Scoot Airline Experience - Review of our flight to Gold Coast on Scoot - The Good

Gold Coast . 2012 . Aug 07-13

This is Part 2 to our previous post on Scoot. Check out our previous post if you have googled your way here.. :)

Let's have a closer look at the Scootitude on offer...In this post, we will look at the Good points about Scoot Airline.

The Low Price

Considering the long journey and flight time of around 7 to 8 hours from Singapore to Gold Coast, a return ticket of around SGD $400 (including taxes, 15 kg baggage allowance and seat selection) per traveller is pretty attractive to a budget traveller.  We had a look at the rates charged by full service airlines and found that they could easily charge double the price, even during a fare sale! Not so long ago, before the advent of budget carriers, a flight from Singapore to nearby KL on a full service airline would have cost you just as much! 

For a more valid comparison, we also checked Air Asia promotional ticket prices.  This will come up to about SGD$670 per pax with comparable such as taxes, 15kg baggage allowance and seat selection included.  There is also a lot more hassle in taking the Air Asia flight from Singapore to Gold Coast because they would have to transit for at least an hour at Kuala Lumpur first.  Other than Scoot and Air Asia, most other carriers also fly from Singapore to Brisbane and not directly to Gold Coast.

The Seat

The seating space was quite sufficient and comfortable for a long haul flight. We managed to catch a quick wink on our standard economy class seats during our overnight flight from Singapore to Gold Coast. Legroom was adequate with a seat pitch of 31" and between 18.9 and 19.7" wide.

For those who don’t mind paying more for a bit more comfort, you may want to consider their Super seats (in bright yellow) which offers 35" of legroom for a fee of SGD$30 or the S-T-R-E-T-C-H seats at a fee of SGD$99 for a seat located at the front row of each section of the economy cabin, behind the bulkhead wall or the emergency exit door, for maximum legroom. Each seat has a small footrest to make the ride a little more comfortable.

Plus point here – the armrest of the seat could be turned up for you to cozy up with your partner beside you.  The only down side of the seats is the placement of the call buttons on the inside area on the right arm rest of each passenger.  We found our reading lights accidentally switched on many times while moving around the seat.  We also found programming faults in the reading lights – the button on one seat actually activates the reading light of its neighbouring passenger!

Again, as this is a no-frills airline, blankets and back pillows are not provided for, so if you need those, do remember to bring your own, unless you wish to purchase them on-board

 

The Flight Timing

The flight will depart Singapore at 10.25pm and arrive at Gold Coast at 7.50am the next day.  For the budget conscious traveller and the working class hard-up on annual leave, this means that you can board the flight after work and begin your holiday in Gold Coast the very next morning!

You’ll also get to watch the spectacular sunrise above the Australian coastline on board.  Not a sight to be missed if you are sitting on the left hand side of the aircraft.

More Flexibility, More Choices with Fly, Fly-Bag, Fly-Bag-Eat & Scootbiz

Scoot offers four different choices for travellers with different needs. For the basic traveller who just wants to reach his destination safely and on time, he can opt for the most basic "FLY" ticket, which simply means a blue fabric aircraft seat with the usual hand-carry cabin bag of 7kg and a laptop bag / handbag for ladies.

If you are anticipating a lot of shopping or souvenirs to bring back from your trip, you might want to consider the Fly-Bag ticket which includes a check-in luggage with a limit of 15kg.  Most full-service airlines will offer a 20-kg baggage allowance, but we found that we could easily fit into the 15kg limit given by Scoot.

For those who anticipate hunger during the journey, you can choose to purchase Fly-Bag-Eat which includes a set meal on board for each one-way flight sector.  The meal would cost SGD$17 if you decide to order it on board.


Finally, for those who wants to travel in class, you can consider one of the 32 Scoot's business class seats, aptly named as Scootbiz which are at the front of the Scoot aircraft. Each leather-clad seat is 22 inches wide, with an 8 inch recline and footrest and "at least 38 inches of legroom". All seats have their own AC power socket so that you can recharge your tech devices during the eight hour flight between Singapore and Gold Coast. The Scootbiz package also comes with the set meal as well as an amenity kit (includes a fleece blanket, an eye mask and an inflatable neck pillow) which would have cost SGD$18. Also, an IPAD is also provided for your entertainment during the flight.  Another advantage of the Scootbiz – you get a dedicated check-in counter with no queue at all.

Tip: For those undecided, you might want to book a FLY seat as you can easily add the frills before your flight or while you are on board. After completing your purchases, you can revisit your booking through Scoot's manage your booking website and choose the add-ons to your flight booking.

You can also pre-order your meals at a slightly discounted price of SGD $16 (It costs SGD$17 if ordered on board) for a set meal with a main course (chicken briyani, beef lagsana, soya sauce chicken, creamy chicken stew, mushroom lasagne) with a cold drink of your choice and a refreshing fruit cup. A sandwich set will cost SGD$13.

There is no in-flight entertainment provided unless you are flying Scootbiz.  However, you can choose to pay SGD $22 ($20 if ordered online) to rent an iPad preloaded with movies and games for the entire duration of the journey.

Smooth Flight

The aircraft that Scoot uses are actually refurbished aircrafts from its parent company, Singapore Airlines.  Overall, the journey was smooth and safe.  Landing and take-off was also smooth.

As Scoot is still a new airline, there remains many operational details that would still need to be ironed out and most of their flight attendants are probably still inexperienced. In this following post, we will share our thoughts on what we think Scoot can still improve on our next post.. do check it out!
 

Check out our in depth review of Scoot Airlines below!

• Scoota outta here to Gold Coast
• Scoot Airline Review - The "Work in Progress"

Read these articles about our Gold Coast / Brisbane Trip too!

• Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Brisbane
• Mirimar Brisbane River Cruise
• Sea World Gold Coast - Its Show Time!
• Sea World Gold Coast – An Amazing Day of Fun with Marine Animals
• Skypoint Observation Deck Gold Coast Surfers Paradise
• Surfers Paradise Beachfront Night Market

Check out the Hotel we stayed

• Hotel Review – Vibe Hotel Gold Coast

Check out the good eats!

• Hazel Tea Shop - Bubble Tea Heaven
• Sushi Avenue
• The Coffee Club
• Yum Cha Noodle Haus

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