Scoot Review - Singapore to Koh Samui - Embraer E190 E2
- Sam
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Whilst Helena gets to do the glam review of reviewing British Airways First Class, I am left to do the Scoot review on this Embraer E190-E2… I jest, as a new aircraft type for myself, I’m more than happy to write this.
Who are Scoot?
For those who don’t know, Scoot is the low cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. I have flown Scoot before onboard their A320, and whilst being onboard Scoot is the definition of a low cost airline, with minimal legroom, drab interiors, and constant selling of their ancillary products, I find the service from the staff, and efficiency of the Scoot operation to be on par with what you would expect of Singapore Airlines. So whilst it would be good to temper your expectations, this is a low cost experience with a smile.
Booking
This flight was bought as a one way fare, costing SGD 496.17 (£288.25) for the both of us in Economy. As Scoot is part of Singapore Airlines, you are able to earn and spend KrisFlyer miles, the currency of Singapore Airlines. KrisFlyer miles expire three years after you had earned them, so with this ticking time bomb, I decided to redeem the 10,000 or so I held in my account. Whilst maybe not the best use of these miles, any value is better than no value if they’d expired. This brought the cost of the flight down to SGD 393.17 (£228.41), including a 20kg checked bag each, and our choice of seat.
This flight was a 7am departure from Singapore, no problem for our jetlagged selves whose bodies had no idea what time of day it was. We were staying at the Crowne Plaza in the airport, so it was a quick three minute train ride from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1. This is not the train that goes through the Jewel, that would be the airside train between Terminal 2 and 3. Here is a snippet of that experience on our Instagram.
Check in was efficient, utilising a self-serve kiosk where you scan your passport to retrieve your booking, print your boarding pass, and dispense your baggage tags. At Singapore Airport, security is done individually at the gate, as opposed to after check in. This makes for a less stressful transition to airside, having to only proceed through a boarding pass check. But this does mean that you are unable to bring any liquids onto the plane over 100ml and that have not been sealed in a special duty free bag. So that coffee you’ve bought and are planning on taking on the plane, better neck that before the gate.
Disappointing Lounge Experience
Scoot doesn’t operate a Business Class cabin, so we were unable to utilise the fantastic SilverKris lounges, but I hold a Dragonpass card so we planned to go and use the Plaza Premium lounge in T1, which is towards the C gates. What we found was the least glamorous example of what an airport lounge offers. Dirty, lacking food, cramped, people strewn out sleeping on the floor, hot, and busy. I didn’t take any pictures whilst being in here as with the amount of people sleeping, it would not have been fair on them. It may not be fair to judge a lounge at 5:30am, but this was my honest experience, and I will instead want to visit the Sata Lounge next time I visit Singapore. We escaped and went to the food court on the upper floor in T1.
Boarding
We arrived at the gate at 6:30am, as boarding was already commencing. This particular gate was a bus gate, a relative rarity at Changi. Usually an uncomfortable experience in Europe, at Changi this is nothing to worry about. Coming down from the security area you are deposited into what I would describe as a nice hotel lobby, a far-cry from the usual experience of a hospital corridor in European airports.
As it was just starting to get light outside, the bus journey offered great views of various aircraft on the tarmac. After a rather circuitous journey, we arrived at our aircraft, named “Small Yella Fella”!
Onboard Experience
Boarding was quick, with most passengers already boarded by this point. We settled ourselves into our seats, 2A and 2B. These are towards the front of the cabin, but offer no extra legroom or any other benefits.
This seat is the definition of basic, with not even a headrest. The windows on this Embraer 190 E2 are a great size, bigger than you would find on a Boeing 737. I always enjoy flying on an Embraer E-Jet, the 2x2 seating layout always makes for a much more comfortable experience with everyone getting either a window or aisle seat.
Excuse the legs, but this is just representative of the legroom I had on board as someone of 6ft2.
The seat pitch is a decidedly average 29 inches. Fine for Helena at 5ft2, but for me it's just about okay, provided the person in front doesn’t recline their seat. The recline on these seats though is impressive, being able to recline by four inches, a level completely inconsiderate to the person behind you. Having the ability to recline is a rarity on a low cost airline, usually only available on old aircraft with an outdated interior.
The tray table onboard is a good size, sliding forward and back, with Helena able to work on her Macbook Air with ease during the flight.
In good news for all passengers, Scoot’s E190 E2’s are equipped with individual air vents. Considering the part of the world that these aircraft fly you’d expect that this would be standard, but never take an air vent for granted.
We pushed back right on time, with a ten minute taxi to the runway. I do like to listen to the safety demonstrations, out of respect for the crew doing their jobs. This was a fairly standard example, bar a couple of points that I’ve not encountered on any other flight. Firstly, you were not allowed to use a power bank at all during the flight. Lithium ion battery fires are rare, but if one does catch alight, they are extremely difficult to put out. Maybe Scoot are ahead of the curve on this issue? But with no at seat charging options in the form of a universal outlet, or USB plugs, this does come across very restrictively. Secondly, headphones were not to be used during take off and landing, and this was enforced. With that, we were in the air at 7:18am. Departing out of Singapore is always a great experience, with lots to see out of the window, on the ground, and in the air.
Food and drink service started at 7:30am, with us being served straight away at the front of the cabin. Interestingly, this service was done individually, without a cart. I ordered a black coffee, for a not unreasonable SGD 5. Here is a look at the menu.
This was served excruciatingly hot, taking most of the flight to cool down.
The seatbelt sign was on for an excessive amount of time during this flight. This was due to expected turbulence along our route, but bar a couple of small bumps, this was a smooth flight. I understand that the Singapore Airlines group have been very cautious with turbulence since the severe turbulence incident last year, but this was overly restrictive. If you factor in this flight was 1hr30 in length, including departure and our approach into Koh Samui, the seatbelt sign was on for 1hr10.
This flight was sparse in terms of onboard entertainment, but there was WiFi, of sorts. The onboard WiFi was only able to access a series of options stored locally on the plane.
One feature I always enjoy on a flight is using the moving map, which is a feature of this system. I was struggling to use it though, as when I swiped down my screen, either to move where I was on the map, or to change the angle, it would always refresh my screen, taking me back to the opening menu.
We landed into Koh Samui at 7:41am Bangkok time, one hour behind Singapore. Koh Samui airport is a world away from Changi. I'll cover Koh Samui airport in more detail in the review back to Singapore on Bangkok Airways, but every stand at Koh Samui is a remote stand away from the terminal, but instead of buses to take you to the terminal, they use trolley buses! Similar to what you'd find on Disney Main Street!
To Conclude
Would I fly Scoot again? Absolutely! Granted, I haven’t flown on their long haul Boeing 787 Dreamliners, but for a short haul route I’d definitely not avoid them. Yes the legroom is rubbish, but the crew are friendly, and the operation is slick. If I was on a connecting Singapore Airlines itinerary, then flying a Singapore aircraft would always be my number one choice, but Scoot is a very effective partner in this arrangement.
Sam
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