Layan Damanhouri
JEDDAH – Saudis can directly travel find a cheap flight to Asia via Changi Airport in Singapore – ranked the best airport in the world – from Jeddah, a move scheduled to start on May 2.
The bright yellow Scoot Airlines, a low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, announced it aims to make the long-haul travel experience easier with the brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner put to action.
Scoot will offer a three-time weekly service. “Our aim is to get it daily like all our local routes,” said head of commercial Steven Greenway in an interview with Saudi Gazette.
“We believe we can. Saudia has a direct flight to Singapore and it’s only three times a week. With this, we believe we can offer a product that people really want.”
When asked about whether the sluggish economic would influence Saudis’ decision to travel to cheaper destinations or opt for low-cost carriers, Greenway said the travel bug would always remain. “People still want to travel. Even those who travel on business would downgrade to economy. They still want the frequency so they’d rather save the money on their airfare and spend the money on the destination.”
The new destination in Jeddah aims to expand its market, catering to a majority of Singaporeans on pilgrimage pilgrims, labor traffic and other Muslim populations from Asia.
“Saudi Arabia is a huge market,” he added. “Saudis can now enjoy going to a stopover to Singapore as a hub to get around Australia and other Asian countries.”
The target market is mainly for young holidaymakers, backpackers, retirees who travel for leisure.
Consuming less fuel by 20 percent and producing 60 percent less noise, the new aircraft aims to change the flying experience for travelers in reducing jetlag and eye irritation due to lower cabin pressure, increased moisture, among other features.
With the bright colors and yellow polo shirts, Greenway said passengers should expect cabin crew, or “scootees”, to have wild hairstyles or different colored fingernails dressed in casual attire. “It’s meant to be informal,” he said. “Our customers are young and young at heart. Our inflight experience is meant to be more welcoming than stiff.”
He further said the latest technology gives Scoot an edge in competing with other low-cost carriers. “We have the advantage that all of our aircraft is a year old. There are 10 brand new aircraft already and 10 coming in the next coming years.”
Technology is different than in traditional carriers that install in-seat screens. Instead, movies are directly streamed on personal devices while all seats have in-seat power for all equipment.
Scoot is also the only one in the world that offers a hundred percent Wi-Fi connection.
When asked about its strategy with other competing low-cost carriers attracting Saudi travelers, Greenway said Scoot’s main competitors are not Saudi carriers but Middle Eastern carriers, particularly hubs like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. He said “we will not steal the business, but we will give an alternative to passengers.”
Already 6 million guests have flown on Scoot, mainly from the Asia-Australia market, and the official Facebook page has over one million fans. When asked about some negative reviews online on meals or “unfriendly” staff, Greenway said, “In social media, we don’t delete anything. Our company motto is being honest. A lot of companies who have social media presence try to delete a fact or something that’s happened. What we try to do is present the good and the bad. When you carry 4 or 5 million people a year, there’s always going to be some people who are unhappy for whatever reason. The good barometer for that is always checking our Facebook page just to see what people are saying. The key is acting upon it and fixing it.”
The future offers as much opportunities for Scoot that want to attract as many travelers in Saudi Arabia. “If we can get our guests from other places in Saudi Arabia, that would be powerful as well. If we want to grow, we recognize we need connections that go beyond Jeddah,” he said, adding that the airline seeks to connect to other major cities such as Riyadh.
