Changi Airport, Singapore

Singapore’s Changi Airport has always been trying hard to be the hub for South East Asia to the rest of the world (namely Europe.) I remember back in late 80s when Hong Kong’s one runway airport Kai-Tak was struggling with overcapacity, Singapore made a hard sell for its then new Changi as the new hub for Asia.

But if you think about it, Singapore as a air hub for SE Asia doesn’t make much sense: first, Singapore’s population is small, so first it must try to draw travelers from nearby populated countries (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia) to pass through its gates before proceeding to Europe. But most other SEA countries (especially Thailand and Malaysia) already have their own extensive direct flights to Europe, so unless one is using Singapore Airlines, it wouldn’t make sense for a traveler originating in Bangkok or Manila to go to Europe through Changi.

Then we look at the other possibility: Changi as a midway hub for travelers between East Asian countries and Europe. But this also doesn’t quite cut it because today’s long range jets can pretty much fly direct from East Asia to Europe anyway, and if they need to make refueling stops, Dubai would be a more logical choice because Singapore would have been too close.

So it didn’t make sense to me on my latest visit to the airport (myself another SQ transfer victim), that the airport was bustling with activity. Here are my guesses for why Changi defies logic and continues to draw people:
The primary driver for more Changi travelers, of course, is Singapore Airlines. Renowned for their aggressive pricing, good service, and “Singapore Girl – A great way to Fly” (their former ad slogan that probably made many feminists cringe), the airline remains one of the most popular for business and leisure travelers. As mentioned before, by using SQ flights, one is forced to go through Singapore for transfers.

And to get travelers excited at the prospect of flying through Changi, it strives hard to make itself as entertaining as an airport can be. First, anyone with a laptop can plug in via Wi-Fi or cable LAN to access the broadband network for free. Without a laptop one can pay a small hourly fee to surf using the desktops provided. Either way, the airport provides work desks in various locations of the airport for these internet-savvy travelers. Besides free broadband access, a lot of other “attractions” for travelers to kill time: CNN and ESPN and many regional cable channels provide their content through large displays and comfortable chairs respectively for one to veg a couple hours before their flights; and if you like movies there is even a mini-movie theater – again free – playing movies (albeit mostly old ones from the 80s and 90s.) There is even a gym (and shower room) available for a small fee. If all else fails, there are always numerous book stores and more duty-free shopping. And for those with a long layover of more than 3 or 4 hours, the airport brochure suggests a few different short island tours. Anything Changi can think of to draw more visitors, it seems to me it has, and with some success.

Now that HK has their latest airport up and running with great efficiency, Changi may again feel some heat from its northern competitor, which enjoys an advantage with its proximity to booming southern China. Thailand – if their new airport gets off the ground – may add some uncertainty to the mix and steal some Asia/Europe hub travellers from both HK and Singapore as well. The battle for the most dominant hub in Asia continues.

China, factory of the world

This week’s Business Week has a good article on how the lifting of the clothing and textile quota will see products from a few countries (namely China, India and Pakistan) flood the US and European market, hurting many smaller exporting countries such as Cambodia and Dominican Republic because they cannot compete with China’s cheap wages.

I happened to visit Southern China’s biggest city Guangzhou and its famed Pearl River delta a couple weeks ago, and it’s true. Factories of all kinds of sizes are present. The world’s biggest piano factory (in terms of output) is there, run by Pearl River brand. Then there are countless clothing manufacturers, from sweatshops to large, grim looking industrial complexes that crowd the Guangzhou skyline. China has become the world’s factory (世界工廠). The expansion, however, comes at the expense of the environment. Black-colored water streams teeming with industrial runoff are the norm in the city, but what shocked me the most was the air pollution. The Guangzhou sky was shrouded in a thick yellow haze for the three or four days that I was in town; in fact, the problem is so severe that nearby HK (about 100km away) seem to receive much of the Pearl River smog , according to my HK friends.

Moving along: US Visitor database

U.S. Visitor Database Draws Fire [wired news]

So here it is: the Homeland Security moving along with their draconian implementation of the biometric database that will hold all foreign visitors’ pictures and fingerprints digitally.

Still, there are some sane Congress members questioning certain issues regarding the database: namely its impact on privacy, as well as Homeland Security’s failure to provide a cost estimate for the project.