Inside look: Singapore Airlines First Class check-in reception, Changi Terminal 2

Following the completion of renovations to the northern wing, Changi Terminal 2 is now all systems go. With a handling capacity of 28 million passengers, this is now the largest terminal in Singapore, at least until Terminal 5 comes along sometime in the mid-2030s.

Among the many new and shiny features is a renovated Singapore Airlines First Class check-in reception, for the exclusive use of First Class and Solitaire PPS Club members. While it’s doubtful that passengers will spend more than ten minutes here, it’s still a nice little touch that adds to the pageantry of the premium passenger experience.

I recently had a chance to use this facility on the way to Kuala Lumpur, and here’s what you can expect.

First Class check-in reception operating hours & access

The First Class check-in reception at Changi Terminal 2 is open from 5 a.m to 10 p.m daily.

Access is available to:

• First Class passengers departing on a Singapore Airlines flight
• Solitaire PPS Club members

Guests travelling on the same itinerary are accepted as well (e.g. a Solitaire PPS Club member with family in tow). However, there is no access for First Class passengers travelling on Star Alliance partners. 

Since the only T2 destination with a First Class cabin is Jakarta, the First Class check-in reception is effectively a Solitaire PPS Club member reception. I think the staff stock more Economy Class boarding pass cardstock than First Class!

Inside the First Class check-in reception

While the T3 First Class check-in reception has its own private driveway, there’s no space for one at T2.

Instead, ask your driver to stop at Door 2, where red-vested porters will receive you and your bags. A Singapore Airlines ground staff member will then escort you to the First Class reception inside the terminal.

If you’ve visited the SilverKris Lounge in T3, the interior of the First Class check-in will look immediately familiar. In fact, following these renovations Singapore Airlines now has a bit of a stylistic mismatch on its hands, because the T2 First Class check-in mirrors the design language of the T3 SilverKris Lounge, and the T3 First Class check-in mirrors the T2 SilverKris Lounge! 

This facility draws heavily from SIA’s inventory of new furniture, with the same types of armchairs and marble-topped side tables that you find in the lounge. In fact, the rounded rectangular feature ceiling is a dead ringer for The Private Room’s dining area.

If you need to give your devices a quick charge, you’ll find numerous universal power outlets and Type-A USB ports built into the tables. There are no wireless charging pads, but given their slow speeds and the amount of time you’ll be spending here, they wouldn’t make much sense anyway. The reception area doesn’t have its own Wi-Fi network, but you can always tap the excellent Changi public Wi-Fi.

No food is served in this lounge, with the only refreshments coming in the form of a hot and cold water dispenser. You’re just minutes away from the lounge in any case.

Passengers are invited to take a seat at one of the six check-in counters, where the ground staff tag your bags and issue your boarding passes. If you have any special requests (like blocking an empty seat next to you in Economy Class), they’ll be glad to assist too.

Once you’re finished with the formalities, you can head directly to immigration via a door at the rear of the lounge. A security officer is stationed here to verify your passport details against your boarding pass.

While the T3 First Class reception has its own private immigration counter, there’s no similar facility here. Instead, passengers are funnelled outside to join the lines in the main immigration queue, which shouldn’t take more than a minute for Singapore passport holders anyway.

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines has opened its brand new First Class check-in reception at Terminal 2 for First Class and Solitaire PPS Club members. The interior is refreshingly sleek and modern (certainly more so than its counterpart in Terminal 3), and makes the check-in process virtually frictionless.

I would imagine that at some point in time the Terminal 3 facility will go under the knife too, since it’s basically the same facility that opened with the terminal in 2008.

Have you visited the new First Class check-in reception at Terminal 2?