Business Traveler, February 2015

February 2015 n 57 Visit businesstravelerusa com Take Offs Landings n his team have flooded the building with daylight from north facing skylights while the gate areas will be open plan and part of the main departure area The new terminal is a major boon for Star Alliance passengers who will enjoy a significant reduction in transfer times since all the Star carriers are operating out of the same building The alliance is touting an average transfer time of 60 minutes reducing by one third the time it takes to get from gate to gate John Holland Kaye who took over as Heathrows chief executive on July 1 having previously been development director says Terminal 2 is the model of future terminals It has been designed around the passengers so we have really simple passenger flows For instance there is more space in security and deeper lanes Next up in Heathrows evolution will be the closure of Terminal 1 in 2016 which will be then be demolished the same year Terminal 2 will then be extended to become Heathrows main aviation facility The airport may eventually build a further new terminal should it secure permission to build a third runway Holland Kaye says At that point Britain will have the worldclass hub it deserves Singapore Changi However getting to a world class hub is in part a function of getting all the pertinent players in a citys airport development plans to nod their heads in the same direction So far for London thats proven to be an elusive goal In contrast for the city state of Singapore the understanding has always been that Changi is so closely identified with the city that for many travelers the airport is the city In his National Day Rally speech in 2013 Singapores prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said The airport is how the world comes to Singapore and Singaporeans connect to the world and is why we thrive as an international hub for business for trade for tourism In the bigger is not alwaysbetter department both Dubai and Heathrow passenger numbers eclipse Changis According to Airports Council Internationals 2013 numbers SIN was the 13th busiest airport in the world hosting a total of 54 million travelers almost all of whom were international passengers But Changi consistently tops the lists of award winning airports including Business Travelers Best Airport in the World for 2014 along with about 30 other best airport accolades last year One reason The airport touts a development policy of always building capacity ahead of demand SIN currently operates a trio of terminals each with a particular appeal that is uniquely Singaporean Terminal 3 sports a 16 foot high Green Wall planted with hanging creepers and adorned with a beautiful waterfall Terminal 2 has its own orchid garden and koi pond Changis fourth terminal building the Budget Terminal has been demolished to make way for a new Terminal 4 due to come online in 2017 T4 will be a two story 80 foot high building about seven times larger than the building it replaces This will enable it to serve an additional 16 million passengers a year The main attraction of the new terminal is a 1000 foot long Central Galleria that separates the public area from the airside Featuring a transparent concept the Galleria will provide full visibility from the check in hall to the transit lounge This area will feature local culture and a heritage theme design with retail outlets featuring façades of Singapores old Peranakan shop houses At launch T4 will have 21 gates with Jetways 17 for narrow body aircraft and four for wide body accommodating both network carriers and low cost airlines However nothing at SIN is standing still In addition to T4 Changi Airport Group has announced Project Jewel described as an iconic mixed used complex to be built on the site of the parking area in front of Terminal 1 It will feature aviation and travel related facilities as well as new retail offerings and other leisure attractions As part of the project the old T1 is also due for expansion Terminal 4 and Project Jewel will help boost Changi Airports capacity to 85 million passengers a year The numbers are mind numbing But in the world of global aviation theres nothing to indicate the growth is likely to slow For airports and the millions of passengers they host every year the tipping point has come expectations are high and the only answer is thoughtful planning and plenty of vision BT The jet engine has transformed the world and not just the world of aviation