This was published 1 year ago
Airline review: Scoot, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, ScootPlus class, Singapore to Melbourne
By Craig Platt
The ScootPlus cabin.
THE FLIGHT
Scoot flight TR24, from Singapore to Melbourne on board a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in ScootPlus, the airline's premium seat offering, seat 1H (aisle). The flight time is six hours, 50 minutes (35 minutes faster than scheduled). Scoot flies this route daily.
THE LOYALTY SCHEME
Scoot is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and members of Singapore's program, Krisflyer, can earn and spend points on Scoot.
CARBON EMISSIONS
0.75 tonnes for this class and route. Scoot offers a carbon offsetting program and has committed to reducing emissions and waste (plastic cutlery, for example, has been replaced by bamboo).
CHECKING IN
ScootPlus passengers get their own dedicated check-in desks, so the check-in process is a breeze, leaving me with plenty of time to relax at Changi Airport. However, despite it being listed as a benefit, there is no priority boarding for ScootPlus passengers at the gate and I'm forced to join the huddled masses.
THE SEAT
ScootPlus offers larger seats than economy class, with 38 inches (96 centimetres) of pitch and a width of 22 inches (56 centimetres). This compares with a squeezy 31 inches of pitch and 19 inches of width in regular economy. The ScootPlus cabin features 35 seats in a 2-3-2 layout. There's a decent recline though as I'm sitting in the front row I can't quite fully extend my (albeit long) legs due to the bulkhead. The armrests are showing some signs of wear and tear.
BAGGAGE
ScootPlus passengers can take up to 30 kilograms of checked luggage and two carry-on bags up to a total weight of 15 kilograms (making a carry-on only trip easy).
ENTERTAINMENT
None, so load up your device before you fly. There's power in the seat to keep it charged. ScootPlus passengers get 30 megabytes of Wi-Fi included - not enough for streaming, but adequate for checking emails or a bit of browsing. Scoot says a customer survey in 2018 showed passengers would prefer Wi-Fi to inflight entertainment screens. I continuously get an error message saying that there is no internet connectivity available until about halfway through the flight when I work out that the error page is in my cache and I'm able to log in by opening a private tab in my browser.
SERVICE
Despite having Singapore Airlines as its parent company, the influence of that airline's famous service is not apparent on this flight. After the meal service the crew is largely absent, with no further offers of water or anything else for the rest of the daytime flight.
FOOD
One meal is included and I've pre-ordered the laksa, which I'm quite pleased with as my neighbours tuck into a far less appetising pasta and chicken dish. The laksa, served in a small noodle box, is delicious if a little bit messy to eat. The bamboo spoon is quite flat making it difficult to scoop up the excellent sauce.
ONE MORE THING
ScootBiz was renamed ScootPlus in 2019. Why the name change? According to the airline it was to better meet customer expectations, who viewed the class as closer to a premium economy rather than a business class experience. Fair enough.
THE VERDICT
Apart from the larger seat, there's not much in ScootPlus that puts it above regular economy seat. Of course, that extra legroom is what you're really paying for.
OUR RATING OUT OF FIVE
★★★
The writer flew as a guest of TravMedia.
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See also: Airline review: Singapore's A380 is still one of the best long-haul economy experiences
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