SIA’s low-cost subsidiary Scoot will claim a new accolade in the coming months, as it launches the shortest regular passenger flight from Singapore Changi Airport – to the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Malacca in Malaysia, from late October 2024.

55-minute flights on this ultra-short hop, which takes around three hours by road without any traffic or checkpoint delays, are now loaded for sale from S$69 between Singapore and Malacca, or from just MYR75 (~S$22) in the return direction.

The new route has been made possible following Scoot’s introduction of smaller Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, and comes as two more of those Brazilian-made regional jets join the carrier’s fleet in September and October this year.

Five times weekly service on this proximate city pair will clock in some 20% shorter than Changi’s current shortest passenger service – to and from Kuala Lumpur – at just 218km.

Already some Singapore – KL flights only take around 30 minutes of flying time – Malacca services are likely to sometimes clock in at just 20-25 minutes!

The news comes as Scoot confirmed it would be one of the first airlines to reintroduce jet operations at Kuala Lumpur’s Subang Airport from September 2024, with a daily Airbus A320 service linking the Malaysian capital’s more convenient airport to Singapore.

The schedule

Scoot will launch service between Singapore and Malacca with a one-time inaugural flight on Wednesday 23rd October 2024, which has a unique flight number and timing, presumably designed to cater for launch celebrations.

Singapore ⇄ Malacca
Inaugural Service
(23 Oct 2024 only)

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	TR408 E190-E2
SIN 14:00		MKZ 14:55
	TR409 E190-E2
MKZ 15:50		SIN 16:45

Seats are still available on the inaugural flight for S$77 one-way from Singapore to Malacca and for MYR141 (around S$42) at the time of writing.

Regular service then commences from Friday 25th October 2024, five times per week. Only Tuesdays and Thursdays will not have a flight option on the new route.

Singapore ⇄ Malacca
(25 Oct 2024 – 31 Mar 2025)

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	TR436^ E190-E2
SIN 10:00		MKZ 10:55
	TR436^^ E190-E2
SIN 12:10		MKZ 13:05
	TR436 E190-E2
SIN 13:15		MKZ 14:10
	TR402 E190-E2
SIN 20:25		MKZ 21:20
	TR437* E190-E2
MKZ 11:30		SIN 12:25
	TR437** E190-E2
MKZ 14:00		SIN 14:55
	TR437 E190-E2
MKZ 14:45		SIN 15:40
	TR403 E190-E2
MKZ 22:15		SIN 23:10

^ TR436 on Sat 2 Nov 2024 operates at 05:55-07:00
^^ TR436 on Wed 30 Oct 2024 and Wed 6 Nov 2024 operates at 13:45-14:40
* TR437 on Sat 2 Nov 2024 operates at 08:35-09:30
** TR437 on Wed 30 Oct 2024 and Wed 6 Nov 2024 operates at 15:15-16:10

The schedule is quite variable throughout the week, with morning or lunchtime services on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, while a late evening timing is planned for the (likely more popular) Friday and Sunday flights.

For the northern summer season from April 2025 Scoot will retain five times weekly service on this route, but the airline will shift its morning Saturday flight to a Tuesday one instead, meaning only Thursdays and Saturdays will have no Malacca option next summer.

Here’s how that looks in the schedule.

Singapore ⇄ Malacca
(From 1 Apr 2025)

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	TR436 E190-E2
SIN 10:00		MKZ 10:55
	TR436 E190-E2
SIN 12:10		MKZ 13:05
	TR436 E190-E2
SIN 13:15		MKZ 14:10
	TR402 E190-E2
SIN 20:25		MKZ 21:20
	TR437 E190-E2
MKZ 11:30		SIN 12:25
	TR437 E190-E2
MKZ 14:00		SIN 14:55
	TR437 E190-E2
MKZ 14:45		SIN 15:40
	TR403 E190-E2
MKZ 22:15		SIN 23:10

Scoot’s Embraer E190-E2s

Scoot was the first Asian carrier to introduce the Embraer E190-E2 aircraft into its fleet earlier this year, and this new Malacca route will be a fresh addition to the type’s roster, following delivery of two additional brand new aircraft in the coming weeks.

