Singapore Airlines now offering downtown hotel check-in

Back in April, I wrote about Singapore Airlines’ plans to reintroduce downtown check-in, more than 15 years after its last attempt fizzled out.

The service has just gone live, and will cost S$29 per bag, regardless of cabin class or frequent flyer status. During the trial phase, the scope will be limited to SIA’s evening and red-eye departures to all destinations worldwide, excluding the United States. 

Think of this as a baggage delivery service, which relieves passengers of the need to babysit their luggage after checking out of the hotel, enabling them to explore the city unencumbered. 

✈️ Changi Airport Off-Airport Check-In

“With the Off-Airport Check-In service offered by Changi Airport Group, you can check-in your luggage at participating hotels and have it securely delivered to the airport and loaded onto your departing flight.” -Changi Airport

Details: Singapore Airlines downtown check-in service

The new downtown check-in service is now available to guests staying at The Fullerton Hotel, The Fullerton Bay Hotel or Marina Bay Sands.

Eligible guests must satisfy the following conditions:

• Depart on a Singapore Airlines flight between 5 p.m and 7 a.m the following day
• Not travelling to the United States
• Check-in online and generate a digital or mobile boarding pass

You cannot use downtown check-in unless you’re an overnight guest of one of the three hotels. Even if you meet all the other criteria and are willing to bring your bag to a participating hotel, you’ll be turned away. 

A fee of S$29 per bag applies, and bags must be dropped off at the concierge between 7 a.m and 11 a.m on the day of departure.

Once your bag has been collected, you’ll receive email updates on its progress, from the time it’s accepted at the hotel to the time it’s loaded onto the aircraft. You can also track your bags through the Baggage Tracker feature in the Changi App. 

At the airport, you can proceed straight to the departure immigration counters. You still have the option of checking additional luggage at the airport if you so wish, provided it’s within your ticket’s allowance.

I must say, I’m quite surprised by the decision to charge from the outset. I would have expected an initial trial period where the service is offered free to a select group of customers — perhaps First and Business Class passengers — to encourage adoption and gather data to refine operations before rolling it out as a paid service.

Booking the service

Downtown Check-In

The downtown check-in service must be booked in advance through the Changi Airport website. Bookings can be made up to 14 days in advance, and no later than 11 a.m on the day of the flight.

To start the process, enter your hotel name, departure date and flight number.

What’s odd about the interface is that it only lists the destination country and not city. I assume that’s a bug that will get fixed soon, but in the meantime, be sure to select the correct flight number.

You’ll then be prompted to enter the number of standard luggage or odd-sized items (both cost the same). Luggage must not exceed 32kg, and odd-sized items are capped at 200cm (length) x 75cm (width) x 80cm (height). 

On the next screen, enter your personal details, contact number and email address.

On the final screen, you can review your details before making payment. 

Payments can be made via credit card (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX), Google Pay, Alipay, or WeChat Pay.

The transaction will code as MCC4582 (Airports, Airport Terminals and Flying Fields) with the description OFF-AIRPORT CHECK-IN.

For bookings with multiple travellers

If your entire travel party is on a single itinerary, only one booking is required. Not everyone in the group needs to use the service. For example, in a party of four, two travellers may opt for downtown check-in, while the rest can check their bags at the airport as usual.

If your party is split across different itineraries, you will need to make a separate booking for each traveller who wants to use the service.

What if I change my mind?

Bookings can be cancelled for free up to 24 hours before your flight’s departure time.

If you need to cancel within 24 hours of departure, email bagassist@changirecommends.com.sg. Refunds within 24 hours will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and a cancellation fee may apply.

How about flight cancellations?

If your flight is cancelled, there are two possibilities:

• If your luggage is still at the hotel, you can contact the staff to return it upon confirmation that the flight has been cancelled
• If your luggage is on the way to the airport or at the airport, you will need to proceed to the airport and contact your airline on how to retrieve it

If you feel the second scenario is far from ideal, you’re not alone. I would have liked to see a better exception routine, where the luggage could be returned to the customer at an address of their choice. After all, they’re paying for the privilege of convenience — it doesn’t make sense if they’re worse off in the event of a cancellation!

Is it worth it?

It really boils down to how much of a premium you place on convenience.

The real value of this service is that it saves you the trouble of having to lug your bag around between hotel check-out and your flight’s departure, or returning to the hotel to collect it before heading to the airport. It might also free you up to take a train to the airport instead, potentially saving on cab fare (though the taxi would need to cost more than train fare +S$29 for it to be worthwhile).

It’s worth noting that when Changi Airport first trialed this option back in 2010 (see below), the cost was S$25 for up to two bags, so the current per-bag price represents a 130% increase in the space of 16 years.

How does this compare to other airports?

Downtown check-in isn’t a particularly novel concept, as it’s already offered in several other cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei. 

Unlike Singapore, the service is free in these countries — but it’s worth noting that the overseas options are station-based, so it’s not quite as convenient as dropping your bag directly at your hotel.

These cities also have dedicated rail lines to the airport, which simplify logistics significantly. That’s why in Hong Kong, you can even check your bag as late as 90 minutes before departure at Hong Kong or Kowloon Station, with the assurance that your bags will make the flight!

In Singapore, the need to transport bags by road has the potential to cause unexpected delays, which is why the service must be pre-booked with a minimum notice period of six hours (assuming an 11 a.m booking for a 5 p.m departure), making it much less of a spontaneous option.

Changi’s previous downtown check-in options

While some media reports have described this as Changi’s first off-airport check-in service, that’s not entirely accurate.

Back in 2010, 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.

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 can now check their bags at their hotel and have them transported to the airport ahead of their arrival.

However, this service will cost S$29 per bag — a surprising decision, as one might have expected it to be offered free for a limited period to build awareness and encourage people to try it out.

In time, I would expect this service to be further expanded to other hotels in the Marina Bay area, such as Westin Singapore, Mandarin Oriental, Pan Pacific and Ritz-Carlton Millennia Singapore.

Would you pay S$29 per bag for downtown check-in?