pass early.
I assumed it would be rather similar to the Jetstar flights I made BKK->SIN->DRW and back in April.
I asked the girl at the checkin at Suvarnabhumi whether they were able to send my suitcase on to the final destination, and was told that I had to collect my suitcase at Changi and check it in again. What she didn't tell me was that I was going to have to go through the same rigmarole as back at the Budget Terrminal:
1. go through immigration,
2. collect the case,
3. go through customs,
4. wait for the Tiger checkin counter to open,
5. checkin the case again,
6. go through immigration,
7. wait for the plane to start boarding.
It was not until I stopped and asked at the Information Desk where I should go to collect my case from the Tiger flight, and she told me the bad news, but was quick to warn me about collecting the bag in a hurry, because if the checkin counter was not open for my flight in 14 hours, then I would be effectively stuck in the carpark for the next 14 hours.
I turned around and scurried off to Harry's to contemplate the situation.
By around 4am, with 12 hours still to wait until the flight out, I started to worry a bit about what might have happened to my case revolving around the carousel, so I did the long long walk from the far end of Terminal 1 to the far end of Terminal 2 with my trolley, passed through immigration, and there was my suitcase on the carousel not 20 metres from the immigration desk, all alone.
I picked that up and went out for a smoke in the carpark, and then had to work out how to get back in again. The flight was still 11 odd hours away.
Luckily, Tiger still have the early morning checkin system that they had in the Budget Terminal, which apparently operates between 6am and 10am if I recall. The early morning checkin counter wasn't open at 5am Friday morning, so I sidled up to the Priority queue, and tried to look smilingly, and the fellow seemed to be familiar with my sort of desperation, and checked my case in, printed off my boarding pass, and I was then able to find my way back to Harry's Bar at the other end of the airport.
The timing was in some ways lucky, and the fact that nobody had wandered up and stolen my case can only be put down to the fact that there is no such thing as crime in Singapore, but I thought it might be something worth mentioning, if anyone else is flying Tiger through Changi anytime in the next five years or so until the renovations are complete (apparently).
Take time to plan carefully if you have a long stopover, and bear in mind when the early morning checkin is open, or you may find yourself stuck in the carpark outside Terminal 2 for a very very long time.
They don't usually open the checkin counters until 2.5-3 hours before departure, and if your stopover is 8 hours or more, that is a long time to wait around to be able to get back into the Transit Lounge again.
If you really get stuck, try to find a quiet time at the priority counter, and act friendly and exhausted, and you might get your boarding pass early.
