Singapore Airlines launching downtown check-in and baggage drop

Changi Airport has announced a major upgrade for Terminal 3, which will help the airport keep pace with demand until Terminal 5 comes online in the mid-2030s.

Unlike previous projects, there are no headline grabbers here like a new megamall or another rainfall vortex. Instead, these upgrades will focus on less-visible enhancements that passengers may not see, but will certainly appreciate, such as an expansion of early bag storage capacity, additional bus gates, a larger Skytrain fleet, and a new inter-terminal baggage system between T1 and T3.

However, there’s one particular announcement that caught my eye: the introduction of downtown check-in service, which will launch with three hotels initially, before expanding further.

Singapore Airlines introducing downtown check-in

At the annual Changi Airline Awards at the Shangri-La Singapore, Changi Airport Group (CAG) chief executive Yam Kum Weng announced the launch of a new downtown check-in service, where passengers will be able to check-in for flights and drop off their luggage at selected city-centre hotels.

The first phase will commence in the coming months, and will be available for Singapore Airlines passengers who are staying at the following hotels:

• Marina Bay Sands
• The Fullerton Hotel
• The Fullerton Bay Hotel

The hotels I contacted declined to share specifics, so several key details remain unclear. These include cut-off times, baggage restrictions (e.g. will odd-sized items be accepted?), and whether this service will be available to all Singapore Airlines passengers, or limited to those in premium cabins.

It’s also not clear whether a fee will be charged, as it was during Changi’s previous attempt at downtown check-in almost 15 years ago (see below). However, based on discussions with industry sources, my understanding is that the service is unlikely to be free, with a per-bag charge likely.

That said, I really like the idea. Hotel check-out is typically at noon, so travellers with evening or late-night flights — assuming they don’t want to head to the airport early and take advantage of early check-in at Jewel — would normally have to deposit their bags with the concierge, carry on with their business or leisure activities, then double back to the hotel to get their bags before going to the airport.

With this service, the bags are taken out of the equation, and travellers can waltz straight to the departure area upon arrival at Changi.

It’s worth noting that in other cities where the downtown check-in concept has been established, such as Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, there is a tight integration with the airport rail link. Changi still lacks this, so bags will have to be moved via roads, which introduces another potential hiccup into the equation. That exercise might be simplified in the future, however, with the launch of the Cross Island Line.

Changi’s previous downtown check-in options

While some media reports are describing this as Changi’s first off-airport check-in service, that’s not actually accurate.

Back in 2011, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir offered a downtown check-in service at Marina Bay Sands, which allowed passengers to deposit their bags anywhere between 3 and 48 hours before departure. This “Baggage Express” service was also available to guests from other hotels, provided they were willing to make their way to MBS.

However, this service wasn’t free. A handling fee of S$25 for every two bags applied, and it was restricted to flights departing from Thursday to Monday between 10 a.m and 6 p.m. 

While reports at the time said that downtown check-in would be expanded to more airlines in the coming months, the idea was quietly abandoned two years later. 

There was also a separate downtown check-in option at the Singapore Airlines service centre at Paragon (before it relocated to ION Orchard). Unfortunately, this was of limited usefulness because baggage was not accepted. Passengers with check-in bags would still need to show up at the airport counters to complete the formalities, which defeated the purpose.

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines passengers staying at Marina Bay Sands, The Fullerton Hotel and The Fullerton Bay Hotel will soon be able to get their boarding passes and check their bags downtown.

This will offer greater convenience for travellers by relieving them of their bags between hotel check-out and flight departure, allowing them to explore the city unencumbered.

It remains to be seen which other hotels are in the pipeline, though given the location of the initial trio of hotels, my money would be on the Westin Singapore, Mandarin Oriental, Pan Pacific and Ritz-Carlton Millennia Singapore.