Fly Scoot

After the memorable event at the Singapore Flyer hosted by Scoot, Singapore’s newest budget airline, I thought I should blog a little more about what Scoot is all about. I can’t help it, I’m attracted by their Scootitude and the bright yellow!

Let’s talk about freebies first!

The ”Name our Scoot Babies” contest is currently ongoing, and will end on 24 May 2012 at 11.59pm Singapore Time (or 9.59pm Australia time). Come up with unique names for the 1st 2 of 4 Scoot planes, of less than 15 characters including spaces. The winner will get a pair of tickets for travel on the aircraft bearing the name they proposed. Enter the contest here.

Not your usual airline name, not your usual airline

The 1st thing you’ll notice when you visit the Scoot website is that it just feels so different from the more traditional airlines, no prizes for guessing which airlines. When planning for a vacation, most people wouldn’t consider the flying portion to be particularly enjoyable. But see, the strange thing with Scoot is that it kinda makes you think of the airplane travel as an adventure in itself. One thing I have to warn you, they are bloody cheeky! They’ve even told SIA to scoot. Now beat that.

So What is Scoot anyway?

First and foremost, Scoot is a budget carrier. That means, no frills. Here’s how to think of Scoot.

SIA = Long Haul Premium

SilkAir = Short Haul Premium

Tiger Air = Short Haul Budget

Scoot = Long Haul Budget

4 cities to choose from for now, Tianjin, Sydney, Gold Coast and Bangkok. Check out promotions here.

The fare structure

Scoot’s fare structure will be very competitive, in keeping with the no-frills model, at up to 40% cheaper than a typical legacy carrier. However, besides just rock-bottom airfares, Scoot will offer substantial scope for guests to tailor their experience by adding only the frills and services they want, so that they’re not subsidising the choices of others.

There are 3 choices to choose from for Economy Class

Fly — Just a seat! Pay extra if you want to choose where!

FlyBag — You get 15kg of checked in baggage allowance

FlyBagEat- 1 meal is thrown in plus this ticket includes right to choose seat location.

The difference in pricing is only about $20-$30 x 2 between the choices per return trip. I am told that many people do book the FlyBagEat option, although a quick calculation based on a July 2012 travel from Singapore to Sydney and back shows a $530.29nett. Not exactly the rock bottom cheap I was expecting, but cheaper certainly.

ScootBiz – a premium cabin complete with wide leather seats offering 38-inch pitch, food & beverages and 20 kilograms of check-in baggage.

Or you can finally luxuriate in Business Class for once, and pay only $1,118.29nett.

When it comes to the crunch, what’s the difference between Scoot and other budget airlines?

Yea, I actually shot them this difficult question and got a pretty good response. Scoot believes that ”Cheap” does not = ”Lousy”. They firmly believe that an airline can be no frills and still be cheerful, honest, respectful, and that ”no frills” need not mean ”no service”. They’ll offer service with personality; engaging, vibrant, fun-loving and upbeat, aka SCOOTITUDE. Staff are requested to be different, be honest, and to consistently deliver the basics.

Travel Insurance is key

We’ve all heard about the numerous complaints from other budget travellers about cancelled flights. When you try to contact the airline to claim compensation, they are nowhere to be found. One easy way to solve this headache is to simply buy TRAVEL INSURANCE! I’m surprised that people don’t do this simple thing to protect themselves! Did you know that if you buy the Travel Insurance well in advance, and a last minute emergency situation occurs that prevents you from taking the trip, you can even claim travel insurance on this?

Scoot only has 4 airplanes at this point in time. There is no spare idle plane sitting somewhere waiting to step in in the rare event that another plane is put out of service. As such, there will be times where unscheduled maintenance is required, and therefore a flight must be cancelled or delayed. Solve this headache by buying Travel Insurance! Scoot Staff will help direct people to accommodation or dining options, and provide a letter to facilitate a claim on travel insurance, but accommodation or meals will not be provided free.

Okay enuff of the corporate spiel.

Click on this link to see our fun evening at the Singapore Flyer. Or scroll down to see pictures of dinner at the Singapore Food Trail. I think we are good contenders for this year’s MOST LADEN WITH FOOD TABLE Guinness World Record…

Did you ever…

I meant to take pictures of the food, but Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson somehow snuck into the shot…

 Pretty Scoot Cabin Crew ladies

What’s a food blog without pictures of food right?

 I love the old school feel of The Singapore Food Trail! Actually, I’m not even qualified to say what is old school, having been born into a more modern Singapore. Is it considered a blessing to be able to enjoy modern amenities, healthcare and technology? Or is it regrettable that I did not get to witness Singapore before it got sanitised?

*Thank you Scoot for the wonderful evening.

http://www.flyscoot.com

https://www.facebook.com/flyscoot

Pictures of our ride on the Singapore Flyer https://365days2play.com/2012/05/10/fly-with-scoot-singapore-flyer/