Going to the airport for a date, to study for exams, or to pose for wedding photos might seem unusual to many, but not to Singaporeans. Changi Airport, the seventh busiest international airport in the world (with over 65 million passengers in 2018), has long served as a local hub for the city's residents. And now, with the opening of its Jewel facility, a retail and experience centre connecting three of the four terminals, airport authorities hope the interest will continue to grow.
Walk into Jewel, the former carpark-turned-retail destination at Singapore’s Changi Airport which opened today, and you will be greeted by the world’s largest indoor waterfall. The 10-storey structure, which connects three of the airport’s four terminals, features a topiary walk and a ‘rainforest’ with over 900 trees, many of them shipped from across the world. But because it’s Singapore, everything is indoors and carefully temperature-controlled.
Moshe Safdie, the award-winning Israeli-Canadian-American architect whose firm designed Jewel, believes that the new addition (costing $1 billion) adds intimacy and grandeur to Changi. “As a very frequent flier, I find a lot of airports trying,” he says, in Singapore for the inauguration of Jewel. “In the US, where I live, it’s a dehumanising humiliation to fly in many airports,” he laughs.
His favourite aviation hubs include Zurich, because “it’s gentle”; Hong Kong for its audacious architecture, and Beijing for the grandeur of Norman Foster’s design. And of course, Changi, which combines efficiency, intimacy and scale.
The inspiration for the mammoth project, reveals Safdie, was the idea of a mythical garden juxtaposed against a tense urban marketplace. “To cohabit, they need to be friendly, but separate. They are two different experiences.”
But for the more commercially-inclined, there are also over 282 shops and restaurants (including South East Asia’s largest Nike store, a flagship store for Starbucks and the country’s first Shake Shack). A quarter of the establishments are ‘new to Singapore’ outlets, like the wildly popular British restaurant, Burger & Lobster.
To some of us, visiting the airport for a day out with the family, to study, go on a date, or even take our wedding photos might seem like an unusual decision. But not to Singaporeans. Proximity to Changi, connectivity via public transit, and a strategic business model means that locals form a big part of its target customers (in addition to the 65 million travellers who pass through the airport each year). “Unlike in the US, when we drop our friends off for a flight, we go into the airport to drop them, and stay for a meal,” says Jean Hung, CEO of Jewel. And that’s a very strategic move. In an interview with Business Times Singapore, CEO of Changi Airport Group, Lee Seow Hiang, said, “So much of our business model depends on our ability to generate commercial revenues, which allows us to subsidise airport charges and to generate resources to invest in the air hub.”
As one Economist article points out, before the 1980s, airports made most of their money through aeronautical revenue. This includes a variety of charges such as landing fees for airlines, passenger-handling fees and gate occupancy fees. Many of Japan’s airports and Toronto’s Pearson are widely credited with having some of the highest charges. But Changi, which opened its doors in 1981, operates on a different model. To make it an attractive hub for airlines, and to incentivise new carriers to fly through Singapore, the airport lowered its fees and focussed on alternate sources of income. The rise of Jetstar’s presence in Singapore, for example, has largely been credited to the airport’s efforts to make it an attractive and affordable hub.
And that model looks like it’s well-positioned to continue working. Other airports, including many from China, are subsidising local airlines to fly mainland tourists overseas. At least part of that cost, they hope, will be recouped by other sources, such as retail spending and rentals. One report by GlobalData predicts that total spending at airports is estimated to reach $49 billion by 2021 (up 27% from 2016).
And if you are a Pokémon fan, you’ll be excited to know that Jewel is home to the only Pokémon Centre outside of Japan. Kenjiro Ito, Chief Business Officer for the company, admits that Singapore, a hub within Asia, had been a focus country for a long time. In fact, it was a promotional event held at Changi in late 2016 that proved that the city would be a gateway market of sorts. Also on that list are India and mainland China, he says, confiding that digital avenues (like the wildly popular gaming app) make it easier to enter a market and test out audience interest before establishing a physical presence.
But the emphasis at Changi’s Jewel, CEO Hung is quick to point out, is still on travellers. With earlier than usual check-in facilities (up to 24 hours before flight time), a pay-per-use lounge, and direct transfer options for cruise passengers, and the country’s first Yotel that offers “cabin” style hotel rooms, Jewel’s services have been carefully crafted to make travelling through (and to) Singapore an even more attractive option.
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The 1,35,000 square metre building (formerly a car park), was designed by renowned Israeli architect Moshe Safdie. Constructed over four years, it will feature the world's largest indoor waterfall (with sound and light shows every evening); flagship stores for brands like Nike, Starbucks and Tiger beer; and the first Pokémon Centre outside of Japan. Travellers are not forgotten: 26 airlines will offer early check-in options up to 24 hours before flights at Jewel, and there is also a pay-per-use Changi lounge. The facility, which is currently open for previews to the public, will open its doors on April 17.
