Scoot said it is looking to fly to further destinations as the long-haul budget airline showcased its new Boeing 787-9 aircraft at the 2016 Singapore Airshow.
The Singapore-based airline already has plans to enter India and the Middle East, and is setting its sights on other markets in the near future.
“Jeddah will start in May. (For) India, we will start in the first half of this year, three cities, one probably about April, the other two in May and June. It is imminent,” Campbell Wilson, Scoot’s chief executive officer, told Yahoo Singapore on Tuesday (16 February) on the sidelines of the airshow.
“We see India as a market with a lot of growth potential.”
Scoot, which is the only airline in the world with an all-787 fleet, is also looking to further capitalize on the long-haul capabilities of its aircraft.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the airline mentioned that under optimal passenger load conditions, its Boeing 787-8 aircraft can go as far as Frankfurt while its Boeing 787-9 aircraft can reach London.
“We are going to be entering other markets in the second half of this year and perhaps we will venture further in the two or three years to come,” said Wilson during the conference.
Flying further
The timing of Scoot’s entry into any flight route, especially for a market like Europe, is very important, Wilson said.
“There are a lot of things that need to fall into place, with the oil price being at the right point, the European community being at the right economic state…if all those things fall into place there is a possibility,” he added.
Brendan Sobie, chief analyst at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), said he would not be surprised if Scoot makes the move into Europe for their next phase. He said Scoot’s parent company, Singapore Airlines, would be able to use its knowledge of certain routes to assess where Scoot would be a better fit.
“Now (Singapore Airlines) know that Scoot operates the 787, they know exactly how much it costs, they know exactly the economics of it so they can plug (Scoot) in and make a decision,” said Sobie.
There are routes where Scoot is a better fit than the other SIA group’s carriers, and it has proven itself on certain routes and markets in China, he added.
“So that’s kind of the first phase of Scoot proving itself as a better fit than Singapore Airlines or other SIA group carriers with the 787 cost structure. So the next step after that would be going a bit longer.”
Scoot currently operates 10 Boeing 787 planes and will be expecting another 10 Boeing 787 planes to complete its initial order of 20 planes.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the airline mentioned that under optimal passenger load conditions, its Boeing 787-8 aircraft can go as far as Frankfurt while its Boeing 787-9 aircraft can reach London.
“We are going to be entering other markets in the second half of this year and perhaps we will venture further in the two or three years to come,” said Wilson during the conference.
Resilient Market
Despite the economic downturn, Boeing’s Marketing Vice President Randy Tinseth said that the outlook of the aviation industry is robust. In an earlier press release, Boeing said it projected a demand for 3,750 new airplanes, valued at $550 billion, over the next 20 years for just Southeast Asia alone.
Global airlines have posted record profits because of low oil prices and better operational efficiency, he observed.
“We have actually seen on a global basis a six per cent growth year-on-year over the last six years and we have never seen the market quite that resilient,” Tinseth said.
“The market today is as good as I’ve ever seen.”
(Stefanus Ian - Yahoo Business News)
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