Airports are the face of every country brand

What do you look for in an airport? Speed in and out, relaxation, convenience, F&B and shopping outlets, wi-fi….butterflies, forests, cinemas, massage oh sorry the last few are just in Singapore.

Having travelled to London, Sydney, New York, Hong Kong, Malaysia as well as China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Switzerland amongst others in the last year I can honestly say that a country brand’s airport does indeed reflect the country itself.

Singapore’s Changi Airport is far and away the easiest, most relaxing and speediest airport in the world. It’s the most efficient and most relaxing. It takes minutes to enter and more importantly after a long haul flight it takes less than 5 minutes from landing to going through passport control to leaving the aiport, that’s right less than 5 minutes. That is many ways sums up Singapore. Efficient and completely focused on a customer experience. They know that the first impression potential influential businessperson or official or media person will have of the country will be the airport and they ensure that it runs as smoothly as the rest of the country does.

Compare this with New York (2 hours to go through customs and leave), London (1 hour to go through customs and leave, both of who’s airport resembles a building site and about as welcoming as a prison camp. The décor at both of these is dull and grey with low ceilings and unwelcome mass of iron and tape maze like queuing systems and Hong Kong and Sydney are the same.

Compare that with Singapore where they speed you through on the way in and you can have enjoy the usual retail and F&B outlets but you can also have quiet time, massage time, reflexology time, enjoy goldfish, butterflies, flowers, trees, greenery galore, light, and even a cinema to relax you. On the back to Singapore it’s even better, you are very quickly at the amazing gigantic light, green plant filled hall like arrivals where the ceilings are as a high as the Sistine Chapel in Italy. No grey carpet, no building works in arrivals and best of all no queues and no maze like queuing system just that old fashion thing called enough people to service the people coming through the door and all in a straight line and all very quickly. It’s efficient and effective and polished and it’s all over in minutes.

If Singapore can make people feel so welcome on arrivals why can’t older brands like London, Hong Kong, Sydney and New York or are they too arrogant and think that people no longer have the choice of where to live and where to invest? Singapore catches everyone out in many things it does from taxation to the way it uses the F1 but Changi Airport is one of its greatest achievements.

Chris Reed, Regional Partnerships Director (Asia), Partnership Marketing