While I always look forward to flying, I can say that being crammed into a Scoot flight for 12 hours is something that I wish to experience. I fly almost everything, from First Class to budget airlines, except for private jets. Of course, I would wish that each and every single one of my flights would be in First or Business class but that is simply out of my reach. I have done budget airlines many times, they are a cheap and fuss-free way of getting around. The furthest that I have done was perhaps a 4.5 hour flight to Taiwan. This will be the furthest that I have ever flown. Let me cover my experience flying Scoot for 12 hours! I will not be sharing my return flight back from Athens as they are more or less the same. There isn’t much to share on a budget flight except meals. All you want is to arrive as early as possible and get off the plane. Let’s hope that I don’t regret this.
Booking Process
I chance upon the error fare on an OTA BravoFly and it was also searchable through Google Flights. It was dodgy as heck and my credit card was even declined several times before I managed to issue it using my UOB one. I paid 202 SGD each for a round-trip ticket on Scoot to Athens. This even includes baggage and a hot meal. That is essentially their FlyBagEat package. What a deal it was. I went for it to give it a try and have a weekend getaway to Athens. That is cheaper than a ticket to Bangkok or Bali. I didn’t know about my plans then and only booked a short 4 days trip. Yea, I am flying 24 hours for a weekend trip. I regretted big time for not booking something longer and as with error fares, you can’t make changes without a hefty top-up.
Checking In
I arrive at Changi Airport Terminal 1 at around 10pm to check in for my flight. Scoot operates out of T1 as with many other low-cost carriers. I wanted to hop by the lounge to grab a heavy dinner before my flight. Check-in was a mess and I do not know what is the hold up at all. Scoot staff are just great at wasting time. You have to first queue up for a check of where you are flying to and a sight of your passport. They also did not tag my KF number correctly. I always feel that the contract staff that scoot hires are lacklustre with no hint of urgency at all.
Boarding Process
Boarding started at around 2am when we are supposed to be departing at 2.30am. They literally use the worst gate in the terminal in terms of distance. Gate D49 is all the way at the end of the terminal. Do prepare to walk fast and cater additional time. In terms of decor, the gate was gorgeous, one of the nicest that I have seen at Changi Airport. I went slightly earlier since I had to fill up water bottles. Budget yo! It is so funny! You will only see this sight very obviously when flying on budget. Tons of cabin bags, people dressed in PJs or tights, queues to fill up water bottles and travel pillows on their necks.
There was a long line for security given how full the flight is. I was welcomed at the door and shown in. It’s surely a delight to have Board Me First which I had on account of my KF Gold Status. It is especially crucial to board first when flying on budget to get your preferred overhead compartments. It is clear to say that the boarding time catered is way too ambitious for a full wide-body aircraft. We finally started taxing and push back at around 2.40am. We took off at around 2.50am, 20 mins behind schedule.
Scoot 787 Economy Class
For a budget airline, Scoot operates the 787 widebodies which they use to fly on the more “premium” and long-distance routes. They are operated in two configurations, ScootPlus and Economy. ScootPlus which is what they called their business class offers recliner seats, something like those that you will find on First Class on US Airlines. Scoot states that their economy seats boost 18-inch seat width and 31-inch seat pitch. There is another section between ScootPlus and Economy which is advertised as Scoot Silence which is meant to be a quieter cabin. I felt like that is a waste of money as people still talk there and kids crying can be heard too. I was assigned a seat there on my way back and there were kids assigned there too. Never pay for it! I shall see how comfy they are. Economy Class comes in a 3-3-3 configuration. For comparison purposes, SQ economy class features 32-inch seat pitch. Let’s see if that makes a difference.
The aircraft looks really sleek and I managed to get some great pictures since I boarded first. I somehow got the worst seat possible which is the middle seat of the middle aisle. They have overhead compartments in the centre as well as on both sides to maximise storage. What I wish to see are air nozzles given how planes are kept rather warm when on the ground. Furthermore with a full cabin.
The leg space was good. I am huge but still have space to stretch under the seat in front of me and my keen wasn’t against the seat in front of me. It is similar to any economy seats that I flew before including SQ. The recline was decent too. I didn’t like that they had the controls for the lights and the crew bell right on top of the armrest. This makes it easy to accidentally bump into them.
