Prelude:
Scoot is a brand new airline. Owned by Singapore Airlines and based in Singapore, they have ambitious plans as a mid/long-haul Low Cost Carrier. Australia was their launch market, with regular flights to Sydney and Coolangatta (Gold Coast). They also have plans to fly to several other Asian cities, including Bangkok, Taipei, Tianjin (China) and Tokyo.
They currently have two Boeing 777-200 planes, ex-Singapore Airlines, and after an Internet based competition have named them "Barry" and "Goin’ Scootin’". Yes, they were the winning names. Very cringe worthy.
There are two classes of service, with four seating configurations.
Business - 2-4-2 seating configuration. Pitch 38", width 22".
Standard Economy ($A4 seat selection fee if you want to preselect a seat, and trust me -- you do!) - 3-4-3 seating configuration. Pitch 31". width 21". Blue fabric
Super Seats ($A24) - 3-4-3 seating configuration. Pitch 35". width 21". Yellow fabric. Seats infront can recline.
S-t-r-e-t-c-h Seats ($A79) - 3-4-3 seating configuration. Pitch 35". width 21". Yellow fabric. Front row seats / exit rows - no recliners in front.
(figures are taken from Wikipedia, they look to be correct and I have no reason to doubt the pitch/widths. )
As part of their launch deals, they had a fare sale offering return airfares for circa $140 from OOL to SIN. Being a LCC which markets one way fares, this meant they loaded the fares as one-way. Hence I was able to find a one-way fare to SIN from OOL for less than $70 ($A68 for the seat only, no prepaid food, no prepaid luggage, but including a $4 seat selection fee. Note, the credit card transaction (MC/Visa only - No Amex) is processed in Singapore, so an overseas transaction fee may be charged by your bank.
So - for roughly $70, I had a one way ticket to Singapore. How bad could it be? Well read on
Now to the trip report:
My day started very early on Wednesday (13 June). After nutting out the various options how to go one-way to OOL from BNE, I decided that in the true spirit of low cost travel, I would use public transport to OOL from BNE. So onto the Gold Coast train line I go. 90 mins later I was at the Gold Coast, transferred to an airport bus and at the terminal less than an hour later. Total cost was about $15. It really was going to be a cheap day!
Check-in was already open (~4 hours before flight), and check-in was pretty painless. My hand luggage was weighed (10.3Kg - technically "just" over their 7kg bag limit + 3kg laptop limit), but was accepted without any dramas. A "Hand Luggage" tag was attached around the handle, I was given my boarding pass and immigration documents and cleared security into the domestic terminal quickly. I whiled away a couple of hours in the "food court" watching travellers and their quirks, and looking through the shops.
The incoming Scoot plane landed about 9:30. There was a lot of excitement from ground crew (both Virgin and Jetstar) who rushed up to the windows to gawk at the new bird in town. The Fire Brigade were on standby to give the traditional "welcome" shower onto the plane, although I didn't see this occur as I was in the wrong part of the terminal.
At about 11am, I decided that I would try and access the new Virgin lounge using "anytime" access. (thought it would be a little wrong to head in around 9am for a 1pm flight - plus the bar opens at 11!), so walk up to the front counter and am warmly welcomed. I mentioned I'm not actually flying Virgin today, is this ok? Get a yes back, and the usual "Do you need a boarding pass, or do you already have one". Would have been funny to see if Virgin could print a Scoot boarding pass.
The lounge is well set out. Very friendly staff - in particular the bar/barista lady working. But this TR isn't about the Virgin lounge, so I'll leave it there. Was there for about an hour, fully charged my phone, had a couple of beers and browsed internet.
Depart the lovely Virgin lounge and head through security screening / outbound immigration at OOL. Bit of a mess, but apart from being barked at for not removing my laptop for the secondary baggage screen (wasn't asked to remove it) and immigration taking about 10 mins of queuing, got there in the end. The international departures area at OOL is pretty poor. There's the obligatory duty free store, a bookseller and a cafe. Found a seat in the cafe and spent my time there before the flight.
The departure lounge was very full. There are over 400 passengers on a fully loaded Scoot plane, and there were people everywhere. Eventually boarding starts, and queues snaked in every direction. Passports were checked and BPs scanned, and then we walked outside to the plane.
Scoot divides their plane into "Zones", presumably Zone 1 is Business, Zone 2 is Stretch/Super Seats, Zone 3 is about 4 rows of Stretch/Super Seats and the front of normal economy, and Zone 4 is the rest of the plane. Zone 4 were told to board from the rear stairs, zones 1-3 were told to board from front stairs. Many people were trying to take photos of the plane, but ground staff were telling them to keep moving.
