Review of Scoot flight Singapore → Bangkok in Business

It is time for a Japan trip again, taking advantage of the long weekend and a couple of days of vacation. This time, I would be going to a less visited part of Japan, Hakodate in the most southern part of Hokkaido, as well as Tokyo again. Flights were a combination of 4 airlines (Scoot, Vanilla Air, ANA and SQ) from budget to business, with my first flights on two of the airlines. Interestingly, SQ is the parent airlines of budget carrier Scoot, while ANA is the parent of the budget arm Vanilla Air.

First 2 sectors was on Scoot to Tokyo Narita via Bangkok. For a bit more comfort, I had chosen to fly in Scootbiz for the sectors. As this was not my first time on Scootbiz, I had totally knew what to expect and prepared all the necessary amenities to make my flight a comfortable one.

Checked in at Terminal 2 less than 1.5hr before departure at the shared Scootbiz/Tigerair premium counter. In less than a month's time, Tigerair Singapore would be subsumed under the Scoot brand and go into the history books.




Plain white boarding pass issued.




Terminal 2 is not too busy in the late evening.




However our flight was being allocated a bus gate.





21 June 2017
Scoot
TZ 292
Singapore (SIN) - Bangkok Don Muang (DMK)
B787-8
9V-OFE "The Future is Yellow"
ScootBiz
Flight Time: 1H57M


Boarding was called very soon after entering the packed gate and we soon boarded the bus. Premium boarding is of no use here as everyone was packed onto the bus regardless of ScootBiz or Economy. However, this is one of the very rare times (other than propeller Firefly flights) that we got to board via a remote stand, and allowed me some photo opportunities. This would also be my first flight on the smaller B787-8 Dreamliner variant.








Welcomed by the crew and proceeded to my seat at 3A. The smaller B787-8 is only fitted with 21 ScootBiz seats, as compared to 35 seats on the B787-9.




A pre-cup water was offered, followed by the ScootBiz crew going aroud confirming our pre-ordered meals as well as drinks selection with the meal. ScootBiz pax are entitled to a drink selection, alcoholic included, from the drinks selection to go with the meal. Water is also free-of-charge on ScootBiz, but payable in Economy. Surprisingly, we were all addressed by our name on this flight by the crew serving in ScootBiz, which I had not encountered on my previous flights in ScootBiz. A tad of premium touch here! There was also a Japanese speaking crew onboard and all annoncements were in English and Japanese.




Seat pitch is a more than reasonable 38" for this mid-haul. Comparable to premium economy standards.




Basic mechannical seat controls for recline and legrest.




Aircraft parked on the remote stands.




ScootBiz was half full on this SIN-DMK sector, but fully packed in Economy at the back. Boarding was completed late due to the bussing of passengers, which delayed the flight preparations. The pilot also came on to apologise for the delay due to the allocation of the remote stand.




Inflight magazines and catalogues.




Some interesting Scoot facts!






The selection on ScooTV, the wifi-streaming IFE, was a disappointment though, with most movies being quite dated. Only the Asian selection were a bit newer.






Boarding completed, doors closed and safety demonstration was conducted. Started the short taxi to the runway.




Departed from Rwy20C more than half hour behind schedule.






Night lights of the city state.








Service started with distribution of immigration forms, followed by offering of ScooTV access codes to ScootBiz pax. ScooTV and power charging point are complimentary for ScootBiz, but again payable in Economy. Decided to watch a Korean movie using my own mobile device.




Meal was then served. We had pre-ordered the premium selection of Ayam Rendang with rice, which came with a side salad, Haagen Dazs ice-cream and a cup of water. I selected an orange juice for my drink of choice.




Foils removed.




A fresh and crispy rocket salad with dressing to start.




Chicken rendang with rice and curry vegetables. This is absolutely delicious! The dish is full of flavour, meat is tender and portion is big too. Easily one of the best inflight meals I had.




You can't go wrong with Haagen Dazs chocolate ice-cream.




Visit to the lavatory at the front of the aircraft, which only has the basic amenities but is kept clean.




View of my seat.




We were cruising at a very high 43,000ft and the pilot managed to make up some time en-route. Spent the rest of the flight using ScooTV till descent into Don Muang.




Landing on Bangkok Don Muang Rwy21R.




Parked at the gate and the Scoot crew turned on the Dreamliner signature rainbow lights during disembarkation. What a sight! These were not turned on during my previous Scoot flights. Transit pax were also required to disembark with belongings and re-clear security.