SIA’s low-cost carrier Scoot first announced its intention to lease nine brand new E190-E2 regional jets back in February 2023, finalising the deal in May 2023, and we’ve been looking forward to seeing where the airline will be flying these new aircraft from the first half of this year.

Earlier in 2023, Scoot said that two E190-E2 aircraft would be joining the fleet in March 2024, both entering revenue service before the end of that month, but that timeline began to slip.

In a November 2023 update, Scoot revised that plan down to a single aircraft arriving in March 2024, which was planned to enter commercial service later the same month, and now it’s apparent that there’s a further delay in store.

First E190-E2 now due in April

In a business update this week, Singapore Airlines shared that Scoot’s first Embraer E190-E2 regional jet is now due to be delivered in April 2024.

The update does not state whether the aircraft will enter service the same month or not, but if not we’d expect it to start flying passengers by May 2023 at the latest.

Earlier this week, Scoot’s COO Ng Chee Keon confirmed that a second E190-E2 aircraft will be arriving in May 2024.

That will leave seven further E190-E2s to be delivered to the carrier between June 2024 and December 2025. It would potentially see a new aircraft added to the fleet every 2-3 months during that period, though the exact delivery schedule beyond the initial pair has not been announced.

Scoot will still be the launch customer for the E-Jet E2 aircraft family in Southeast Asia, with Malaysia’s SKS Airways pushing back introduction of its larger E195-E2 from January 2024 into the second quarter of the year.

Like Scoot, SKS Airways is sourcing its E2’s on operating leases from US-based Azzora.

Scoot’s E190-E2 configuration

Scoot will configure the E190-E2 with 112 seats in a single-class (Economy) 2-2 configuration, ideal for what the airline calls “thinner routes to non-metro destinations”.

Scoot aircraft by seating capacity
(highest to lowest)

Aircraft	Total Seats
Boeing 787-9	375
Boeing 787-8	335
Boeing 787-8 (Bunk)	329
Airbus A321neo	236
Airbus A320neo	186
Airbus A320	180
Embraer E190-E2	112

For a 112-seat fit, seat pitch will be around 29 inches, with width of around 18 inches. That’s quite comparable to those fitted on board the airline’s Airbus A320neo aircraft, though the big selling point for the regional jet is the 2-2 layout, giving all passengers either a window or aisle seat.

It’s particularly ideal for couples, with no dreaded “middle seat” in play, and even for solo travellers there’s a maximum of one seat to climb over to reach the aisle, or one stranger in a window seat needing to get past you if you’re at the aisle position.

Having flown on an E190 (E1 – first generation) a couple of times in Europe, I can assure you the overhead locker space is no match for an A320 or 787, but otherwise it’s a perfectly pleasant jet experience, and the 2-2 seating is a definite plus.

The good news for the E2 is that overhead lockers are apparently 40% larger than their predecessors, with the manufacturer claiming that “each passenger on the aircraft can stow his/her own standard-size carry-on bag in the bins”.

One toilet at the front and one at the rear of the cabin will give passengers a seat-to-toilet ratio of 56:1, the best of any Scoot aircraft in Economy Class.

Scoot Economy Class seat-to-toilet ratio
(worst to best)

Aircraft	Seat-to-toilet ratio
Boeing 787-9	68:1
Boeing 787-8	63:1
Boeing 787-8 (Bunk)	62:1
Airbus A320neo	62:1
Airbus A320	60:1
Airbus A321neo	59:1
Embraer E190-E2	56:1

Source: Scoot / aeroLOPA

Scoot won’t be the only airline introducing the E190 to Singapore this year. From December, Qantas will fly 94-seat E190s (the older E1 variant) on non-stop Singapore – Darwin flights, including 10 seats in Business Class.

Where will it fly?

One of the most interesting things about Scoot’s introduction of the E190-E2s is the very thing we don’t actually know yet – where exactly the carrier will fly them.

In a recent update, the SIA Group has shared that the aircraft will be used to “expand regional, secondary and tertiary markets”.

Earlier this year, Scoot’s CEO Leslie Thng revealed that both existing and new destinations will feature on the aircraft’s roster.

“As to where we are deploying this [E190] aircraft, definitely within the region. This aircraft can fly up to five hours. It will be deployed both on existing destinations that we currently fly to, because we can add frequency, as well as new destinations within the region.”

Mr. Leslie Thng, CEO, Scoot, May 2023

That could see the type used on existing routes during shoulder periods, at quieter times of day, or even on days of the week with lower demand.

The most exciting element though will be the promised new destinations.

The E190-E2 has the longest range among the E2 family, able to fly up to 5,280 km (2,850 nm) with a full passenger load, around a 6-hour flying time from Singapore.

