Sats refurbishes Changi Airport T3 lounge, upgrades on the cards for T1 and T2 lounges
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SINGAPORE – Ground handling company Sats opened on July 3 an upgraded lounge at Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 and has plans to open refurbished lounges in Terminals 1 and 2 in the coming years.
“We asked ourselves how we could come out stronger from the (Covid-19) pandemic. As a result, the team thought through and came up with a new concept,” said Sats Group president and chief executive Kerry Mok, 52.
The lounge at T3 offers travellers a “uniquely Singaporean experience”, showcasing hawker food favourites such as laksa and chicken rice, alongside an executive space with private pods.
The setting also incorporates designs by local artists and students and from one museum.
Asked about when the two other lounges would be refurbished, Mr Mok said that Sats could not provide specific dates as it would need to consider “operational requirements”.
Sats has another lounge at Terminal 4 under a joint venture with Plaza Premium Group.
The cost of refurbishing all three lounges will be in the “multimillions”, he added.
The 488 sq m T3 lounge, which can seat 126 visitors, is located on level three of the departure transit hall of Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 next to the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Lounge.
Food from six popular hawker and local food and beverage brands will be offered on a rotational basis, where dishes from each brand will be featured over a two-month period, from 7am to 11am and 7pm to 11pm daily.
The brands are Beach Road Prawn Noodle House, Boon Tong Kee, Killiney Group, Downstairs by Song Fa, Rumah Makan Minang and Ponggol Nasi Lemak.
The lounge is decorated with Singapore-inspired tile work planned by the Sats Global Innovation Hub team in Singapore.
Floor and wall tiles incorporate Singapore’s national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid, and the unofficial national bird, the crimson sunbird.
Peranakan tableware was contributed by Mr Alvin Yapp, founder of private Peranakan Museum The Intan.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
The interior is also adorned with works by local artists and one museum. The lounge also serves as a platform for budding artists from local tertiary institutions to showcase their digital art.
“(The lounge) is where travellers meet and (where) they can be exposed to how Singapore is diverse, tolerant, colourful and multicultural,” said Mr Alvin Yapp, 54, the founder of Peranakan museum The Intan, which lent pieces to Sats lounge.
“I feel some sense of achievement – my parents are proud (and) I’m happy that they’re proud of me too,” said Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts student Law Zi Ning, 19, whose digital artwork is on display at the lounge.
NAFA student Law Zi Ning, 19 with her digital artwork at the Sats Premier Lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 3.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Asked about how many airlines Sats serves, a spokesperson for the company said that it was unable to disclose the number but that the ground handling company serves “a majority of airlines (that fly) out of Changi”.
