Review / Is the marhaba lounge the new jewel in Singapore Changi Airport’s crown? Well, the satay is good

Layovers can be some of the worst experiences in air travel, especially when the airport you’re stuck in was not designed for comfort (not every city has an airport with a 40-metre-high waterfall and multistorey slides).

Thanks to what Emirates-owned airport services firm dnata (Dubai National Air Transport Association) calls a “democratisation” of airport lounges, premium options are no longer reserved for just a small group of high-fliers with top-tier frequent flier status or elite credit card membership.

A “rising cohort” of millennials and their focus on “authentic and seamless travel experiences” has helped to “democratise” premium airport services, so that they are accessible by passengers taking economy class and low-cost carriers too, dnata’s regional chief executive officer for Asia Pacific, Dirk Goovaerts, told Business Insider.

“With digital exposure, consumers also have increased expectations and seek instant solutions that can meet their needs.

“From the very moment they enter the terminal doors to when they leave the airport, passengers are looking for swift and top-notch service throughout the entire process,” he said via email interview.

On top of that, millennial travellers also want value and convenience and look for “great experiences without having to invest in luxury products like first-class travel”, Goovaerts said.

As a result, more and more travellers are expecting to have access to airport lounges, especially if they are frequent travellers, he added.

To accommodate the shift in consumer demand, lounge access is now being introduced to more consumers through third-party partnerships with bank cards, club and lounge membership programmes. Some also allow travellers without any of these affiliations to use their facilities as long as they make an advanced booking and pay a stipulated entrance fee.

In the case of dnata’s marhaba lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 3, there is no pay-per-use scheme for members of the general public. However, entry into the marhaba lounge is available to travellers through a wide range of airline loyalty programmes, credit card schemes and various club memberships.

Before a recent trip to Japan, I took a break at the T3 marhaba lounge, which is being used by Singapore Airlines as the KrisFlyer Gold lounge while its actual lounge undergoes a revamp. Here’s what it was like: