Singapore airline launched Scoot in 2011 as a low cost carrier. I think their intention is to position Scoot between ultra low cost Tiger and regional subsidiary Silk Air. Late last year, Scoot announced an arrangement with Thailand’s Nok air to extend the brand from Thailand so I think Scoot is here to stay for a while. Scoot has gone with a vibrant youth focused vibe. It feels somewhat more “hip” than its parent. For example, they refer to “cuddly” passengers who they encourage to buy two seats. Booking: 10 out of 10 Their booking engine (www.flyscoot.com), available in Cantonese, English,…
Singapore
Tag Archives for Singapore.
Lost in Transit
As I lined up to withdraw from an ATM at Singapire’s Changi airport, I became aware of a disturbance . An elderly Sikh gentleman was clearly struggling to use the machine. Firstly, he did not appear to know how to insert his card. A young couple behind him showed him this. Entering the pin stumped him next. Dressed simply, in sandals, open necked shirt and a wrap and clutching an ID card, atm card and some cash, he looked vulnerable and out of place in this vast bustling mega airport. At this point, some of…
World’s best airlines -skytrax 2013
The 2013 Skytrax World Airline Awards were announced at the Paris Air Show on the 18th June 2013. The awards are based on a passenger satisfaction survey completed on 200 airlines by travellers from over 160 countries. They review over 40 plus areas from check-in to cabin cleanliness to food to service. The airline award winners are becoming fairly predictable. The names Air New Zealand, Air Asia, Qatar, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Singapore sit in the top categories year on year. It makes me wonder if the airlines that are not in the Top 20…
Airbus drops 100 feet
What caption would you put on this picture? This picture taken by Alan Cross and published to Instagram has gone viral. The two Singapore Airlines flight attendants sit calmly after being ordered to their seats when their Airbus A380 (registration 9V-SKH) encountered severe clear air turbulence 90 minutes into a Singapore to London flight on 26 May. Behind them is a scene of devastation. Breakfast was just being served when the plane dropped 100 feet. Eleven people had minor injuries as a result of the turbulence. The flight SQ308 continued onto London and landed safely…
My Top Airlines for 2012
This last year, I flew 121 times for a total distance of 331,127km (205,753 mi). This is eight and a quarter times around the earth. I was inside planes for a whopping 19 days of the year. Some airlines made my time with them a delight – and some made it not so fun. I rate each flight I take for every factor from Booking to Check-in to deplaning. and keep a tally of my rating using Flightmemory.com. The scores averaged out give me the ranking of flights, airlines and airports. I have placed my score for each airline…
Virgin Australia’s Next Move
The Australian airline industry has become like a giant game of chess. Virgin Australia 18 months ago, upped the ante with a dramatic series of movies including new planes, refurbished cabins, a business class product and expanded lounges. These changes began in tandem with new partnerships with Delta, Air New Zealand, Singapore and Etihad which plugged the airline into a worldwide network for a much reduced cost. The aim was to poach as many of Qantas customers as possible. Qantas responded by forming a major alliance with Emirates. This threw the gauntlet down again. I have been…
Qantas gets back Nancy
April 21 saw the formal handing back to Qantas of their Airbus 380 named Nancy Bird Walton. This is the plane that dramatically “lost an engine” in a mid-air blast off Singapore in November 2010. I have previously blogged about how dangerous the incident was.. The incident dented both the reputation of Qantas as one of the world’s safest airlines (despite the fact the crew managed to nurse the plane into a safe landing) and the reputation of the giant plane. (The concerns some have about the 380 have been further heightened by hysteria over the wing cracks that have been found recently. Qantas is denying they are considering suing Airbus over the cracks but they are in…
Qantas Shrinking Growth
In response to an 83 per cent fall in its first-half net profit to $A42 million to December 31 and as a part of a half a billion dollar cost cutting measure. Qantas is pulling out of two more routes in May and cutting 500 jobs in catering, engineering and heavy maintenance. The sectors being lost are: Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Los Angeles, USA (LAX) QF25 and 26 Singapore (SIN) to Mumbai (India) (BOM) QF 50 and 51 These cuts are in addition to the previously announced withdrawals in March from the Hong Kong-London…
A380 Cracking Up?
Qantas Airways has temporarily grounded one of its A380 superjumbos after discovering dozens of hairline cracks in its wings. They have said tehy: 1. do not pose a threat to safety 2. they are different from the types of cracks that manufacturer Airbus found in the wings of two jets last month Should we be worried about my beloved A380?
Qantas A380 Turbulence
Qantas A380 VH-OQF called Charles Kingsford Smith en route to Singapore as QF 32, encountered severe turbulence over India as a result of storms in the region. A minute after the seatbelt sign came on, the plane began a series of drops and pitches. Some passengers has not made it back to their seats and were tossed up in the air, along with anything else not secured. Passengers screamed as the turbulence hit the plane. There were seven injuries- none serious. Passengers have praised the crew and the captain for the way they handled the situation. Plane, crew and…
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