Changi Airport Group (CAG) and Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) have announced that the Hong Kong-based airline will be the first carrier to operate out of Singapore’s Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 (T4) when it officially opens in 2017. The country’s own Singapore Airlines is expected to continue to operate out of Terminal 3.
As previously reported by Business Traveller Asia-Pacific (see here), T4 will be built on the site of the former Budget Terminal (BT). The two-storey, 25-metre-high structure will be about seven times larger than the old BT, enabling it to serve both full-service and low-cost carriers.
CX has operated out of the old Terminal 1 ever since the airport opened in 1981, and its passengers will be able to enjoy the benefits of the new terminal including a new premium lounge located in the second mezzanine level of T4. Sized at more than 800 sqm, it will be significantly larger than the carrier’s existing facility at Terminal 1, and command views into the apron and runway similar to the airlines’ new lounge, The Bridge, at Hong Kong International Airport (see here).
CX is one of Changi Airport’s first airline partners, and is now among the top 10 largest airlines at the airport in terms of passenger volume, according to CAG. The carrier offers nine daily services from Hong Kong to Singapore, including one via Bangkok, plus four weekly services to Colombo via the Lion City.
The relocation to the T4 will provide CX with ample room for future growth. The new terminal is designed to handle 16 million passengers annually, and will feature 21 contact stands – 17 for narrow-body and four for wide-body aircraft.
“Operating at Changi Airport’s T4 offers us the perfect opportunity to bring self-service and automated options to more of our passengers, giving them more control over how they want to use their time at the airport. With the exciting range of shopping and dining options lined up at Terminal 4, we envisage that the time savings, and in turn the improved travel experience, will be appreciated by our discerning passengers,” said Wilson Yam, general manager, Southeast Asia, Cathay Pacific Airways.
For more information, visit www.cathaypacific.com and www.changiairport.com
Clement Huang
