In late 2017 there were only two oneworld lounges at Singapore Changi Airport. Fast forward to last year and that total had doubled, as Cathay Pacific opened its own facility at Terminal 4 in 2017 and Qantas built a dedicated First Class lounge in late 2019.
This week a fifth option has been added, the Qatar Airways Singapore Premium Lounge. How does it stand up against the competition? We visited on its second day of operation to find out.
General details
Opened: 27th January 2020
Opening Times: 7.55am to 10.55am; 5.25pm to 2.00am
Capacity: 85
Showers: Yes
Spa: No
Bar: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
Multi-standard Power Sockets: Yes
USB Charging Sockets: Yes
Wireless Charging: Yes
Dress Code: None
Lounge access
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This lounge is available to passengers flying on a Qatar Airways or any oneworld member operated flight:
- in First Class or in Business Class.
- in any class of travel provided they are connecting between oneworld marketed and operated flights on the same day of travel, or before 6am the following day, having arrived in First Class or Business Class with a scheduled flight time longer than 5 hours (e.g. Qantas Business Class SYD-SIN followed by SriLankan Economy Class SIN-CMB, access is permitted). You are required to retain your boarding card from the arriving long-haul flight for lounge access.
Note: Qatar Airways does not include lounge access to those upgrading their Economy tickets to Business Class using Qmiles. The policy also applies to this lounge in Singapore.
What about status holders?
If you hold Qatar Airways Privilege Club Silver, Gold or Platinum status, or are a oneworld Sapphire or Emerald member flying in Economy Class on Qatar Airways, you will instead be directed to the SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 1.
That’s a rather average facility, so provided it’s between approximately 2pm and midnight we would instead strongly recommend visiting the far superior Qantas Singapore Business Lounge or the British Airways Singapore lounge.
If you’re Qatar Platinum or oneworld Emerald and it’s between 2pm and midnight there’s no contest – take the short walk to the Qantas Singapore First Lounge, which we currently rate as one of the best (if not the best) at Changi.
Guest policy
Passengers travelling in oneworld First Class, for example on a British Airways or Qantas operated flight, may invite one guest into the lounge with them.
The guest must be travelling on a oneworld operated flight in this case, though it does not need to be the same flight as the lead passenger (for example, your guest can be flying Malaysia Airlines Economy Class to Kuala Lumpur).
Those accessing this lounge based on travel in Business Class are not permitted to bring any guests into the lounge with them.
Location
Qatar Airways uses Row 3 check-in desks at Terminal 1, open from 3 hours prior to departure time.
Pro Tip: Qatar Airways participates in the Jewel Early Check-In programme, so you can check-in for your flight and have your boarding card issued up to 12 hours before departure. If you’re departing on the 2am flight, that means you can use this lounge all evening from around 5.30pm.
The Qatar Airways Singapore Premium Lounge is located on Level 3 of Changi Terminal 1’s transit area, one level above the departure concourse.
After clearing the T1 immigration desks, make a left turn towards the C gates, then walk all the way to the end of the concourse to the second escalator, directly in front of you adjacent to gate C1 up to the lounges.
Note that this is not the first escalator as you head towards the C gates marked ‘Lounges’, which in fact leads you up to the BA, Qantas Business and SATS facilities. You have to continue all the way to the end of the concourse, where the C gates themselves begin.
At the top of the escalator take a left turn and you’ll see the lounge entrance ahead, to the right of the Emirates lounge.
This location is also good for oneworld departures if your flight is departing from the C gates, allowing you slightly more time in the lounge before heading to the aircraft than you would otherwise have at the BA or Qantas lounges.
The lounge is also directly at the end of the airside SkyTrain to and from Terminal 3, so if you’re flying Business Class with oneworld carrier SriLankan Airlines on the morning (9.45am) or evening (7.50pm) departures to Colombo – this is a very nicely located new lounge option for you.
Other oneworld passengers who will no doubt be interested in using this new facility include those flying with British Airways, Finnair, Qantas, Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific (if they can face the long trek back to T4 in the latter case).
Opening hours
Like most of its outstation lounges, Qatar Airways has designed the opening hours of its Singapore Premium Lounge to coincide with its three daily flight departures from Changi.
- 7.55am to 10.55am: for QR943 (10.55am)
- 5.25pm to 2.00am: for QR947 (8.25pm) and QR945 (2.00am)
As we predicted when we first revealed the airline was opening its second Asia-Pacific lounge at Changi, the Middle East carrier has opted for an all-evening opening despite the 5+ hour gap between their night time departures to Doha.
Each of Qatar’s three daily flights is operated by an Airbus A350-1000, which means up to 46 of the airline’s Business Class passengers using the lounge at any one time, perhaps a few more in the early evening with some QR945 passengers taking advantage of early check-in at Jewel.
That will make the lounge a good option for oneworld flyers for a more peaceful experience between approximately 8.30pm and 11pm, when very few actual Qatar passengers will be inside.
Opening hours will of course be extended in the event of Qatar Airways flight delays, and will vary slightly at different times of year as the airline’s flight schedules alter.
One of the lounge staff also let slip to us that they have so far been staying open to accommodate JL38 passengers to Tokyo, who board about 20 minutes after the QR945 customers.
Our visit
I spent the morning opening hours in the Qatar lounge prior to a Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur in Business Class, the day after it first opened.
Later that evening, Eddie followed me to KL on an evening flight after work and sampled the different food and beverage options during the lounge’s evening opening period, so our review covers both visits on the same day.
First impressions
Once you enter the lounge through the automatic glass door you’ll be welcomed in the reception foyer, decked out in airline’s classic marble.
It’s a slightly different setup compared to some of Qatar’s other lounges, with the signature fountain missing, replaced by a simple yet elegant table centrepiece featuring an orchid plant.
There is a welcome podium on the right side, but the entrance to the lounge itself is in the left corner after you enter, past a decorative LED wall pattern (another first for the airline at an outstation lounge).
If you prefer to store your larger bags while using the lounge, there is a luggage room just behind the welcome podium. They also offer a complimentary garment steaming service if you are looking to freshen up your travel clothes.
As you follow the corridor round into the lounge, there’s a flight information display. It only shows Qatar Airways departures, so if you’re travelling on another oneworld flight you’ll have to keep track of the time and boarding status by other means.
Capacity
The lounge has total seating capacity for 85 guests, including 44 in the dining and bar sections.
That makes it the smallest oneworld lounge at Changi. Here’s how it compares in seating capacity terms with the others:
- British Airways: 226
- Cathay Pacific: 200
- Qantas First: 240
- Qantas Business: 570
Given that the maximum number of Qatar Airways Business Class passengers using the lounge at any one time should be 46, there is good scope for the airline to accommodate a number of guests flying on other oneworld airlines.
Seating options
There are two primary seating areas in the lounge. The first one is as soon as you enter, with low armchairs on the left hand side close to a wall-mounted TV and self-serve refreshment selection.
This is a large section, but only accommodat