This is a Continuation of “Trip Report – A Private Jet Experience: Alone in First Class on ANA and Thai, Plus Singapore First, a Suite, a Villa, and Some Incredible Food Porn”
Past installments:
- Prologue: The decision-making and booking process
- Washington Dulles – Chicago in United First Class and the Greatest Airport Hotel Ever, the Intercontinental O’Hare
- Alone in First Class on ANA, Chicago-Tokyo
- Singapore Airlines First Class, Tokyo-Singapore
- JetQuay Planeside Pickup in Singapore
- Intercontinental Singapore Ambassador Suite
- In and Around Singapore
- Tetsuya’s Restaurant Waku Ghin at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore
- Iggy’s Restaurant in Singapore
Our driver took us from the hotel to the Jetquay terminal at Changi airport. It was time to leave Singapore.
As we pulled up to the driveway, our driver announced the flight that we were on. When we arrived, the door of our car was opened and porters took our bags from the trunk, and we were led into the terminal.
An agent took our passports in order to check us in while we sat and had refreshments.
It turns out that it was actually a mistake to use the terminal. The Jetquay staff cannot access ‘blocked’ seats the way that Thai Airways agents can, and our onward aircraft from Bangkok to Phuket was going to be three-cabin equipment. They were only able to give us the standard business class seats, not the ‘blocked’ seats in the first class portion of the aircraft. Presumably if we had checked in with Thai we could have gotten the seats, or at least would have had a chance at them.
Still, that’s just for an hour-long flight and international business class seating on the domestic segment is more than adequate. And I’d get to give Jetquay’s departure services a spin.
The lounge itself is nicely decorated and comfortable. There’s free internet, nice enough clean restrooms, and limited refreshments. But this just doesn’t feel like a place where you want to kill your afternoon, and we had arrived about an hour and 20 minutes prior to departure.
Service is very good, they get your drinks and help you at the refreshment area, but it’s not an extensive buffet. Just little nibbles to be sure.
About 25 minutes prior to scheduled departure, a Jetquay agent came over to let us know it would be time to leave the terminal and head to our aircraft. We were escorted upstairs to passport control which is done inside the terminal. Immediately past the agent where no one is waiting there’s a golf cart ready to take you to the plane.
We drove through the terminal to our gate with plenty of time to spare, though at least two-thirds through the boarding process.
And it was time to bid adieu to Changi and hello to the Royal Orchid Service that would be taking us to relax in Thailand.
