Note: Scoot has since made two sets of cuts to its June 2020 schedule. See our article here for the latest details.
In late April Singapore Airlines and SilkAir extended their 96% capacity cuts through to 30th June 2020. That was effectively ‘no change’ from the April and May 2020 situation, with the two carriers operating to the same 15 destinations with more or less the same flight schedule.
Good news however comes from the SIA group’s budget subsidiary, with Scoot confirming that from 5th June 2020 it will expand its passenger flight operations from the current two cities to a wider network of six destinations across South East Asia, also returning some of its Airbus A320s to service in the process.
Note: Singapore Airlines has since announced a significantly increased schedule from 8th June 2020 through to the end of July 2020.
Singapore Airlines adds more destinations with expanded June-July schedule
June 2020 schedule
From June 2020 a host of new Scoot services are now programmed in GDS and available for sale via the Scoot website.
This brings an additional four cities in China and Malaysia, operated by a mix of Airbus A320s and Boeing 787-9s, while the current schedule of Boeing 787-9 flights to Hong Kong and Perth will be extended.
Scoot had not previously been operating its Airbus A320s on regular passenger services since late March 2020.
The new flight schedule runs until 30th June 2020.
| Guangzhou | ||||||||
| Days | Acft | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | ||
| SIN ➔ CAN TR100 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 789 |
| CAN ➔ SIN TR101 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 789 |
| Hong Kong | ||||||||
| Days | Acft | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | ||
| SIN ➔ HKG TR980 |
□ | ■ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | ■ | 789 |
| HKG ➔ SIN TR981 |
□ | ■ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | ■ | 789 |
| Ipoh | ||||||||
| Days | Acft | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | ||
| SIN ➔ IPH TR480 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | ■ | 320 |
| IPH ➔ SIN TR481 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | ■ | 320 |
| Kuching | ||||||||
| Days | Acft | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | ||
| SIN ➔ KCH TR430 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | □ | 320 |
| KCH ➔ SIN TR431 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | □ | 320 |
Note: Kuching flights in June 2020 were originally scheduled to be twice weekly, however Sunday service has been removed from the schedule.
| Penang | ||||||||
| Days | Acft | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | ||
| SIN ➔ PEN TR424 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 320 |
| PEN ➔ SIN TR425 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 320 |
| SIN ➔ PEN TR426 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | □ | 320 |
| PEN ➔ SIN TR427 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | □ | 320 |
| Perth | ||||||||
| Days | Acft | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | ||
| SIN ➔ PER TR8 |
□ | ■ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 789 |
| PER ➔ SIN TR9 |
□ | ■ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 789 |
| SIN ➔ PER TR16 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | □ | 789 |
| PER ➔ SIN TR17 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | □ | 789 |
Of course these 24 services don’t come close to the 1,000+ weekly flights Scoot was operating in June 2019, however a marginally increased schedule with four more cities on the roster is a step in the right direction from the previous low point of 12 weekly passenger flights.
These flights will continue to occupy a pair of Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which also operate cargo-only services to the likes of Nanjing, and from the schedules data appears to require a pair of Airbus A320s to be activated.
At least one of the airline’s Airbus A320s is already back flying, with the airline mounting a cargo-only service to Kunming, China on 12th May 2020 including cargo in the passenger cabin as well as the underfloor holds.
Flightradar24 data shows that the aircraft, 9V-TRN, flew another cargo service to and from Kunming on 29th May 2020.
What if your flight has been cancelled?
Scoot’s current travel waiver is applicable if you booked your flight on or before 15th March 2020 for travel between 23rd January 2020 and 31st July 2020.
There are two options to claim a refund:
- A 100% refund via the original method of payment, or
- A 120% refund in Scoot vouchers, valid for 12 months.
For a 100% refund to your original payment method, Scoot is advising of a wait of up to 14 weeks for processing.
“In view of the volume of requests to process, we will be doing so in batches. We ask for your understanding and patience whilst we get to your file.”
Scoot
If you previously applied for a refund and opted for the voucher, this will be voided on processing of the cash refund should you now opt for that method.
If you would rather receive the 120% refund in Scoot vouchers, note the following:
- You have 12 months to use these vouchers to make a new booking, for any travel period available on the Scoot website at the time of booking. You may use up to two vouchers per transaction.
- If you have previously received a 100% refund in the form of Scoot travel vouchers (i.e. before 9th April 2020), you will receive an additional voucher worth 20% of your original itinerary value.
Scoot’s Manage My Booking portal supports customers wishing to select these options online.
If you booked your Scoot flights through third-party booking channels or a travel agent, you should contact the relevant channel or agents for assistance.
Remember this Scoot voucher has a fixed value, dependent on the total price of your original itinerary, and there will be no point in complaining if your ticket is 50% more expensive when you come to rebook in future, even on the same route.
Full details of the latest Scoot COVID-19 travel waiver policy can be found here.
Summary
A welcome positive sign as Scoot opens up some Malaysian and Chinese cities to its passenger network in June 2020, also marking the return of a pair of its Airbus A320s to regular passenger operation.
Scoot has currently cut 98% of its passenger capacity and this small increase will bring it closer to a 96% reduction level – still a stark drop compared with usual operation.
While 24 services per week is merely a ‘blip’ compared to the airline’s original schedule, this is the first uptick we’ve seen from the SIA Group airlines since schedules were cut in early April – a small bit of good news.
Singapore Airlines and SilkAir are continuing to cut around 96% of original planned capacity through to the end of June 2020, with the July 2020 timetable for those airlines yet to be announced.
Note: The SIA/SilkAir June and July 2020 schedule has now been released, with 75% more flights and 12 cities added. Click here for full details.
(Cover Photo: JetKat / Shutterstock)
Not much hope for leisure travel to recover when the earliest SG government will allow leisure traffic to resume is in Phase 3 of post CB which will earliest take place around Aug/Sep. If cinemas can’t even open, I don’t think government will permit its citizens to travel freely without conditions eg self quarantine upon return, potential bearing of own medical costs if you get Covid.