Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Scoot Airlines, the low-cost carrier of the Singapore Airlines Group, just arrived in its first direct flight service from Singapore to Jeddah on Sunday. The long flight to Jeddah, the main gateway to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, will prove to be far more convenient for pilgrims than before, according to Scoot's CEO Campbell Wilson. "Flights typically go through transit points but the direct flight from Singapore to Jeddah will save four hours of travel and are 30-40% less costly," he said in an interview with Saudi Gazette. There are around 800,000 Muslims in Singapore. In addition to the Haj pilgrims, there's a large Umrah movement coming from Southeast Asian countries with Muslim populations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Scoot will offer travelers from smaller cities going via Singapore to travel directly to Jeddah. "For us, it's more the smaller cities that are connected to Singapore that will come to us instead of traveling directly from bigger cities like Manila and Jakarta." Introduced four years ago, Scoot is a low-cost carrier model operating in Asia and Australia. When asked about what the Middle East market means for the airline, Wilson said growth in expanding the network into a new geographic region, expansion of the market profile to include the pilgrimage traffic, and expansion of the sales network to Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. "Additionally, it's a fast-growing region that has a huge focus on tourism." The new aircraft of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has more capacity and additional comfort, offering improved humidity and cabin pressurization for less fatigue and jetlag as well as a spacious legroom for the long-haul flights. Scoot also has unique options to choose from, such as a quiet cabin zone, streaming movies on personal devices, and halal-certified meals, among others. Wilson further said "from a business perspective, they are very much more fuel-efficient. When we can save 20% in fuel consumption, it's a big impact." With the advent of more frequent and cheaper travel in the world, he said this is an opportunity to gain more flyers. "In the low-cost carrier business, we stimulate travel that wouldn't have otherwise happened. People will find a reason to travel because it's so much cheaper. In the past, people planned six months ahead to travel. Now people plan on Tuesday where to go on Friday!" Scoot, slang for "get outta here quickly", prides itself in its bright and cheerful yellow brand identity. Travelers can expect a vibrant and casual atmosphere so they feel they're on vacation the moment they get on board. Wilson further said "our onboard philosophy is catered to the young or the young at heart. We try to encourage our crew not to be so formal because we are targeting younger folk and cost-conscious people traveling to vacations and leisure." He added, "It's a different brand underpinned with the same DNA of safety, security, and reliability." Scoot, as part of the Singapore Airlines Group, collectively covers nearly 200 destinations. Scoot's network covers Asia and is planning to expand with the recent announcement of commencing services to Chennai and Amritsar in India on May 24, Sapporo in Japan on Oct.1, and Jaipur in India on Oct. 2 of this year.
