Review: Scoot 787-9 ScootBiz Tokyo To Taipei

Here's my inflight observation onboard "KamaScootra" on a recent MEL - SIN sector.

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154457217992285&id=737257284

Ludicrous that you're not allowed any outside food or beverages on board. Even Ryanair will let you drink/eat your own soft drinks/sandwiches purchased in the airport.

Also it would have been nicer to see a proper photo of the seat as those photos are terrible.

I concur with Lumma: it's ridiculous to limit what you can eat and what you can't. Seems like a fun flight, and for the price the "add-on everything" seem reasonable.

Most likely and sadly this will be the future of all air travel. People want cheaper and cheaper fares and will continue to suffer to get somewhere. I pulled up this route and it priced at $114 one way for my dates, where Cathay Pacific & Eva air priced at $350..So that's a big difference.

Its funny HK express also strictly enforce that you cannot bring outside food and drink on the aircraft. Is that legal ? Can they really do that ?

I like the idea of the silent cabin, though it looked like a ryanair interior.

Still for the price paid and the short flight I would most likely book the same.

Nice report Andrea.

Awesome,But I still have a Choice

200SGD ScootBiz Sin-Hkg

190SGD Singapore Airline Eco class Sin-Hkg

Andrea writes for TPG, this is Andrew. Great report--I too would have like a full frontal biz seat photo.

Just to clarify the fast track security facility at NRT T2 is First Class/Oneworld Emerald only, so you wouldn't be able to use it even if you're flying with JL or CX

@Leo, that choice doesn't exist anymore. Scoot stopped serving HKG completely last year. The slot at HKG was swapped with another SQ subsidiary, Tigerair.

This looks to be a sensible option for a o/w sector such as that, aside from the lengthy queue. As for the meal...that's a massive overdose of carbohydrates.

Scoot: you get what you pay for.

The only time I've taken Scoot is between Bangkok DMK airport and SIN and every time the flight was pretty full and just chaotic all around. The ground staff in DMK for Scoot is terrible, and the only time I ever booked ScootBiz they had an equipment change to the 777-200's they started out with which were horrible seats. The flight was delayed too. I don't know if I would take them long-haul beyond 4-5 hours.

I do find the economy seats to be pretty decent though in the pitch/width department. I'm 6'1 and even I'm comfortable.

Thanks for this report so I never have to experience this for myself.

Do you have any photos of the biz class seat? I see the photos with the close up pen marks... but that doesn't help with what the actual seat looks like. It's hard to make a choice if this is a good deal without seeing the main thing you're paying for.

I might have to look into them next time I want to hop around Asia. Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the review Andrew!
Quick question - I assume you have flown the Dreamliner before with other airlines? Because I also found the "squeaking" to be incessant and loud on the United 787-9, and not only that but on the climb out we hit some serious turbulence and the overhead bins above the middle aisle shook back and forth (and squeaked) so much I thought they were going break. So just wondering if you found Scoot worse than other Dreamliners or you don't notice it with other airlines? I know its ridiculous and I'm sure it's the carbon design or whatever, but it felt like the interior on the plane was just not as securely fitted to the plane! The overhead bins at least seemed to not be fitted to the top as on the 777 or a380 etc. I've never experienced that on any other plane, and it makes the whole trip noisy and uncomfortable when there's turbulence.
Has anyone else ever experienced that?

You were in premium economy. Why did you expect to be in the business and first class lines at Narita?

Great review, Andrew. While the food policy is strange, the menu seems as thick and diverse as the one at the Cheesecake Factory. How can they stock that many meals aboard?

Also, I've gotta say that the diner's caricature on the menu's cover would be considered completely racist in the US and banned immediately with a settlement paid out to all those suffering offense. Nice to see other cultures aren't so incessantly uptight.

Never heard of Scoot before...thanks for enlightening me haha. But I truly find annoying this limited drinks or limited food type ordeal. If I pay for a premium ticket I deserve an all inclusive kind of deal....

Thanks for the review Andrew

The quirkiness kind of reminds me of my flights with Cebu Pacific. Perhaps the décor is not at the same level, but certainly the flight attendants are cheerful and quirky. For a low cost carrier, I've always enjoyed flying on Cebu Pacific and will continue to do so.

Great review and refreshing guest article. The no-own-food policy seems to be across most of the SE Asia carriers. I flew both Vanilla Air and HK Express lately and it was the same. Penny pinching but also I think making it explicitly 'ok' in the region would lead to a pretty interesting array of food on board.

@ Vand well PAL, Cebu Pacific, Thai, Malaysia Airlines, and Bangkok airways never had problems with me bringing my fast food drinks or snacks onboard, it may be a LCC policy (but Cebu Pacific strikes me as an LCC).

The plane livery and squeaky interior bring to mind Vueling's ancient fleet of scruffy, mixed-parentage A320s. Anything is tolerable for a short hop if the price is right.

@Emirates4Ever yeah .. I meant LCC in Asia. I fly Cathay and they don't have the same policies as the LCCs - but that was kind of the point I was making - If the airline doesn't already provide food, then opening up to people bringing on board is a) potentially chaotic (think pho being spilled all over the cabin on take-off) and b) no revenue for the airline in their lucrative food department.

I've eaten my own food and drinks on LLC flights in Asia...even ones with no outside food consumption on board policies. Most times the cabin crew ignored me and the few times it was questioned, I told them I was on a special medical or religious diet.

You can get more of those K-cups of water by asking nicely. At least, that's what I do and nobody has tried to charge me for them yet. The Evian is, of course, a different story. But no need to stay dehydrated.