Review of Scoot flight Singapore → Sydney in Premium Eco

intro

Welcome to another trip report. Flying on premium cabins offered by budget airlines has always been an interesting proposition in my opinion. In essence, budget airlines are trying to attract passengers who are willing to splurge a little on seat comfort. So today, we will find out whether flying ScootPlus is worth the upgrade. To summarize quickly, the flight was rather disappointing. 

at the airport

I arrived at the airport about 3 hours ahead of the scheduled departure. Scoot operate flights out of Singapore Changi Terminal 1. The first obvious benefit of flying ScootPlus at the airport is the access of priority check in lane. For this fully loaded overnight flight, the priority check allowed me to skip the long queue that would otherwise have been economy class. ScootPlus passengers also get 30 kg of checked in luggage allowance. However, no lounge access or priority luggage was given. I was flying a budget airline after all, so my expectations was capped. 

Passport control in Changi Airport was efficient so no complaints. After some plane spotting , I was soon at gate C24. Do note that ScootPlus does not offer express security path in any airport.

Boarding

Aircraft Fact Sheet
 Type: B787-9
 Reg: 9V-OJC
 Name: Inspiring Spirit
 Built: Apr 2015
 Engines: 2X RR trent 1000 

The aircraft of this flight is an 8 year old 787-9 in a very dense configuration of 375 seats. As this flight was nearly full, the boarding gate was crowded Security line was long and boarding was unfortunately chaotic. Priority boarding was supposed to be granted, but never enforced. This was particularly annoying as apart from ScootPlus passengers, there were many parents with little kids and passengers in need of physical assistance. This made the aforementioned 2 groups of people very difficult in the boarding process and another 20 minutes of delay in departure.

cabin

ScootPlus on the 787 is arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration for a total of 35 seats. Each seat is 22 inch wide and 38 inch pitched according to SeatGuru. In essence, it is a Premium Economy seat. Decently well padded and plenty of legroom’s.  

You also get the typical airy vibes of the 787's high ceiling and mood-lighting. I generally quite like it.

Recline was not the most generous, but certainly a lot better than what we find at the back of the plane. Headrest was adjustable and calf rest also formed part of the seats. A small cocktail table was also available at the armrest. Above the seat, only reading light was available. No adjustable air vents, but the cabin was kept constantly cool.

The bad news comes. Upon a simple glance at the seat, I noticed many scratches and cuts on the seat. I understand that this is a budget flight and I do not expect much services. However, a cabin with such an obvious sign of wear and tear really does not create a good impression. In fact, my seatmate’s seat has a visible cut that was only hastily taped. Further infuriating me was how dirty the cabin was. I acknowledge the pressure of turning around an aircraft for any budget airlines. However, I’ve had sufficient flights to prove that budget airlines can have pristinely clean cabin. The stains, dust and crumble in the nooks and crannies are simply unacceptable from a passenger POV. I hope that this is a one-off event.

f&b and services

ScootPlus passengers are entitled hot meals that could be preselected on the internet on booking. Online booking also reveals more main course option than what otherwise would have been displayed on the inflight menu. Each meal comes with a drink and an ice cream from Uders. For a mid-haul overnight flight, passengers are offered meals after take off or 2 hours before landing. I and many passengers opted for the latter. 

I was served a beef hor fun and a cup of green tea. It was, well, interesting in taste. I was fine afterwards so I will give it a pass. Not that I was expecting any gourmet food with what Scoot is advertising. Portion, however , was on the smaller side. For passengers wishing to have more servings, a hot meal will set you back about S$12. 

Service was generally ok, flight crews are polite yet not overly intrusive. I must praise them for keeping the toilet clean through out the flight (probably cleaner than the cabin). However, an odd service flow I noticed was flight attendants need to serve all 35 ScootPlus passengers by taking individual meals out of the galley. This means that meal service was prolonged. I wish they could have used the more conventional trolley system to improve their service flow. Or maybe there are any particular reasons to conduct service in such manner? Can let me know in the comments.

Amenities

Scoot, being a budget airline kept things to the bare bone. There was no IFE screens, however games and flight maps could be accessed through a QR code dotted around the cabin. Otherwise, I suggest people to bring your own content. ScootPlus passengers gets access to 30MB of wifi data. Otherwise, extra purchase is needed. 

From my experience, wifi speed was mostly usable for text messaging. Furthermore, ScootPlus passengers gets access to charging ports for free. This irked me a bit as charging ports are greatly important nowadays, and such restrictions to the economy class passengers left me speechless. Not that the 787 cannot provide electric power for some passengers at the risk of losing engine thrust. 

For the overnight flight, packing light meant that I resorted to purchase sleeping kit for S$18. It came with blanket, eye mask and inflatable pillow. It’s economy class quality but it did the job. I had a restful sleep of 4 hours with the purchased kit. However, always bring your own if you have better kit in your disposal.

Value Proposition

So…what is my verdict on this “Splurge”. Personally, the purchase of ScootPlus, or any budget airline’s premium cabin make huge sense for overnight flights like this, where a restful sleep is needed. This is under the condition that access this type of fare is by only paying a small premium compare to regular legacy airline’s economy class. In my case, a typical legacy carrier economy class when booking 4 months in advance was anywhere between S$1200 (transit) ~ S$2000 (direct), an area where Qantas, British Airways, SQ, Malaysian Airlines and Vietnam Airlines offered. My purchase of this direct overnight flight cost me around S$1700, which puts it below some economy class price of legacy carriers that offer direct services. A value which on paper was a good deal to me. 

What I do not recommend is flying such cabin on a daytime flight. Without sleeping, boredom really besets many passengers. In this case, is best to stick with regular economy class to save some cash. In the end, such cabin offering always has major compromises. 

conclusion

Will I recommend ScootPlus again? It’s difficult for me to say. Rivals like Jetstar offered similar seats, but with more amenities. Air Asia X offered similar services but with a proper business class for longer flights. Such a cabin, like mainstream premium economy class, is always trying to strike a balance for those unwilling to spend big bucks or First/Business class, but needs that extra comfort that airline has been trying to gauge. Therefore, I will leave the verdict to the readers.