Scoot your way to SEA
Singaporean low-cost carrier Scoot has announced that they will begin flights from London to Singapore via Bangkok Survarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. This is a very interesting development for UK- South East Asia travel.
Who are Scoot?
Scoot is part of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group. Besides being part of the same company, they share very little with their parent company. They are a low-cost carrier and are comparable to easyJet in that they are not quite as bargain-base as Ryanair. They compete regionally in and around South East Asia with the Kuala Lumpur-originating Air Asia and Air Asia X (their long-haul arm).
Where do they fly?
Scoot’s primary focus in intra-Asia connectivity, offering a low cost alternative to Singapore Airlines to destinations as far as Tokyo and Sydney. Scoots longer haul foray into Europe originally began with a route to Athens, Greece in 2017 (CAPA) before later expanding to serve Berlin, Germany. Scoot do also offer connecting itineraries, which is not common for European budget airlines, opening up the potential for budget long haul travel from London via Singapore.
What’s the cabin like?
Unlike what you’re used to with European Low Cost Carriers, the flights with Scoot are operated by widebody Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft - but don’t expect any bells and whistles here. Regular Scoot economy is basic with no in-seat entertainment with power outlets and food available at an extra cost for the entire flight.
Scoot in Silence is the extra legroom portion of the aircraft with standard Economy seating and a child-free zone - which should make it slightly more relaxing.
Finally, ScootPlus, formerly Scootbiz, is similar to a Premium Economy product on most other airlines. This offers a recliner style seat which has extra legroom and is wider whilst also giving you up to 30kg alongside priority boarding, free Wi-Fi and in-seat power.
What’s interesting about the Gatwick development?
Firstly, it opens up the airport’s first route to South East Asia giving the opportunity to visit the region on a direct flight. No other airlines at the airport currently fly direct to Thailand or Singapore with the only options being on the likes of Emirates, Qatar or Turkish.
Gatwick is also a smart option for Scoot. Many often say its the ‘low cost’ airport which is partially true due to the dominance of easyJet, making Scoot at home, but in truth that’s a bit disingenuous with other airlines also being based here like British Airways. Many people who are based South and East of London begrudge having to take the long journey to trek across to Heathrow, preferring to have a shorter journey to Gatwick. For a travel nerd like me, I love going to Heathrow for the lounges but for the masses they want accessible, easy-to-reach, direct journeys. Gatwick is also the more leisure focussed airport between it and Heathrow. I sense that the target for the flight are not passengers seeking to travel to Singapore, since it is not part of the Vaccinated Travel Lane scheme, but those leisure sun seekers looking to go to a beach side destination like Thailand.
When are the flights operating?
The flights will begin as a limited seasonal service the 16th and 30th December 2021 before a regular service beginning on 22nd March 2022 twice per week - with options to expand frequencies after. Pricing is very decent too starting at around GBP 179 one way. I also checked a few connecting itineraries which came out cheap as well.
This is a great development for Scoot in their international network but also a vote of confidence in Gatwick which has suffered over the past couple of years. Let's look forward to many more future announcements like this... I for one would love to visit South East Asia again, including the cat cafes!
