DALLAS — Three months before Changi Airport’s (SIN) largest facility’s full reopening, a Star Alliance airline United Airlines (UA) has relocated its Singapore operations back to Terminal 2 after three years.
Since border relaxations in the middle of 2022 caused a significant spike in passenger traffic recovery, the airport authority has been gradually reopening this largest Terminal 2 facility. As a result, many airlines, including Ethiopian Airlines (ET), Lufthansa (LH), and Swiss (LX), have begun switching to renovated sections of the terminal.
United has begun flying to and from Changi Airport’s Terminal 2 as of July 20, 2023, after taking off for the last time from the site in March 2020. United ceased operations in Singapore for over two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the carrier resumed operations at Terminal 3 on January 7, 2022, when it returned to Changi.
Check-in is at Row 5, a recently renovated area for departure processing that is next to Door 3 for departure.
Flight Schedule between San Francisco and Singapore
At the moment, UA uses Boeing 787-9 aircraft to fly two times per day between Singapore and San Francisco. The flights from Changi International Airport (SIN) depart at 08:45 and 21:00 hrs and reach San Francisco (SFO) at 09:05 and 21:20 hrs respectively. Flights from San Francisco (SFO) depart at 11:20 and 22:55 and reach Changi International Airport (SIN) at 18:45 and 06:15 hrs respectively.
Business Class customers and Star Alliance Gold passengers who fly in any cabin on United’s flights now have access to the SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 2 thanks to the airline’s shift from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2.
The restored KrisFlyer Gold Lounge is now open to departing United Airlines Economy or Premium Economy Class passengers, and the SilverKris Lounges in Terminal 2 are available to Business Class travelers.
Though check-in for United must still be in T2, there is an option to board the SkyTrain and travel across to the more modern SIA lounge facilities in T3 in just 10 minutes.
Airlines now using Changi’s T2
Following its post-COVID-19 reopening, United Airlines has joined more recent entrants like Ethiopian Airlines (ET) and Malaysia Airlines (MH) as the 12th carrier to operate at Changi Airport’s Terminal 2.
Other airlines that fly out of Changi Airport’s T2 include Singapore Airlines (SQ), Air India (AI), Air India Express (IX), Royal Brunei Airlines (BI), Lufthansa (LH), Swiss International Air Lines (LX), Sichuan Airlines (3U), Air Macau (NX), and Firefly (FY).
All airlines using the facilities previous to COVID-19 are expected to gradually relocate back after Terminal 2 completely reopens by October 2023. All four airlines are planning to move their operations to T2 later this year: ANA (NH), Indigo (6E), which is presently based at T1, Etihad Airways (EY), which is based at T3, and LOT Polish (LO), which is not currently based at Changi.
Currently undergoing a complete facelift, Changi Airport’s T2 has already reopened the southern arrivals and departures area, which CAG says boasts a “contemporary design concept… inspired by elements of nature.”
Changi’s T2 will fully reopen by October 2023.
New dining options in a bigger space with improved runway views will be part of ongoing improvements to the transit area.
The facility will eventually be the biggest at the airport once the northern wing of Terminal 2 is entirely built out, with a capacity for 28 million passengers annually – 5 million more than before the restoration.
The project will increase Changi’s annual passenger capacity to 90 million by adding 15,500 square meters to the terminal’s floor space.
This will ensure the smooth functioning of the airport’s passenger operations until Terminal 5 opens in the middle of the 2030s.
Featured image: The revamped southern section of the T2 departures hall. Photo: Changi Airport Group
Article source: https://airwaysmag.com/united-relocates-changi-airport/
