Airline News
Scoot eyes Europe, AirAsia demands compensation
August 10th 2015
Singapore-based long-haul budget carrier, Scoot, is studying potential destinations in Europe and the Middle East as part of its network expansion, its chief, Campbell Wilson, has told Singapore’s TODAY newspaper. Wilson said several destinations were under scrutiny, but their launch would not be rushed given the “abundant opportunities” within the Asia-Pacific. Read More » “The West is definitely on our cards," he said. "We are exploring some options. We haven’t finalised our decision on an announcement, but it is not too far away. Our aircraft can fly non-stop to London," Wilson said.
In July, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) protégé said it would double its seat capacity within the year as more B787s joined its fleet and additional cabin and cockpit staff came onto its payroll. It is looking to add seven destinations in the coming months, including five in China. Scoot last week announced it would take over the four times a -week Singapore-Hangzhou route from full-service carrier, SilkAir, from October 25 and increase frequency to five times a week from December 1. SilkAir said the decision was made because yields across the region are under pressure. It was an effort to “better optimize the utilization of the SIA Group’s resources and present a better match of capacity to demand”.
Wilson said the replacement of its former SIA B777 fleet with B787s has made a significant difference to the carrier’s balance sheet. “The single biggest benefit of converting to a 787 fleet is that these planes are about 20% more fuel efficient,” he said. Scoot’s former B777s were passed down the line to Thai sister company, NokScoot, itself a long-haul budget carrier, based at Bangkok’s Don Mueang. Scoot received its first B787-8 variant in late July, joining its five -9 variants already in service. It has an additional nine -8s and five -9s on order.
At competitor, Malaysia’s AirAsia Group low-cost carrier consortium, including AirAsia X and its Thai and Indonesian affiliates, has sent a letter to Malaysia Airports seeking RM409 million ($107.1 million) in losses and damages incurred from operating from Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 (KLIA2). Problems with ground stability have caused subsidence and water ponding in some parts of the pavement near the terminal and repair work had disrupted operations, AirAsia alleged. It has blamed the uneven surface for aircraft damage. KLIA2 opened in May 2014.
