If you’ve been following news of Scoot’s schedule changes lately, you’ll know it became the first SIA Group airline to announce it was scaling up its flights after the COVID-19 low points of April and May 2020, more than doubling its proposed schedule in June 2020 compared to the preceding month and adding four destinations in the process.
Flights were re-launched to Guangzhou in Mainland China and to Ipoh, Kuching and Penang in Malaysia, with the latter three marking the reintroduction of the airline’s Airbus A320 to regular passenger services for the first time since late March 2020.
Initial reductions
Within a couple of weeks the expanded schedule was starting to look a little ambitious, with the airline trimming some flights to its three Malaysian destinations practically before they had even started.
Out of 108 flights originally proposed for June 2020, the airline had effectively already cut back to 94 services, though that was still 80% more than it would have been operating had it retained its May 2020 schedule.
Further cuts
In a schedule update on 12th June 2020, Scoot confirmed it would be making further reductions to its passenger services for the month.
Compared to the initial timetable, there will now be fewer flights to and from Ipoh, Kuching, Penang and Perth, the latter seeing its first reduction since services to the Western Australia capital were restarted in April 2020.
Here’s how the total services now look, compared to Scoot’s original plan for the month.
| City | Original Plan | ➔ | New Plan |
| Guangzhou | 8 flights | ➔ | 8 flights |
| Hong Kong | 26 flights | ➔ | 26 flights |
| Ipoh | 16 flights | ➔ | 7 flights |
| Kuching | 16 flights | ➔ | 8 flights |
| Penang | 16 flights | ➔ | 5 flights |
| Perth | 26 flights | ➔ | 22 flights |
| Total | 108 flights | ➔ | 76 flights |
The changes are:
- Ipoh: Reduction from twice weekly (16 flights) to once weekly from 14th June (7 flights)
- Kuching: Reduction from twice weekly (16 flights) to once weekly (8 flights)
- Penang: Reduction from twice weekly (16 flights) to once weekly from 21st June (5 flights)
- Perth: Reassignment of TR17 PER-SIN Friday flights to cargo-only, reducing overall passenger service on the route from 26 flights to 22 flights for the month
In total Scoot will now operate 76 passenger flights in June 2020, 30% less than it first proposed, but still a 46% increase on the 52 flights it would have operated had it retained its two-destination schedule from April and May 2020.
“Scoot will continue to adjust our network in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Scoot
The new schedule
Here’s how Scoot’s revised flight schedule looks, valid from 1st – 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 (from 14th June) |
||||||||
| Days | Acft | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | ||
| SIN ➔ IPH TR480 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 320 |
| IPH ➔ SIN TR481 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 320 |
Note: Ipoh flights in June 2020 were originally scheduled to be twice weekly, however Friday service has been removed from the schedule. TR481 also operated as a passenger service on 7th June 2020.
| 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 (from 21st June) |
||||||||
| Days | Acft | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | ||
| SIN ➔ PEN TR424 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 320 |
| PEN ➔ SIN TR425 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 320 |
Note: Penang flights in June 2020 were originally scheduled to be twice weekly, however Friday service (TR426/427) has been removed from the schedule, with the route not commencing until 21st June. TR425 also operated as a passenger service on 7th June 2020.
| Perth | ||||||||
| Days | Acft | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | ||
| SIN ➔ PER TR8 |
□ | ■ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 789 |
| PER ➔ SIN TR9 |
□ | ■ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | 789 |
| SIN ➔ PER TR16 |
□ | □ | □ | □ | ■ | □ | □ | 789 |
Note: Perth flights in June 2020 were originally scheduled to be three times weekly in both directions, however Friday service from Perth to Singapore (TR17) was reassigned to carry cargo only.
Scoot was originally planning to operate around 5,400 flights in June 2020, so these services represent only around 1.4% of the usual total.
A marginally increased schedule retaining four more cities on the roster is still a step in the right direction from the previous low point of just 12 weekly passenger flights to two cities.
Unfortunately the original schedule did appear too ambitious, even with transit passengers now permitted to fly on Scoot’s services having originated in Australia / New Zealand on Singapore Airlines or the airline’s own flights from Perth.
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 over 20% 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.
Singapore Airlines and SilkAir
Singapore Airlines and SilkAir revealed their expanded June and July 2020 flight schedule on 1st June 2020, growing operation from 15 to 29 cities, one of which (Hong Kong) is also being served by Scoot.
See our article for full details including SIA’s flight schedules.
Summary
Unfortunately more signs that Scoot’s anticipated demand for its newly reinstated Malaysia routes has not been materialising, with overall service to these three cities reducing from 48 to 20 during June.
With strict travel restrictions still in place across the network, including to and from Malaysia, these very limited passenger numbers are likely to continue for a while and we can only assume it simply wasn’t feasible to ramp up these destinations as quickly as initially proposed.
Despite now securing one-way transit approval through Changi for passengers originating in Australia, Scoot has also cut one of its three times weekly passenger options from Perth to Singapore, with Friday flights now flying northbound as cargo-only services.
Overall, Scoot will still be operating over 46% more flights in June 2020 than it would have done had the more limited May 2020 schedule been replicated.
Let’s hope the airline’s July schedule, which will be released later this month, restores some of the cuts and potentially brings us even more destinations.
Scoot flights to Bangkok in month of July all cancelled. Only resume from 1 Aug 2020.