Singapore-based budget carrier Scoot will add 16 Airbus A321neo aircraft to its fleet starting later this year.
The airline says that the new addition will enable the airline to meet its double-digit growth plan by the end of the financial year 2020/2021.
Of the 16 aircraft, six are in fact an upsizing from the carrier’s current A320neo order from Airbus, while the remaining 10 will be leased.
The A321neos will be deployed on medium-haul routes within six hours. The single-aisle aircraft will be outfitted with 236 seats, which is 50 more seats than its A320neo aircraft. The first aircraft, named “Wings of Change”, will be delivered in the last quarter of 2020.
Commenting on the news, Lee Lik Hsin, CEO of Scoot, said: “The A321neos will inject growth possibilities to our network plans for 2020 and beyond, and it is indeed apt that we have named the first aircraft ‘Wings of Change’. Customers will be greeted by our brand-new cabin interiors, with seat products they are already familiar with.”
However, a spokesman from Singapore Airlines, the parent company of Scoot, confirmed to Business Traveller Asia-Pacific that the “brand-new” cabin will still feature its current seat products used in its A320 aircraft (see picture above), and the new A321neo aircraft will not have Scootbiz seats featured in the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The Scootbiz seats are full leather seats with more legroom (96cm), width (56cm), recline (15cm) and fully adjustable head- and leg-rests.
Scoot now has a fleet of more than 40 aircraft, consisting of Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A320 family aircraft. The airline operates flights between Singapore and over 40 destinations in Greater China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, India, Australia, Greece and Germany. Its sister carrier Silkair has been gradually transferring 17 of its routes to Scoot since this April.
Starting from October 22 this year, the carrier will shift its operations to Singapore Changi Airport’s Terminal 1.
