If you travel from Europe to Down Under or vice versa, and you happen to choose your layover, you might want to pick Singapore Changi International. With an indoor garden, butterflies, rooftop swimming pool, movie theater and top-class quality service, on-time performance and efficiency, Singapore Changi is still considered the world's best airport and is almost a holiday destination in itself.
There's a consensus among travelers that Singapore Changi, which serves almost 59 million passengers a year, is everyone's favorite airport. Every year since 2011, Singapore Changi has won the Skytrax's World Airport Award. Meanwhile, many reviews and bloggers consider it the best airport to sleep.
The airport has also been named the best in the world by travel site Air Help, which factored in the number of delayed and cancelled flights, quality and service ratings as well as social media sentiment. Singapore's Changi Airport scored excellently in all three areas, particularly in on-time performance.
Despite the daily traffic, the airport ranked 8.8 on a scale of 10 for punctuality. Most significantly, it was awarded 10 out of 10 for quality of service. After an analysis of passenger's opinions on Twitter, the overall satisfaction level was 6 out of 10, higher than most airports on the survey.
The airport even boasts an eco-friendly terminal (number 3) dotted with natural skylight and gardens featuring over 200 species of foliage and butterflies. This is the world's first Butterfly Garden in an airport, which offers more than 1,000 insects ranging from 40 different species. Meanwhile, terminal 2 is famous for its entertainment offer, which includes a 24-hour cinema and children's playground. Last but not least, with its rooftop pool and round-the-clock spa service, Terminal 1 is also a favorite.
Singapore's airport is such a great place to be in that it's even marketed as its own destination within Singapore. It's not uncommon to see families visit Changi to shop and dine, and students to stop by for a coffee and study. Indeed, the airport boasts a multitude of shopping, dining and entertainment experiences. From cosmetics and liquor to luxury watches and fashion accessories, the airport offers some of the best duty-free outlets in town. The dining offer is also exceptional, offering a wide range of local, regional and international cuisines to pick from.
With its video game consoles, large screen televisions and movie theaters, you won't have the chance to get bored while waiting for your flight. There's also free internet access and comfortable seats scattered throughout the airport if you want to watch up on work. However, if you'd rather just chill and relax, there's the choice for you to pamper yourself with an oriental foot reflexology massage.
Singapore's Changi Airport plans to retain its “best airport in the world” title and for that reason it is opening an amusement park-style experience in 2019. Named Jewel, the new building outside Terminal 1 will be home to 300 restaurants and shops, including major attractions such as Singapore's largest indoor garden called Forest Valley - five story garden - and a 40-meter tall waterfall known as the Rain Vortex - the world's tallest indoor waterfall.
“Not only will Jewel capture the hearts and minds of travelers and boost Singapore's appeal as a transit hub, it will enhance the Changi Airport experience for our passengers and visitors,” Jewel Changi Airport Development CEO Jean Hung said.
Other airports that rank high on the list are Munich International Airport (Germany), Hong Kong International Airport, Copenhagen Kastrup Airport (Denmark), Helsinki Vantaa Airport (Finland), Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport (USA), Barcelona El Prat Airport (Spain), Madrid Adolfo Suarez-Barajas (Spain), Auckland International Airport (New Zealand) and Frankfurt International Airport (Germany).
Singapore's Changi Airport is founded on principles that have turned it into the best one in the world. For instance, Singapore relies on customers' feedback to improve itself. From restrooms, customer service agents and even the garden, over 1.8 million customers give feedback each month. The real-time data collected is used to inform business operations. Therefore, depending on a customer ranking the toilet facilities, the monitors will deploy cleaning staff to any location that is not highly rated.
The idea to use carpeting instead of tile - like most airports do - mean that Changi Airport is less noisy and therefore it feels less chaotic; this element of relaxation is crucial when it comes to traveling as the activity is stressful enough.