Asia-Pacific airlines are performing excellently this year, and collectively, they are around 36% ahead of international traffic compared to the same time last year. Between January and August, the region’s airlines carried 240 million passengers, and with the busy end-of-year and Lunar New Year festivities approaching, they will finish the year on a high.
Scoot is set to cap off an excellent 2024
Last week, Scoot, the low-cost carrier of the Singapore Airlines Group, announced adjustments to its network to take advantage of the peak northern winter season. Scoot is scheduling more flights on long-haul routes to Australia and short and medium-haul services to Taipei, Tokyo and Hanoi.
Photo: Scoot
The adjustments occur between October and December, and the only downward shift is the suspension of flights between Singapore and Ningbo Lishe International Airport (NGB), with the last flight operating on October 26, 2024. The changes start on October 27 from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) to Balikpapan (Indonesia) and Chiang Mai (Thailand).
Where and when are the changes happening?
From November 2024, Scoot is adding extra weekly flights to Chiang Mai and Hanoi Noi Bai International (HAN), the capital city airport of Vietnam. The service to the northern Thailand destination of Chiang Mai will increase from 10 to 11 weekly, while the flights to Hanoi will operate six times weekly (every day except Tuesday), up from the five it currently operates.
Photo: DLeng | Shutterstock
Australia is a significant destination for Scoot and Singapore Airlines, and with the Australian summer fast approaching, Scoot is gearing up with additional flights to meet the expected high demand. From December, Scoot will increase services to Perth Airport (PER) from 13 to 14 times weekly and from 12 to 13 weekly on the Melbourne Airport (MEL) route, with the latter going to twice daily from January 2025.
Three more weekly flights will be added to South Korea’s Seoul Incheon International (ICN) via Taipei, making it a daily service to both ports. Scoot also operates to Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT) via Taipei Taoyuan International (TPE), and that route will also increase from 12 to 14 times weekly.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock.
Scoot Chief Commercial Officer Calvin Chan said the airline is happy to announce more flights to popular destinations such as Australia, Japan and South Korea in the Northern Winter season to cater to higher demand, especially during the holidays and festive season.
“We will continue to seek new opportunities, remain nimble in our aircraft deployment to match demand and provide our customers with greater convenience and enjoyable travel journeys with Scoot.”
Southeast Asia and the new Embraer E190-E2 changes
Southeast Asia is a significant part of Scoot’s success and the perfect region to deploy the fleet of new Embraer E190-E2 regional jets. The low-cost carrier is increasing flights to destinations operated with the E190-E2, including Davao, which will increase from seven to nine times weekly, and Balikpapan and Makassar (Indonesia), which will both increase to four from three times weekly.
Photo: Embraer
In September, Scoot commenced daily services from Singapore to Malaysia’s Subang Airport, the former international gateway to Malaysia and now more grandly known as the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB). It also launched flights to Kertajati (Greater Bandung) in Indonesia on September 28 and will commence to Malacca in Malaysia on October 26, 2024.
As is always the case with new services, Scoot added that these changes are subject to government and regulatory approvals.