Low-cost carrier Scoot charts expansion over Indian skies

Singaporean low-cost long-haul carrier Scoot has envisioned a route expansion in India, in a bid to tap the burgeoning demand among Indians travelling abroad.

Scoot, part of the Singapore Airlines Group, began its India operations on May 24, 2016, with a flight from Chennai to Singapore Changi Airport, taking over operations from sister low-cost carrier Tigerair. It subsequently launched a service to Amritsar.

Extending its horizon in India, Scoot will commence a service to Jaipur on October 2, with fares ranging from Rs 4,699 for the economy class (between October 2, 2016, and March 25, 2017). “Jaipur was an untapped market, and an interesting trend seen here is that a lot of people from Delhi would take flights abroad via Jaipur,” Scoot Country Head (India) Bharath Mahadevan told DH.

Explaining Scoot’s India strategy, Mahadevan said that the airline is bullish on tier I and II cities, hinting at Madurai, Pune, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru, to be in focus. “However, we can take definitive decisions on expanding our service to the said destinations, depending on the outcome of future bilateral discussions in this regard (between India and Singapore),” Mahadevan clarified, adding that there is huge demand seen emerging out of towns such as Jalandhar, Erode, Salem, and Ludhiana, as well.

Eight additional 787s

Scoot is one of the few low-cost carriers with a fleet boasting of 12 large wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, with a two-class configuration — Ecocomy Fly and ScootBiz. It will be receiving eight additional 787s in three years.

Scoot’s offering — which includes large planes and long-haul destinations — stands in between full-service carriers with wide-body planes (Singapore Airlines), and typical low-cost ones with narrow-body single-aisle aircraft (Tigerair). This enables the airline to fly more people at a given time, while the latter can enjoy flights abroad with an affordable ticket.

Talking about the Indian market, Mahadevan said, “Tier II cities have huge demand, and complement the flight traffic coming out of metros. Also, the middle-class population in metro cities holds huge latent demand, as all traditional carriers are going full at those destinations, and won’t drop prices to attract that demand. These carriers already enjoy 80% load factor, which soars even more during the holiday season. A low-cost airline’s model is largely aimed at developing the leisure market, enjoyed by families.”

India is among the five fastest-growing aviation markets globally with 275 million new passengers, and around 70% of seats in the domestic market are handled by low-cost carriers.

From October, Scoot, along with Tigerair, will handle 50 flights to India a month.