SIA to spend $20m to build, upgrade airport lounges worldwide

[milehighj]

Well, given that the Airport Lounge Experience bar is currently set by the LH FCT, and CX lounges catered by The Peninsula...

I'm hoping for something pretty spectacular...

And expecting something more akin to a Lounge Beyond the Current Lounge Beyond First, whatever that will be...

[Kyo]

Agree, bring on the spectacular and bring back the romance of travel...

[j.lin]

Now of course, we are all well aware of SQ's recent track record of doing things as cheaply as possible .

This is the current procurement logic which also applies to many public companies in Singapore:

Call in 3 quotations -> Select the cheapest and that does not require any justification to the management.

[milehighj]

Note to the "Redefiners" at SQ and Ong&Ong:

1. LH have done the Cayennes (and the whale-tub )
2. CX have done the Peninsula catering.
3. BA have done the Concorde Room champagne bar.

Recommendation:

a. Rolls or Bentley - where else can you go?
b. Joel Robuchon, Tetsuya Wakuda... Or we'll settle for anyone with 3-stars from the Michelin man.
c. We'll go easy on you: whatever you serve in your Class Beyond First will be good enough for your Lounge Beyond The FCT, Wing, Concorde Room...

Ta

[9V-JKL]

Note to the "Redefiners" at SQ and Ong&Ong:....


Recommendation:........

The bar just after immigration in T3 is run by the Fullerton hotel. So if Changi can manage, so can you SQ

[Kyo]

Post Bar? Gone already... is there another One?

[calvinoeh]

I've always thought it would be fun to have a pool in a lounge

[CarbonMan]

Foot and back massage, preferably by humans.
Good magazines, don't mind downloadable to electronic readers.
Nap chairs in quiet area.

[concept|infinit]

Maybe this sounds crazy but what do you guys think of lounge-in-a-garden concept, like a large indoor garden (maybe with butterflies)?

[Kyo]

They have that already

We want dancing sealions!

But we will settle for showers in the *G lounges, for a start

[stigsfilocousin]

Apologies for resurrecting this thread, but the SKL in MNL is undergoing maintenance as of today for approx 2 months. Whether that means refurbishment or just a lick of paint plus minor upgrades is open to interpretation.

[Short Final]

Honestly, would love to have more bells and whistles in SKL. But let me add some input from a different angle.

I believe SQ also has a lot of homework to do (effort and money to spend) just on improving consistency of their SKLs around the world. For example, why should the SFO SKL be so much more mediocre than others? They do have a nice shower, but they shoot themselves in the foot a bit because despite the shower, they won't even carry tooth brushes, though they did before. You're gonna spend millions on revamping some lounges, but cut costs on toothbrushes from some lounges (and not others)? Does that make sense? So inconsistent! And more importantly, the food and drink offerings and the atmosphere are drab.

For its non-SKL lounges too there are some real duds. The Miro lounge at BCN, for example. Really, the offering is quite basic. A few mini sandwiches and some sodas and drinks laid out at a bar. When I was there, it was not kept tidy or refreshed, probably because it was undermanned. Used plates everywhere, empty food platters at the self serve bar. I was traveling in F too, that time, making it seem even more ridiculous. Though even in J (or even maybe Y), why would a basic and dirty lounge be appealing?

[SQJunkie]

Has anyone heard anything about this enhancement:
as part of this round of upgrades most SKLs worldwide will become common lounges.
To spell it out: Suites, F, J and *A Golds will be in the same paddock!

[concept|infinit]

Has anyone heard anything about this enhancement:
as part of this round of upgrades most SKLs worldwide will become common lounges.
To spell it out: Suites, F, J and *A Golds will be in the same paddock!

interesting. What do you guys here think about this?

From a marketing pov, it strengthens the SKL brand. One would always know what she can expect out of it regardless of the class of her travel. It's good especially if there can't be a big differentiation between F SKL and the *A lounges.

[jjpb3]

interesting. What do you guys here think about this?

From a marketing pov, it strengthens the SKL brand. One would always know what she can expect out of it regardless of the class of her travel. It's good especially if there can't be a big differentiation between F SKL and the *A lounges.

That would be a rather strange marketing perspective to adopt. Why would the SKL be the brand that is being optimized?

The relevant brands are SQ First Class, SQ Business Class and SQ Economy Class. Your reasoning seems as if it would justify the price premium of SQ First over SQ Business by telling a traveller that his FC experience begins at checkin, gets interrupted at the lounge, and then re-starts at boarding. That would simply be bizarre.

(But having a website not be fully functional after more than a year since launch is also bizarre, so I guess anything's possible these days.)