Singaporean low-cost carrier Scoot flies from Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast to Singapore. With Business Class fares that are often comparable to Economy prices on Qantas or Singapore Airlines, Scoot offers a great value alternative.
AFF member OZDUCK recently flew ScootBiz on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Perth to Singapore. This member was pleasantly surprised with the experience, especially given the ticket cost just $320.
Considering we only paid around $320 each for a 1 way trip I thought we got good value for money. We enjoyed the trip much more than our recent ones in SQ or MH Y. The legroom and not so squeezy seats made all the difference.
There are 3 rows of ScootBiz seats on Scoot’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, and 5 rows on the larger Boeing 787-9. The leather recliner seats are similar to Premium Economy seats on legacy airlines. Laid out in a 2-3-2 configuration, the seats offer more legroom and width.
The seats are PE style with plenty of legroom and wide enough for large (fat) people like me. According to SeatGuru they are the same width 22” as QF J seats on the B737-800 but have 1” extra pitch – 38” instead of 37” There seemed to be plenty of padding and they were fine except for the headrest which was too low for me – but I have found this on a number of airlines so it was nothing unusual. We were in 1H & K.
In-flight entertainment is offered in the form of streaming to your own device. In-seat power is also available so you can charge your electronic devices on board.
There was on-board streaming of Movies and TV – free for ScootBiz pax . It was adequate for our under 5 hour trip – and worked fairly well on my Samsung Tablet.
ScootBiz does not include the full suite of Business class inclusions you would expect on a full-service airline. But you do get 30kg of included baggage allowance, priority check-in and priority boarding. The ScootBiz fare also includes one hot meal.
The included meal was, for me, a Singapore Chicken Rice, which was perfectly acceptable. It was about the size and standard of a hawker meal. The rice was fine, the boneless chicken pieces tender and the sauce spicy. It came with a small potato salad with 1 cherry tomato and a small bit of sliced table ham. There was a large choc chip cookie as well. You received an alcoholic drink or otherwise with your meal – your choice.
For some reason, flying ScootBiz only entitles you to one free drink. Additional alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are available for purchase, except for water which is offered free of charge.
There are a few shortcomings in the ScootBiz service. But for the price, it’s very good value for money. If you’re planning a trip to Singapore – or even to Berlin or Athens – ScootBiz could be worth considering as a budget alternative to Premium Economy or Business Class on other airlines.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: ScootBiz better than expected
