Singapore - 6 hrs to kill in airport- any bus trips?

"Tchiowa" wrote in message
om...
Markku Grönroos wrote in message
...
Mark Pannell kirjoitti:

doesnt matter where the boarding pass is issued. Did it last month. You
just
go through immigration and security as normal except you dont have to
check
in.



Easy to believe. How do you "double check". Your file already resides in
the database. Changes to it are hardly generated at any airport just
because you have been outside the transit area. How does the personnel
at counters know whether you have been out or not. Tiotsiiva's friends
at the passport control escort you there?

If you leave the transit area then you return through the Immigration
counter and they can see that the boarding pass was issued somewhere
else. That shouldn't happen if you checked in at the local airport.

It doesn 't always work like that. If you are travelling on with the same
airline sometimes they issue all boarding passes at the original airport,
but sometimes they cannot do it and you have to get the boarding pass for
the next flight at the transit desk.
In my experience if you are switching airlines you always have to get the
onward boarding pass at the transit desk, in this case in Singapore.

How do the personnel at the counters know if you've been out or not?
Well, let me see. If you don't go out you don't go back through the
immigration counter, do you? If you do go out you MUST go through the
counter. Therefore, if you are at the counter you went out. Not a
difficult decision for the guys at the counter, is it?

I don't understand this. If you go out the immigration desk just checks your
passport and the immigration card you can get there. Then a few hours later
you return passing through and passport check where you show your passport,
boarding pass and the return half of the immigation card. Of course they
stamp the passport and know that you have been out and back, but so what? It
is OK to visit Singapore for just a few hours.

Anyway I have often been out and back in Singapore for a few hours and had
no problems. Maybe it can cause problems but so far not for me.

"RAK" wrote in message .. .
"Tchiowa" wrote in message
om...
Markku Grönroos wrote in message
...
Mark Pannell kirjoitti:

doesnt matter where the boarding pass is issued. Did it last month. You
just
go through immigration and security as normal except you dont have to
check
in.



Easy to believe. How do you "double check". Your file already resides in
the database. Changes to it are hardly generated at any airport just
because you have been outside the transit area. How does the personnel
at counters know whether you have been out or not. Tiotsiiva's friends
at the passport control escort you there?

If you leave the transit area then you return through the Immigration
counter and they can see that the boarding pass was issued somewhere
else. That shouldn't happen if you checked in at the local airport.

It doesn 't always work like that. If you are travelling on with the same
airline sometimes they issue all boarding passes at the original airport,
but sometimes they cannot do it and you have to get the boarding pass for
the next flight at the transit desk.
In my experience if you are switching airlines you always have to get the
onward boarding pass at the transit desk, in this case in Singapore.

How do the personnel at the counters know if you've been out or not?
Well, let me see. If you don't go out you don't go back through the
immigration counter, do you? If you do go out you MUST go through the
counter. Therefore, if you are at the counter you went out. Not a
difficult decision for the guys at the counter, is it?

I don't understand this. If you go out the immigration desk just checks your
passport and the immigration card you can get there. Then a few hours later
you return passing through and passport check where you show your passport,
boarding pass and the return half of the immigation card. Of course they
stamp the passport and know that you have been out and back, but so what? It
is OK to visit Singapore for just a few hours.

Anyway I have often been out and back in Singapore for a few hours and had
no problems. Maybe it can cause problems but so far not for me.

There is no problem going out and back in a few hours. The problem
lies in having checked luggage while you're doing that. Post 9/11 they
are watching for that type of thing.

"Tchiowa" wrote in message
om...
"RAK" wrote in message
.. .
"Tchiowa" wrote in message
om...
Markku Grönroos wrote in message
...
Mark Pannell kirjoitti:

doesnt matter where the boarding pass is issued. Did it last month.
You
just
go through immigration and security as normal except you dont have
to
check
in.



Easy to believe. How do you "double check". Your file already
resides in
the database. Changes to it are hardly generated at any airport just
because you have been outside the transit area. How does the
personnel
at counters know whether you have been out or not. Tiotsiiva's
friends
at the passport control escort you there?

If you leave the transit area then you return through the Immigration
counter and they can see that the boarding pass was issued somewhere
else. That shouldn't happen if you checked in at the local airport.

