Scoot to add 4 to 6 new routes and up to 16 planes, but travellers say airline should address flight delays and cancellations first

SINGAPORE: Set to fly from Singapore to Vienna in Austria and Iloilo City in the Philippines, Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) budget airline Scoot also plans to add four to six new destinations, according to Channel News Asia (CNA).

In an interview with the media on March 3, Scoot CEO Leslie Thng said the new destinations will be announced once plans are finalised.

He added that the airline had already surpassed its pre-pandemic operational levels by 5 per cent in the last financial year and expects even stronger growth in 2025.

Mr Thng also explained that expansion decisions are driven by strategic opportunities and operational factors, such as securing landing slots and permits.

He said, “We’re still working on [the details]. For new flights and new destinations, there’s a whole process that we need to go through, not just to look at projected demand, we also need to see whether we can operationalise.”

SIA’s budget airline also plans to add 14 to 16 new planes, four of which will be the remaining Embraer E190-E2 jets from a total of nine, while the rest will include a mix of models like the Airbus A320 narrowbody.

While the growth strategy is a positive move to accommodate travellers to new destinations, one commenter noted that instead of “grandeur plans”, the airline should address its “flight disruptions and cancellations”.

Some even referred to Scoot as the “forever delayed airline,” with one adding they were unsure “how many [are] gonna break down”. /TISG

Read also: Scoot receives first of nine E190-E2 aircraft from Azorra

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