Australian Engineer Wins Sin$1,000,000 @ Changi Airport

A 26 year-old Australian engineer from Perth received a windfall of Sin$1 million in cash at Changi Airport’s second ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ Grand Draw on Sunday.

Ms Jessica Down beat six other finalists to emerge the overall winner of the seven-month long retail promotion, which culminated in a dramatic grand finale at Changi Airport’s Terminal 3.

The finalists had to compete in three rounds of games based on luck, during which the seven finalists were reduced down to the last two - Ms Down and Dr Mohamed Reda Akdim from Holland - in the final round. In the final and deciding round of the Draw, Ms Down pulled the winning string to trigger a shower of cash and confetti, declaring her the winner of the million dollars.

Describing the dramatic winning moment when she pulled the correct string to the grand prize, Ms Down said, “I pulled it and it didn’t feel like the (winning) string. I heard a little click and I thought ‘I lost it, I lost it’. But as soon as it went bang and the confetti came down, I could not believe it. I think the only word I can have for it is ‘unbelievable’!”

Ms Down’s journey to becoming the Changi Millionaire started out as an uneventful business trip to Singapore in September 2011. Before flying back home to Perth, she purchased a bottle of Paco Rabanne perfume for her sister, which was coincidentally named “Lady Million”, and some cosmetics for herself from the Perfumes and Cosmetic store at the Terminal 1 Departure Transit Mall. In fact, she could barely even remember filling up the ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ lucky draw entry form, since she never had much luck with such draws. The purchase of about Sin$180 ended up giving Ms Down the biggest windfall of her life.

Changi Airport Group’s (CAG) Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lee Seow Hiang, said, “We congratulate Ms Down on her good fortune. This is the second time we have made a Changi shopper an overnight millionaire, and we are all very happy for her. Through the Millionaire Draw, we hope to convey the message that shopping at Changi Airport is not only exciting and enjoyable, it can also be very rewarding.”

The six other finalists from Australia, Holland, Thailand and Singapore each received Sin$5,000 in cash, plus a three day/ two night stay at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport Hotel, with airfare provided for non-Singapore residents.

Strong Boost to Sales @ Changi Airport

The ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ Draw continues to be the most popular retail promotion held at Changi Airport. It received 1.8 million lucky draw entries in 2011, which is double that of its inaugural run in 2010.

On the back of this successful promotion, concessions sales at Changi Airport from May to November 2011 grew by about 20% year- on-year, outperforming passenger traffic growth of about 10% during the same period. The Millionaire Draw was also successful in raising the amount spent by Changi’s shoppers in a single transaction. In particular, sales receipts of Sin$30 and above (the minimum spend to qualify for the Draw) grew about 15% year-on-year during the promotion period. In addition, sales receipts of Sin$500 and above registered an increase of over 20% year-on-year during the same period.

In terms of nationality, Singaporeans, who contribute about 20% to concession sales at Changi Airport, are big winners of the Draw. On top of three of the seven finalists being Singaporeans, about 60% of the 30 weekly winners are Singaporeans, while the rest hail from Indonesia, China and India.

“Our ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ promotion has been very well received and is quickly gaining traction among shoppers from all over the world. The novelty and scale of this promotion has put Changi on the world map, and enhanced our attractiveness as a shopping destination for both global travellers as well as local visitors. We will continue to run Millionaire Draw again in 2012, and create yet another overnight Millionaire from among our shoppers one year from now,” said Mr Lee.

See other recent news regarding: Airlines, Airports, Awards, Flights, Codeshare, FFP, Inflight, Lounges, First Class, Business Class, MICE, GDS, Rewards, Miles, Hotels, Apartments, Promotions, Spas, Yoga, Retreat, New Hotels, Traffic, Visitor Arrivals, Cruises, Free Deals, Interviews, Videos, Tickets, Singapore, Changi, Millionaire, Perth, Australia