Scoot swoops in on Chennai, Amritsar, Jaipur

Singapore Airlines' 4th brand to fly to the country

Singapore Airlines' no-frills brand Scoot on Friday announced the launch of its service from Singapore to  Chennai, Amritsar, and Jaipur.

Scoot, which began operations in 2012, becomes Singapore Airlines' fourth brand to operate flights to India. While flights to Chennai and Amritsar will begin from May 24, the flight to Jaipur will commence from October 2. The airline will have daily flights to Chennai and four weekly flights to Jaipur and Amritsar.

The airline is offering limited one-way economy class seats to Singapore and Sydney at a promotional all-inclusive fare of Rs 4,255 and Rs 12,567, respectively, from all the three cities. Business-class fares to Singapore and Sydney are Rs 11,902 and Rs 30,520, respectively. The discounted tickets are available for sale till next Thursday.

LOOK, NEW BIRD CIRCLING INDIA

• First airline
  To fly all-Boeing-787 fleet
   
• 10 Boeing 787
  Aircraft it has, and has another 10 on order
   
• 6 million passengers
  Scoot has flown till now since its launch in 2012
   
• 17 destinations
  It flies to in Australia, China, Japan, and  Korea.
   
• New destinations
  Include Jeddah and three Indian cities
   
• Carrier
  Will be the second low-cost airline after AirAsia X to operate wide-body aircraft to India. AirAsia X flies between Kuala Lumpur and Delhi

At present, Singapore Airlines and its two other brands — SilkAir and Tigerair — fly to India. Scoot's entry is resulting in some capacity adjustments and Scoot is taking over Tigerair's flight between Singapore and Chennai. The addition of flights to Amritsar and Jaipur  takes the number of destinations served by the Singapore Airlines group’s carriers to 15. This makes Singapore Airlines group the largest among foreign airlines in India on the basis of destinations.

Scoot flies wide-body Boeing 787 planes with 335 seats and will be the second low-cost airline after AirAsia X to operate wide-body aircraft to India. Scoot offers business-class seating but charges economy-class passengers for meals and luggage.

Scoot’s CEO (chief executive officer), Campbell Wilson, said the airline brings its proposition of value travel and service to customers in India who will be able to connect to destinations via Singapore hub and experience  brand-new 787 Dreamliners featuring inflight connectivity, in-seat power, and a wide range of customisation options.

Scoot’s country head, Bharath Mahadevan, said, "We are looking at leisure, Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR), and corporate traffic from India. We expect 50-80 per cent of passengers from India to fly onwards on our network in Southeast Asia and Australia. The Singapore Airlines group’s carriers operate to cities such as Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, and Trichy (also called Tiruchirapalli) and we will continue to grow our presence in Tier-II markets. Also, we will tap cargo demand and can carry 10-12 tonnes daily on each of our flight."

Jaipur is a new destination for the Singapore Airlines group and Scoot hopes the flight will attract foreign tourists visiting the city. Singapore Airlines flew to Amritsar for four years till 2008 but withdrew as it felt there was less demand for a full-service airline on the route.

Both Amritsar and Jaipur  are not linked to Singapore by any carrier at present.

Malaysian airline Malindo Air flies thrice weekly between Kuala Lumpur and Amritsar and currently that is the only direct flight to Southeast Asia from Amritsar.

Mahadevan said Scoot passengers from Jaipur and Amritsar would be able to connect onwards from Singapore on all four airlines — Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Scoot, and Tiger.  

However,  Scoot passengers from Chennai will be able travel onward over Singapore only on Scoot and Tigerair network, he said. This is being done to ensure that Scoot does not eat into Singapore Airlines's business in Chennai market.