It doesn 't always work like that. If you are travelling on with the
same
airline sometimes they issue all boarding passes at the original
airport,
but sometimes they cannot do it and you have to get the boarding pass
for
the next flight at the transit desk.
In my experience if you are switching airlines you always have to get
the
onward boarding pass at the transit desk, in this case in Singapore.

How do the personnel at the counters know if you've been out or not?
Well, let me see. If you don't go out you don't go back through the
immigration counter, do you? If you do go out you MUST go through the
counter. Therefore, if you are at the counter you went out. Not a
difficult decision for the guys at the counter, is it?

I don't understand this. If you go out the immigration desk just checks
your
passport and the immigration card you can get there. Then a few hours
later
you return passing through and passport check where you show your
passport,
boarding pass and the return half of the immigation card. Of course they
stamp the passport and know that you have been out and back, but so
what? It
is OK to visit Singapore for just a few hours.

Anyway I have often been out and back in Singapore for a few hours and
had
no problems. Maybe it can cause problems but so far not for me.

There is no problem going out and back in a few hours. The problem
lies in having checked luggage while you're doing that. Post 9/11 they
are watching for that type of thing.

Sorry, I did not mention that I had checked my bags through, normally from
Jakarta to London or Sydney, or vice versa. I have done such a transit stop
in Singapore once or twice this year.
I had no problems at all. I find it very convenient to take a flight
arriving in Singapore in the moring, go into town for a few hours for a
meeting or shopping, then leave again in the evening, usually with bags
checked through. I make no secret of this and have never seen any notice
saying it is not allowed. I think I have sometimes told airline staff I am
doing this but I am not sure about that. I plan to do it again in a couple
of weeks and do not anticipate any problems.

Frankly I cannot see why going into town for a few hours makes me a higher
risk. If I do not return in time and get on the plane, then the boarding
check will show this and my bags should be off-loaded. This is the same
process for some who checks in locally then does not board. By going into
town I even go through a couple of extra security scans, compared to hanging
around in transit for hours.

Why do you think this "type of thing" is an added security risk? It seems
more like the sort of arbitrary and pointless rule than US airports are
imposing as they struggle to reach the level of security checking that other
regions have practiced for many years. Or am I missing something?!

"RAK" wrote in message ...

heavy snipping for space

Why do you think this "type of thing" is an added security risk?

It's not that *I* think it's a security risk, it's the airlines. Maybe
there is more emphasis on flights to and from the US. But the idea is
that you are no longer "with" your checked luggage.

It seems
more like the sort of arbitrary and pointless rule than US airports are
imposing as they struggle to reach the level of security checking that other
regions have practiced for many years. Or am I missing something?!

You may be right on your reason. But whether or not they have a good
reason for doing something is secondary to the fact that they are
doing it.

"RAK" wrote in message ...

heavy snipping for space

Why do you think this "type of thing" is an added security risk?

It's not that *I* think it's a security risk, it's the airlines. Maybe
there is more emphasis on flights to and from the US. But the idea is
that you are no longer "with" your checked luggage.

It seems
more like the sort of arbitrary and pointless rule than US airports are
imposing as they struggle to reach the level of security checking that other
regions have practiced for many years. Or am I missing something?!

You may be right on your reason. But whether or not they have a good
reason for doing something is secondary to the fact that they are
doing it.

"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:42:51 GMT, "Mark Pannell"
wrote:

It is not the case!.I have done it numerous times on the way to different
destinations.

I regularly do this when I transit Hong Kong on a same-day connecting
flight. I leave the airport for a few hours to go downtown and return
to get my onward flight. I have never seen any rule saying this is not
allowed, and the airline staff are fully aware that I do it. Perhaps
this restriction only applies to Singapore.

I have done it several times in Singapore and had no problems and I think I
have even told airline or travel agent staff that I want a long transit so I
can go into town.
Are the people who insist it is not allowed or impossible making up their
own rules unrelated to reality?

On Sun, 1 Aug 2004 01:33:26 +0100, "RAK"
wrote:


"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:42:51 GMT, "Mark Pannell"
wrote:

It is not the case!.I have done it numerous times on the way to different
destinations.

I regularly do this when I transit Hong Kong on a same-day connecting
flight. I leave the airport for a few hours to go downtown and return
to get my onward flight. I have never seen any rule saying this is not
allowed, and the airline staff are fully aware that I do it. Perhaps
this restriction only applies to Singapore.

