Instant Alert: I visited the number one airport in the world — and it blew me away with a free movie theater, a butterfly garden, and a blazing fast 15-minute process from check-in to the gate

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   I visited the number one airport in the world — and it blew me away with a free movie theater, a butterfly garden, and a blazing fast 15-minute process from check-in to the gate by Harrison Jacobs on Jun 3, 2018, 2:52 PM Singapore's Changi International Airport has been ranked the top airport in the world for six years running. It has impressive amenities like a free movie theater, a butterfly garden, a rooftop swimming pool, and 24-hour spas, but it's the airport's cleanliness and efficiency that the average traveler will notice most. On a recent visit, I went from check-in through security to my boarding gate in 15 minutes and found the airport's new Terminal 4 to be thoughtful, pleasant, and relaxed. I'm the kind of person who usually hates spending any unnecessary time in an airport, but I'd happily get to Changi early on a future flight. For six years in a row, Singapore's Changi Airport has been rated the top airport in the world by Skytrax, a customer service reviewer that has been ranking airports since 1999. That lofty ranking is based on 13.73 million airport survey questionnaires completed by customers over the course of the year. More than 500 airports were ranked by Skytrax. But, as I travel around the world as Business Insider's International Correspondent, I was left wondering: what exactly does the "world's best airport" mean to the average traveler? In Changi's case, there are a lot of flashy amenities — a free movie theater, a butterfly garden, a rooftop swimming pool, and 24-hour spas are just a few. Still, I wasn't sure what to expect. In general, airports are hellish, frustrating places. Tolerable, at best. But over the course of three trips to Changi Airport, I found that the airport lives up to the hype. The amenities dazzle if you have the time to enjoy them (as someone who is perpetually late, I barely did), but it's the airport's cleanliness, efficiency, and customer-centric approach that sets it apart from nearly every other airport I've been to. At Changi's Terminal 4, which opened last October, it took me 15 minutes to go from my taxi drop-off to the boarding gate. For someone used to loitering in interminable security lines at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, Changi was a revelation. Here's what it was like: SEE ALSO: I rode China's superfast bullet train that could go from New York to Chicago in 4.5 hours — and it shows how far behind the US really is DON'T MISS: I'm taking a trip around the world with only a carry-on suitcase — here's everything I packed Singapore's Changi airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, serving 62.2 million passengers last year. It is a major hub for flights through Asia. I recently flew through Changi on three occasions. I had heard it's been ranked the number one airport in the world, but I wasn't sure what to expect. Source: Changi Airport The airport has a ton of eye-popping amenities. There's the free movie theater in Terminals 2 and 3, which plays first-run movies. While I was in town, it was playing Justice League, The Post, and Despicable Me 3. Terminal 1 has a rooftop swimming pool that travelers can access for 17 SGD ($13). It also has a Jacuzzi, showers, and a bar. See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network:    Email sent to: nguyenvu1187.love5@blogger.com   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011