Scoot is a brand new airline. Owned by Singapore Airlines and based in Singapore, they have ambitious plans as a mid/long-haul Low Cost Carrier. Australia was their launch market, with regular flights to Sydney and Coolangatta (Gold Coast). They also have plans to fly to several other Asian cities, including Bangkok, Taipei, Tianjin (China) and Tokyo.
They currently have two Boeing 777-200 planes, ex-Singapore Airlines, and after an Internet based competition have named them "Barry" and "Goin’ Scootin’". Yes, they were the winning names. Very cringe worthy.
There are two classes of service, with four seating configurations.
Business - 2-4-2 seating configuration. Pitch 38", width 22".
Standard Economy ($A4 seat selection fee if you want to preselect a seat, and trust me -- you do!) - 3-4-3 seating configuration. Pitch 31". width 21". Blue fabric
Super Seats ($A24) - 3-4-3 seating configuration. Pitch 35". width 21". Yellow fabric. Seats infront can recline.
S-t-r-e-t-c-h Seats ($A79) - 3-4-3 seating configuration. Pitch 35". width 21". Yellow fabric. Front row seats / exit rows - no recliners in front.
(figures are taken from Wikipedia, they look to be correct and I have no reason to doubt the pitch/widths. )
As part of their launch deals, they had a fare sale offering return airfares for circa $140 from OOL to SIN. Being a LCC which markets one way fares, this meant they loaded the fares as one-way. Hence I was able to find a one-way fare to SIN from OOL for less than $70 ($A68 for the seat only, no prepaid food, no prepaid luggage, but including a $4 seat selection fee. Note, the credit card transaction (MC/Visa only - No Amex) is processed in Singapore, so an overseas transaction fee may be charged by your bank.
So - for roughly $70, I had a one way ticket to Singapore. How bad could it be? Well read on
Now to the trip report:
My day started very early on Wednesday (13 June). After nutting out the various options how to go one-way to OOL from BNE, I decided that in the true spirit of low cost travel, I would use public transport to OOL from BNE. So onto the Gold Coast train line I go. 90 mins later I was at the Gold Coast, transferred to an airport bus and at the terminal less than an hour later. Total cost was about $15. It really was going to be a cheap day!
Check-in was already open (~4 hours before flight), and check-in was pretty painless. My hand luggage was weighed (10.3Kg - technically "just" over their 7kg bag limit + 3kg laptop limit), but was accepted without any dramas. A "Hand Luggage" tag was attached around the handle, I was given my boarding pass and immigration documents and cleared security into the domestic terminal quickly. I whiled away a couple of hours in the "food court" watching travellers and their quirks, and looking through the shops.
The incoming Scoot plane landed about 9:30. There was a lot of excitement from ground crew (both Virgin and Jetstar) who rushed up to the windows to gawk at the new bird in town. The Fire Brigade were on standby to give the traditional "welcome" shower onto the plane, although I didn't see this occur as I was in the wrong part of the terminal.
At about 11am, I decided that I would try and access the new Virgin lounge using "anytime" access. (thought it would be a little wrong to head in around 9am for a 1pm flight - plus the bar opens at 11!), so walk up to the front counter and am warmly welcomed. I mentioned I'm not actually flying Virgin today, is this ok? Get a yes back, and the usual "Do you need a boarding pass, or do you already have one". Would have been funny to see if Virgin could print a Scoot boarding pass.
The lounge is well set out. Very friendly staff - in particular the bar/barista lady working. But this TR isn't about the Virgin lounge, so I'll leave it there. Was there for about an hour, fully charged my phone, had a couple of beers and browsed internet.
Depart the lovely Virgin lounge and head through security screening / outbound immigration at OOL. Bit of a mess, but apart from being barked at for not removing my laptop for the secondary baggage screen (wasn't asked to remove it) and immigration taking about 10 mins of queuing, got there in the end. The international departures area at OOL is pretty poor. There's the obligatory duty free store, a bookseller and a cafe. Found a seat in the cafe and spent my time there before the flight.
The departure lounge was very full. There are over 400 passengers on a fully loaded Scoot plane, and there were people everywhere. Eventually boarding starts, and queues snaked in every direction. Passports were checked and BPs scanned, and then we walked outside to the plane.
Scoot divides their plane into "Zones", presumably Zone 1 is Business, Zone 2 is Stretch/Super Seats, Zone 3 is about 4 rows of Stretch/Super Seats and the front of normal economy, and Zone 4 is the rest of the plane. Zone 4 were told to board from the rear stairs, zones 1-3 were told to board from front stairs. Many people were trying to take photos of the plane, but ground staff were telling them to keep moving.
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