Singapore’s Changi Airport is pulling out all the stops to make sure its customers don’t stray. From adding terminals to providing free entertainment, there seems to be no end to their schemes to stop us from flying through places like Dubai or Hong Kong instead.

Now they’ve got a "Smile Campaign" going to improve customer service within the airport (which doesn’t sound too original), and they’re also using a celebrity meet-and-greet idea to entice people to come.

Last week slightly-aged rockers Tommy Lee and Vince Neil from Mötley Crüe welcomed passengers at Terminal 2. Because there’s obviously, uh, a strong connection between Mötley Crüe and Singapore.

--AmandaK

Related Stories:
· Welcome to Singapore, I’m Tommy Lee [The Age]
· Changi Airport’s Getting Greedy for Terminals [Jaunted]
· Changi Airport Wants to Entertain You [Jaunted]

[Photo: Aviation Record]]]> pbb 2008-10-28T09:05:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/16/42133/1188

The great hub of Singapore's Changi Airport is already on the way to getting bigger, but now it's also getting better. Head to the third floor of the Terminal 2 building and you can now hang out in the Entertainment Deck, formally referred to as the "one-stop integrated entertainment zone."

The powers-that-be know that transit passengers have needs--could they mention this to other airports?--so the Entertainment Deck is there to help us pass the time: there's a free LAN gaming room, Xbox and Playstation consoles to use for free, a free cinema, music booths and a comic and collectibles shop.

You read right, heaps of that stuff is free to use. Isn't Changi Airport a friendly place? It almost makes you want to get stuck in transit waiting for a delayed plane... but not quite.

Related Stories:
· Changi Entertainment Deck [Official Site]
· Changi Airport's Getting Greedy for Terminals [Jaunted]]]> amandak 2008-05-16T09:45:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/3/19/9943/18037

The paint on the third terminal at Singapore's massive Changi Airport is barely dry, but they're already thinking about the fourth. According to the Singaporean transport minister:

We must expand our capacity and add the fourth terminal because our status as a global aviation hub is threatened by rivals.

Although we still see Singapore as the clear choice for a hub fly-through, apparently officials fear that Dubai, Bangkok or Hong Kong could overtake them. Using an "if we build it, they will come" philosophy, Singapore hopes that the stray long-haul passengers who've started flying through Dubai instead will return.

With plenty of budget airline action happening in the Australasian region too, the budget airline terminal at Changi is also going to be expanded. They're predicting an increase in LCC passenger numbers from 2.7 million up to 9 million by 2009. With that many passengers circling the skies, we're hoping to see plenty of bargain prices.

Related Stories:
· Singapore Plans Fourth Changi Terminal [Business Traveller]
· Behind the Scenes at Changi T3 [Jaunted]

[Photo: stupz]]]> amandak 2008-03-19T10:00:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/8/8/223142/1848

At Singapore's unique Night Safari zoo, where visitors can walk through a tropical jungle full of animals at night, there must be something in the water. Baby animals are popping out all over the joint, and so far there are 30 new animals to see.

Among the new additions are a baby barking deer, two baby bat-eared foxes, two baby spotted hyenas and a baby Himalayan tahr named Nila. Zoo officials claim the birth spike is a tribute to their successful breeding program, but we still think there's potential for it to become the new fertility-wishing hotspot. Romania's Humping Hill is probably getting a bit crowded.

Related Stories:
· Day and Night Zoo Double-Up [Jaunted]
· Free Range Orang Utans Now Available [Jaunted]
· Romania's Humping Hill [Jaunted]

[Photo: Sapphiren]]]> amandak 2007-08-09T09:45:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/18/64124/3402

The already strict Singaporeans have just announced their plan to install face scanners as part of the biometric security procedures at immigration checkpoints on the way into the country. The new machines will use "facial recognition technology" (whatever exactly that is--presumably something more sophisticated than "it's a nose") to track incoming visitors at the airport, seaports and land borders.

Once the system is up and running they say they'll process 250,000 faces a day. We don't know if getting Botox-ed before you fly will affect your ability to enter Singapore--but if you follow the example of stripping for the airport security people, perhaps a face that doesn't quite match the records will be overlooked.

[Photo: eyedropper.co.uk]

Related Stories:
· Singapore To Install Face Scanners [SMH]
· Girl Strips Her Way Through Airport Security [Jaunted] ]]> amandak 2007-06-18T09:24:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/11/22/232721/36
If you decide to head over to Singapore's Underwater World and companion Dolphin Lagoon, there are a few ways to get there, but the most scenic is definitely by using the cable car. The Mount Faber Cable Car wizzes you over the harbor and gives you a great view of the remaining tropical forest sections of Sentosa Island.

It might sound just like a simple cable car ride, but the promoters promise it's much more than that:

Feel your emotions build up the moment you step in the cable car. The thrill of anticipation as your cabin leaves the station. The exhilaration as you glance at the world below ... A ride on a cable car promises all that and more ...

[Photo: redpolkadot]

Related Stories:
·Singapore From Underwater [Jaunted]
·Dolphin Handshakes for Nothin' [Jaunted]
]]> amandak 2006-11-28T10:07:48-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/11/17/94640/228
We've already mentioned that the Singapore Zoo and its fluffy free-ranging orang utans are a must-see. Well, in what sounds like a clever marketing ploy but is in fact a really quite amazing place to visit, the guys at Singapore Zoo started up a night zoo next door. Yep, you have to pay an admission fee again (although you can get a discount if you buy tickets for both attractions) but we are here to tell you that this time, it's worth it.

The Night Safari works on the sensible principle that some animals are more active at night. So instead of wandering around a normal zoo during the daytime and watching weary creatures snoozing in the corner, head to Singapore's Night Safari after 7pm and you can creep around in the dark and spy on tigers, elephants, lions and numerous smaller four-legged surprises, carefully lit by just enough light for us see them but for them to still think it's night time.

Two choices: take the bus-style-train on a circuit of the park, or better still, walk the various trails that loop around to all the enclosures. It's a little spooky at first, and with most of the tourists sitting on the bus all night and missing half of the good bits, you might find yourself feeling somewhat alone in a dark eerie jungle, but don't worry: they do remember to keep all those enclosure doors locked. The worst we saw was a venomous snake slithering across the path in front of us--a good authentic experience and much better than meeting a lion.

[Photo: Marcus from Vienna (AT)]

Related Stories:
· Free Range Orang Utans Now Available [Jaunted]
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