Furthermore, it can operate from short runways. The E190-E2 needs only a 1,450 m runway to takeoff at maximum weight, and a 1,240 m runway to land, according to Embraer.

Scoot’s shorter non-metro routes like Kuantan, Hat Yai, Palembang and Pekanbaru will surely be contenders for these lower-capacity fuel-efficient jets, but the potential new destination we’ll all be watching out for is Koh Samui.

Why Koh Samui?

The SIA Group discontinued flights to and from this popular Thai holiday island in March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when SilkAir operated twice-daily Airbus A319 services to and from Changi.

SilkAir retired these aircraft during the pandemic, and since they were the largest jets permitted to land at Koh Samui, the Group has since been left with no compatible types to fly to the airport, which is privately owned by Bangkok Airways, who set the rules on what size of planes can and can’t use it.

The E190-E2 falls well within Koh Samui’s operating restrictions (in fact it’s far smaller than the upper aircraft size limit imposed), making it an ideal solution to plug this gap in the Group’s network.

In the meantime, Bangkok Airways enjoys a monopoly on Singapore – Koh Samui flights with its twice daily Airbus A319 services, which command high fares and offer only afternoon and evening flight timings.

Sadly Scoot won’t offer a good KrisFlyer redemption option if it starts this route, like SilkAir used to, because awards on the low-cost carrier are revenue-based, and terrible value.

Luckily there are several good ways to redeem miles on Bangkok Airways flights to and from Koh Samui, starting at 6,000 miles one-way, as we recently analysed in this dedicated article.

A new Scoot service to Koh Samui would hopefully provide lower fares, but even then it’s unlikely to be a particularly cheap option.

On a route 70% reliant on transit traffic, which the low cost carrier will surely be tapping into via codeshare and interline with Singapore Airlines if it starts this service, there will simply be no need for Scoot to provide particularly low fares on Koh Samui flights, with only 112 seats to fill.

Indeed the lack of a good KrisFlyer redemption option with the carrier, like there was in the SilkAir days, could make it an even less attractive choice than a redemption on Bangkok Airways, especially with the 6,000 Avios option in play.

If fares are high – the Avios option is probably better – and don’t forget Bangkok Airways provides a full-service experience with better legroom, free meals and complimentary drinks on board, including beer and wine.

The biggest benefit Scoot would probably provide is additional timing options for the Singapore – Koh Samui route.

While Bangkok Airways only offers evening services out of Singapore, so that it can tap connecting passengers from Europe and Australia arriving on the likes of Qantas, Emirates, Air France and KLM, Scoot can play a different tactic.

Singapore Airlines also has arrivals from these parts of the world in the morning, which previously allowed SilkAir to fill its planes with connecting passengers at 8.10am and 10.40am each day, and we expect Scoot would replicate similar timings, for the same reason.

This would give Singapore-based travellers an alternative option to reach Koh Samui much earlier in the day, helping them to maximise their trip, perhaps even using Scoot outbound and Bangkok Airways for the way back home.

We’ll certainly be watching the route announcements closely, and hoping for Koh Samui to make the list at some stage. The airline’s CEO has promised some destination announcements “slightly before” the first aircraft arrives.

Pilot training is underway

Earlier this week Embraer announced the inauguration of a brand new E2 flight simulator here in Singapore, with the multi-million dollar device now up and running at the CAE Flight Training Centre near Changi Airport.

The simulator was certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore in December 2023.

According to the manufacturer, Scoot pilots are already undergoing training to fly the new aircraft type.

Pilots from Singapore Airlines’ subsidiary, Scoot, have already begun their training in preparation of the Embraer E190-E2 aircraft’s entry into service with the airline later this year. Scoot pilots will experience all aspects of flight in CAE’s latest generation FFS and practice multiple scenarios to enhance their skills and preparedness ahead of the aircraft’s first revenue flights.

Embraer

At the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow, Scoot COO Ng Chee Keong confirmed to Aviation Week that “Scoot will primarily convert Airbus A320 and some Boeing 787 pilots to fly the E190-E2 toward the end of February – in time for the aircraft’s arrival in the April-May time frame”.

Scoot’s Embraer E190-E2 regional jet deliveries have been delayed by a few weeks, with plans to be flying two of these aircraft by the end of March 2024 now whittled down to a single initial aircraft in April 2024, with a second in May 2024.

The Scoot passenger experience will get a nice improvement on these smaller aircraft, thanks to a 2-2 seating configuration, better for everyone but particularly for couples.

The airline is still keeping its E190 destination list close to its chest, but of course we’re hoping for a new option to and from Koh Samui, among other potentially interesting regional routes.

Watch this space for the route announcements, once they are revealed.

(Cover Photo: Embraer)