Poor Scoot airlines in the news due to a flight from the Gold Coast to Singapore having to be diverted back to Australia after a drunk guy got into a brawl. Video at the link.
I feel a bit sorry for airlines that get this far from good publicity when it is not their fault.
Scoot is the budget airline owned by Singapore Airlines, and my family and I caught it from the Gold Coast to Singapore and back in December. (I've been a bit slow to do my usual "this was my holiday" post.) Other cheap airlines fly out of the Gold Coast to Asia, including Jet Star and Air Asia. I would never fly Air Asia, given its dubious safety record. But I trust everything Singaporean, so I had no problem using Scoot.
As with other budget airlines, as long as you go into the experience expecting very basic service, and quite possibly delays, you'll be fine. It's like I used to say about Tiger Airlines - think of it as a Greyhound bus that just happens to travel in the air instead of on the ground. I suppose it's a little bit like the Soup Nazi episode on Seinfeld, too - you want their product because it's great value: you have to strictly follow their rules.
Scoot uses Boeing 787's on the route, so the aircraft itself is pretty new. The only thing is, at least the models used by budget airlines, is that I think they have really small and basic toilets. I used to prefer toilets in 747s to what you get now.
Scoot does nothing by way of in flight entertainment. Nothing at all. All food must be paid for, and apparently if they notice someone eating food they brought on the aircraft, they'll tell them "no". (I didn't see anyone try it - just I read that on a review online.) I think everyone brings on a water bottle of their own to keep them going. It is not as if the attendants are going to be offering it to you if you forgot.
The light lunch I had was fine, but did cost $15. Someone sitting beside me had one of the pre-ordered hot meals, but gee, it looked very, very basic. I know not to bother doing that if I fly them again.
The attendants were all good looking Asians - all women on the return flight, but a couple of very gay sounding males on the flight over. I cannot imagine any of them being able to physically handle a violent passenger, but I suppose that goes for all flight attendants no matter the cost of the airline.
My wife was apparently told she couldn't sit at a vacant row on the way back, but I missed that. She didn't think the service was nice enough. I thought they did look a bit harassed and disorganised with the meal service. But really, I get the feeling that flight attendants on all budget airlines are likely working under pay and conditions which probably does leave them perpetually dissatisfied. Again, I factor this into my low expectations on budget airlines.
So, overall, how did I find it?
It was fine. My low expectations were met - the flight over was delayed a couple of hours; I was only notified by text message and felt an email probably would have been a good idea too; we had to be bussed from the plane to the terminal in Singapore; my wife's seat would not recline on the flight back; a couple of bogan-ish Australians (in their 30's by the looks, so they should have known better) kept reclining their seats in front of me on the daytime flight over.
But it was fine! The return cost, at a peak season, was about $800 per person, two of us with 20 kg baggage. I now get email offers of much cheaper off season fares - it looks like I could a return trip in April for about $430.
I would fly them again, even though my wife dissents. Maybe I need to take a break by myself...
No comments:
Post a Comment