Do prepare your power banks as seat power are chargeable. You won’t want to run out of juice on a flight with no inflight entertainment. I download a couple of shows on my phone to make time pass faster on the 12 hours flight. What is the main difference between flying a budget airline and a full-fledged airline? How does a premium airline like SQ makes things easier? I felt like it is the meal service and inflight entertainment. Amenities like Wi-Fi and unlimited snacks & drinks help. Just think of the times when you realised it is already 6am while scrolling TikTok and Instagram. Long-haul flights are terrible, be it on Emirates or Singapore Airlines. But think of it this way, you have a 12 hours flight to Europe. After take-off, drink service and having your first meal while watching a movie, you take up probably 2-3 hours of it. You watch another movie over some snacks and additional drinks, that’s another 2 hours. You take a little nap for 2 to 3 hours while your back can take it. Scroll your phone or so with Wi-Fi and take multiple walks to the toilet to stretch your legs. You arrive at the 8-hour mark, another movie or so before you have your second meal. Before you know it, you arrive in Europe.
Meal Service
Surprisingly my booking came with a meal and I went for the SQ MI interline meal. I did the selection via manage booking on the Scoot website without knowing what is it. You can also choose from a couple of other options as I saw on the website.
Upon levelling off, you can also connect to the aircraft wifi and access ScootHub, the inflight portal. Through the portal, passengers can order food and beverages from Scoot Café, shop for duty-free items, play games and more. I have included some screenshots of the items for sale onboard. I do have to say that the prices are moderately priced. It is not ridiculous! I would have expected to pay more given the monopoly. While officially not allowed, it is usually alright to sneak up some snacks and sandwiches. Just use your common sense and make sure it will not affect others.
It turns out that no matter what you select online, you will be served the same meal. Perhaps, this is just how my meals and ticket were booked. For my departure flight, given that it is a red eye, the meal wasn’t served immediately but rather the crew came about to distribute a bottle of water and some packed pandan cake. This is basically their Pandan Chiffon Set. They do go around a couple of times to see if you would like to get some food or drinks. You can also get stuff throughout the flight.
The hot meal was served about 8 hours into the flight at around 11am Singapore time. I was famished at this moment. It is impossible to go without a meal when flying long haul. There was a choice between vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Both were pasta dishes. We both got the non-vegetarian one which was Roasted Chicken Thigh in Rosemary Brown Sauce with Penne. It was delicious and piping hot. Pasta always heats up well onboard. A little on the salty side but yummy. We were famished too. The portion is on the smaller side.
For the return leg, which is a day flight, it is a different story. I went into full ration mode since we couldn’t get any water before boarding the aircraft. Relying on that 830 ml of water distributed by Scoot is harsh. There were also more people getting food and drinks since naturally you are more hungry. We had the same Pandan Chiffon Set and a hot meal. This time around, we had the Yam Rice which was tasty and comes generous with ingredients. It is a tat oily though.
And we also had some cup noodles later on in the flight. Which makes it the most expensive cup noodles I ever had in my life. I paid 5.50 SGD for a cup noodles! At least, I got a kick out of it when my neighbour couldn’t take it after hearing me slurping and ordered one too. Sponsor me Scoot!
Conclusion
Well well! What a journey this was! I have to say that I am glad for it to be over. This certainly isn’t the prettiest way to fly nor the comfiest way to do so as well. I shall treat it as a landmark and milestone for me, making it the furthest I went on budget. While we enjoy the perks and luxury of flying in premium cabins, I still love to travel and fly anytime. Even in cattle class. I do feel that amenities like wifi, in-flight entertainment, food and drinks make the flight time pass faster. With budget, you just got to plan ahead. I had a full meal before boarding. Brought some snacks and empty bottles to fill up with water, equip myself with a travel pillow and eye shades. Keep in mind that the gate in Athens has no water dispenser. While it is obvious that mine was a sweet deal since I paid just 200 bucks for an Athens return ticket with food and baggage. Do add these into your consideration if you are thinking about flying to Europe in Scoot. Baggage Fees, Food and drinks. You can’t go without eating for 12 hours and when the first cup of cup noodles hit the cabin. You are in for one too. What a way to visit my 33rd unique country in the world.
Seeing The World In Steps 
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