I have done it several times in Singapore and had no problems and I think I
have even told airline or travel agent staff that I want a long transit so I
can go into town.

I often have a hard time convincing the travel agent that I really do
want an 8 hour connecting time. They usually want to book me on the
next available flight, and can't understand why I would want anything
else.

One issue that the agent does sometimes raise is that of departure
tax. In Hong Kong, the departure tax is included in the ticket price,
but its not normally charged on same-day connecting flights because
they assume people will remain airside. Strictly speaking, the tax
should be payable if you go outside the airport, but I think the
number of transit passengers who do this is so small that they haven't
bothered to close that loophole. Not sure if that would apply to
Singapore also.

Are the people who insist it is not allowed or impossible making up their
own rules unrelated to reality?

They're just trolls, and best ignored.

On Sun, 1 Aug 2004 01:33:26 +0100, "RAK"
wrote:


"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:42:51 GMT, "Mark Pannell"
wrote:

It is not the case!.I have done it numerous times on the way to different
destinations.

I regularly do this when I transit Hong Kong on a same-day connecting
flight. I leave the airport for a few hours to go downtown and return
to get my onward flight. I have never seen any rule saying this is not
allowed, and the airline staff are fully aware that I do it. Perhaps
this restriction only applies to Singapore.

I have done it several times in Singapore and had no problems and I think I
have even told airline or travel agent staff that I want a long transit so I
can go into town.

I often have a hard time convincing the travel agent that I really do
want an 8 hour connecting time. They usually want to book me on the
next available flight, and can't understand why I would want anything
else.

One issue that the agent does sometimes raise is that of departure
tax. In Hong Kong, the departure tax is included in the ticket price,
but its not normally charged on same-day connecting flights because
they assume people will remain airside. Strictly speaking, the tax
should be payable if you go outside the airport, but I think the
number of transit passengers who do this is so small that they haven't
bothered to close that loophole. Not sure if that would apply to
Singapore also.

Are the people who insist it is not allowed or impossible making up their
own rules unrelated to reality?

They're just trolls, and best ignored.

"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 1 Aug 2004 01:33:26 +0100, "RAK"
wrote:


"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:42:51 GMT, "Mark Pannell"
wrote:
cut

One issue that the agent does sometimes raise is that of departure
tax. In Hong Kong, the departure tax is included in the ticket price,
but its not normally charged on same-day connecting flights because
they assume people will remain airside. Strictly speaking, the tax
should be payable if you go outside the airport, but I think the
number of transit passengers who do this is so small that they haven't
bothered to close that loophole. Not sure if that would apply to
Singapore also.

I am not 100% sure on this but I think the airport tax at the transit
airport only applies if you transit for more than 24 hours. Also an X on the
ticket on the line for one flight sector indicates no stopover allowed
though again I think that under 24 hours is still allowed.

cut

"RAK" wrote in message m...
"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 1 Aug 2004 01:33:26 +0100, "RAK"
wrote:


"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:42:51 GMT, "Mark Pannell"
wrote:
cut

One issue that the agent does sometimes raise is that of departure
tax. In Hong Kong, the departure tax is included in the ticket price,
but its not normally charged on same-day connecting flights because
they assume people will remain airside. Strictly speaking, the tax
should be payable if you go outside the airport, but I think the
number of transit passengers who do this is so small that they haven't
bothered to close that loophole. Not sure if that would apply to
Singapore also.

I am not 100% sure on this but I think the airport tax at the transit
airport only applies if you transit for more than 24 hours. Also an X on the
ticket on the line for one flight sector indicates no stopover allowed
though again I think that under 24 hours is still allowed.

I was picking up a ticket for SQ Friday and they confirmed the policy.
However, they said that SQ pretty much ignores it in Singapore because
they want the tourism but other airlines would be more strict. They
also pointed out that if you're on a discount ticket you would could
be charged a substantial fee for leaving the airport (hidden cities
trick).

Bottom line, if you want to leave the airport in Singapore, or
anywhere else, while you're laid over for a few hours, plan that ahead
of time, check your baggage to Singapore, make sure the airline knows
your plan, etc.

Avoid the problems.