Cathay Pacific First Airline to Confirm Move to Changi’s New T4

Cathay Pacific has become the first airline to confirm its move to Singapore Changi Airport’s newest terminal – Terminal 4 – when it opens in 2017.

An enhanced travel experience encompassing self-service initiatives (in addition to check-in counters), attractive retail and F&B offerings, as well as an expanded dedicated lounge for its premium passengers are among the key highlights at T4 that Cathay Pacific’s passengers can look forward to.

Passengers of Hong Kong’s flag carrier will also – for the first time at Changi Airport – enjoy seamless travel initiatives that will be rolled out terminal-wide. A full and integrated suite of self-service options will be offered at key passenger touch points such as check-in, bag drop, immigration and boarding in T4. Departing passengers will be able to enjoy faster processing via the automated channels, as well as greater autonomy of their time spent at the airport as their journey at T4 will no longer be limited by the operating hours of manual check-in counters.

Cathay Pacific’s passengers can also look forward to a new and exclusive premium lounge on the second mezzanine level of the new terminal. At more than 800 sqm, it is larger than the full-service carrier’s current lounge at Terminal 1, with views into the apron and runway, offering passengers in the lounge sightings of aircraft take-offs and landings.

Cathay Pacific is one of Changi Airport’s first airline partners, having operated at Terminal 1 since the airport opened in 1981. Its presence at Changi has grown over the years. Today, Cathay Pacific is among the top 10 largest airlines at Changi Airport in terms of passenger volume, with nine daily services to Hong Kong including one via Bangkok, and four weekly services to Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital.

With more than 130 weekly flights to and from Changi Airport, relocating to the new terminal will also provide Cathay Pacific with good room for future growth. T4 is designed to handle 16 million passenger movements per annum, and will be able to support quick aircraft turnaround operations for both full-service and low-cost carriers.

T4 will feature a total of 21 contact stands – 17 for narrow-body aircraft and four for wide-body aircraft, the latter of which can be converted to accommodate eight narrow-body aircraft if the need arises. These stands will come with aerobridges, providing passengers with greater convenience and accessibility.

“As a keen adopter of technology aimed at improving passenger experience, self check-in options have always been offered by Cathay Pacific at all our stations. Changi Airport is one of Cathay Pacific’s largest bases outside Hong Kong so we are very excited at this opportunity to offer a transformational on-ground product for our valued passengers,” said Mr Wilson Yam, General Manager, Southeast Asia, Cathay Pacific. “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.”

Several of the new functions, such as self-check-in and self-gate boarding, are currently being trialled at Changi’s existing terminals, to ensure that implementation at T4 will be a smooth process.

Mr Yam Kum Weng, CAG’s Executive Vice President of Air Hub and Development, said, “We are delighted with Cathay Pacific’s acceptance of our invitation to relocate its operations to T4. It underscores the airline’s confidence in the Changi brand, and in the premium experience that Changi Airport provides to passengers. Cathay also shares CAG’s service excellence philosophy, which makes it an excellent partner for us to realise new breakthroughs in passenger experience, efficiency and manpower productivity together. We look forward to forging a close partnership with Cathay as we prepare to welcome their passengers to a world-class Terminal 4 come 2017.”