Scoot E190-E2 fleet

Registration	Name	Service Entry
9V-THA	Explorer 3.0	7 May 2024
9V-THB	Small Yella Fella	9 May 2024
9V-THC	Jalan-Jalan	Sep 2024
9V-THD	Travel Kaki	Oct 2024
9V-THE	TBC	2025
9V-THF	TBC	2025
9V-THG	TBC	2025
9V-THH	TBC	2025
9V-THI	TBC	2025

Scoot has configured 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”.

Naturally, that makes it the smallest member of the airline’s fleet.

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

Seat pitch is 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.

Here’s how the seat map looks.

Rows 1 and 11 are the extra legroom seats, which Scoot calls ‘Stretch’, with around 34″ of pitch, in common with the same seats on the carrier’s A320s and 787s.

Note that while Rows 2 to 4 are advertised as ‘Front’ seats, they don’t have any extra legroom, they’ll just help you disembark first.

Here’s how the one-way seat selection is priced for the Singapore – Malacca route:

• ‘Stretch’ (Row 1): S$25
• ‘Stretch’ (Row 11): S$22
• ‘Front’ (Rows 2-4): S$12
• Rows 5-9: S$11
• Row 10: S$10 (no recline)
• Rows 12-17: S$8
• Rows 18-28: S$7 (no recline in Row 28)

Do be aware that Scoot has flagged Row 10 and Row 28 as non-reclining seats.

The aircraft are part of a total order for nine E190-E2s from US-based lessor Azzora, with all aircraft due to be delivered by the end of 2025.

The 2-2 layout is 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.

One toilet at the front and one at the rear of the cabin gives 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

Fares

Scoot’s introductory one-way fares from Singapore to Malacca start at S$69.

In the return direction (with much lower taxes) it’s even better – you can snag a seat for as little as MYR75 (~S$22) at the time of writing.

Obviously higher fares apply on the peak weekend services, like those on Fridays and Sundays, where Scoot expects better demand on the route.

Flights are loaded for sale via the Scoot website right through to the end of the airline’s bookable schedule a year from now – in August 2025.

More E190 destinations

With the addition of two more E190-E2s this year, Scoot is also taking the opportunity to deploy the aircraft on an additional new route to Kertajati in Indonesia.

This replaces pre-COVID SilkAir services to and from the old Bandung Airport.

The regional jet fleet will also expand its network to include existing Scoot destinations Makassar, Balikpapan, Pekanbaru, Davao and Vientiane from October 2024.

Here’s how the Scoot E190’s roster looks for the rest of the year.

Earn but don’t burn miles on Scoot

As you probably recall, you’ll earn some KrisFlyer miles based on the cash fare for your Scoot flight, which is always better than nothing.

On the redemption side, however, KrisFlyer works on a fixed value basis for offsetting Scoot cash fares at a terrible 0.95 Singapore cents per mile.

Our ‘golden rule’ when flying Scoot, therefore, is that you should be saving your precious KrisFlyer miles for their true value – a Singapore Airlines redemption – not a Scoot booking!

It means Scoot won’t offer a good KrisFlyer miles redemption option on its Malacca route, or any of the other new E190 services, because awards on the low-cost carrier are revenue-based, and terrible value.

Scoot is receiving two more brand new Embraer E190-E2 jets in the coming months, and the low-cost carrier will use these aircraft to expand its regional network from 6 to 13 destinations in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos.

One of those is Malacca, just 218km up the road from Singapore, which will be the shortest passenger flight from Changi Airport when it kicks off in late October this year, with five timings per week.

Fares start at S$69 one-way from Singapore and around S$22 on the way back, and it will be very interesting to see whether there is enough demand to fill 560 seats in each direction weekly on this niche city pair, where the road journey can take as little as three hours.

Scoot will be hoping that the lack of traffic and checkpoint delays, especially for weekenders, is enough to persuade sufficient travellers to justify the cost of this service, especially at the higher fares on Fridays and Sundays.

(Cover Photo: Embraer)