I tried a long-haul flight with the low-cost airline Scoot from Asia to Europe. The 12-hour journey from Singapore to Vienna turned out to be much better than I’d originally expected.

And what’s more, for 239 eur. I probably wouldn’t have complained even if the flight had been pure torture 🙂

My trip in a nutshell

To start with, here’s a handy table summarising my flight with Scoot.

	My journey
Ticket purchased	Phu Quoc–Singapore–Vienna
Ticket price	239 eur one-way
Aircraft and class	Boeing 787-8, Economy
Flight time	11 hours 55 minutes
Departure	2.45 am local time
Occupancy	Almost 100%
Connection in Singapore	Over 10 hours; I went into town
Extra meal	19 eur

Why did I only have a one-way ticket? Because for my trip to Asia, I took VietJetAir’s inaugural flight from Prague to Hanoi.

If you’re also interested in Vietnam, I’ve written a few articles from there:

• How many days are enough for Hanoi
• Where to go in Vietnam depending on the weather
• What’s it like to take the night train from Hanoi to Da Nang

But back to the scooter...

What was included in the ticket price?

For a one-way ticket from Phu Quoc to Vienna via Singapore, I paid 239 eur. I booked the flight directly via the flyscoot.com website.

This price includes only the flight, one standard piece of hand luggage and one small piece of hand luggage. Nothing else.

I paid extra for the following services on the Singapore–Vienna leg only:

• seat selection: 23 eur
• main meal (chicken with rice): 13 eur
• dessert (apple and cinnamon pastry): 6 eur

Any checked-in luggage would cost me 69 eur.

If I were to compare the price with a traditional airline such as Emirates, Qatar Airways or Saudia, I’d end up with a total of 327 eur (I’m not including seat selection, as almost all airlines charge for that).

Still a very fair price.

You can also buy a so-called ‘snooze kit’ for 15 eur. This includes a blanket, an eye mask and an inflatable neck pillow (which comes in handy on Scoot, believe me!)

Before departing from Singapore: a trip into the city and to Jewel

I had a 10-hour layover in Singapore, so naturally I headed into town. On the way there I tried the bus (not recommended); on the way back, I took the MRT as usual. I go into more detail in the article ‘Transport from Singapore Airport’.

On my last visit, we didn’t manage to explore Orchard Road and the Little India district, so I made sure to do so this time.

However, as the weather was absolutely dreadful, I returned to the airport a little earlier and spent the rest of my time at the iconic Jewel shopping centre with its waterfall.

View hotels near Singapore Airport

Check-in, boarding and security check

Check-in in Singapore takes place at self-service kiosks, but as I already had my boarding pass from Phu Quoc, I was able to proceed straight through to passport control.

Then a bit of shopping, followed by a shower in the lounge, which I was able to access thanks to my Revolut Ultra plan – I’ve written more about that in this article.

Get Revolut with a bonus

I like Singapore Airport, but there’s one thing about it that I really can’t stand.

Security checks right at the gate.

The 100 ml rule for liquids still applies here, so you can’t even take a drink through security.

Fortunately, there are at least drinking fountains in the departure gate area beyond security. But you won’t find anything else there. Not even toilets.

Boarding itself took place strictly according to the groups indicated on the boarding pass.

Seats on the Boeing 787-8: plenty of space, but no headrests

At first glance, the cabin does look a bit like a low-cost airline’s.

There’s plenty of space – I’m not walking past the Premium Economy section (the ScootPlus cabin is right at the front on the left) – but what strikes me most at first glance is that the seats don’t have headrests.

I even had one on Air Arabia during my journey from Prague to Bangkok, which many travellers consider to be a lesser low-cost carrier.

Once I’m seated, however, I reconsider my initial impression. There really is plenty of space here!

I’ve checked various aviation websites to see if my impression is accurate, and it really is. Scoot has exactly the same amount of legroom on its Boeing 787s as traditional airlines such as Qatar Airways or Etihad Airways.

This is really great – I can stretch my legs out completely comfortably and there’s no restriction on width either: Scoot has a standard 3-3-3 configuration.

The specific seat dimensions in Scoot Economy are as follows:

• Legroom: 77 cm
• Seat width: 43 cm
• Recline angle: 6°

The only (but quite significant) problem I have is the lack of a headrest. I simply need to rest my head. And this time I’ve booked an aisle seat, so I can’t even lean against the wall.

So here’s a tip for you: take a neck pillow with you!

First service

The first service comes straight after the start.

You can pre-order your meal when you book your ticket, or simply pay for it on board.

The steward asks me whether I want both meals (main course and dessert) that I’ve purchased now, or both two hours before landing, or one now and one before landing.

I wasn’t expecting this option on a low-cost flight and I certainly commend it.

As we’re taking off at 2.45 am, I’m skipping the meal altogether and will wait about 9.5 hours for the next service.

How did I sleep?

Fortunately, I’d got so tired during the day in Singapore that, despite the lack of a headrest, I managed to sleep for a solid 6.5 hours.

That doesn’t often happen to me, even when travelling in business class.

So, actually, I can’t really have any subjective complaints about the seat on Scoot 😀

The lack of in-flight entertainment and paid power sockets

Scoot’s seats aren’t fitted with screens, and Scoot doesn’t offer any films streamed via Wi-Fi to your mobile devices (unlike Air Arabia, for example).

I knew this in advance, so I’d downloaded plenty of videos and podcasts onto my mobile.

Wi-Fi during the flight is a paid service; on the long-haul route from Singapore to Vienna, a ‘ 14 eur ’ costs 200 MB. I didn’t try the internet, so I can’t comment on it.

What I found a bit odd were the paid-for power sockets for charging electronic devices in Scoot Economy’s standard class.

The fee for using a power socket on a long-haul flight is around 8 eur and is paid directly to the cabin crew (card payments are also accepted).

Second service

I receive my pre-ordered meals about 2 hours before landing in Vienna.

The chicken with rice and vegetables is absolutely delicious – I really enjoyed it!

It also comes with a free small Biscoff biscuit and a 250 ml bottle of water.

I also get a dessert straight away – a sweet, cinnamon-flavoured pastry filled with some sort of apple filling. That’s really good too. And I get some apple juice to go with it.

So, to sum up: it wasn’t much for a 12-hour flight, but you always have the option of buying extra food from the cabin crew.

Or you could bring some biscuits with you. Scoot officially prohibits the consumption of your own food on board, but in reality, there’s no way anyone can enforce this rule.

Arrival in Vienna: a coach instead of a jet bridge

Upon arrival in Vienna, we were in for a rather unpleasant surprise.

I thought I’d have a bit of time to settle in and change into some warm clothes inside the terminal, but I was wrong.

We disembarked straight onto the tarmac and took a bus to the terminal.

Clearly, this isn’t Scoot’s fault, but rather down to Vienna Airport’s insufficient capacity: right now, several long-haul flights from Asia are being processed by bus all around us.

How I hate Vienna Airport! I find it overcrowded, cramped, impractical… Prague is Prague (though I suppose I’m a bit of a biased patriot in that regard).

I do admit, though, that Vienna Airport obviously has much better transport links to the city centre.

I simply hopped on the S-Bahn commuter train and was at the main station in the city centre in 20 minutes. In the article ‘Transport from Vienna Airport’, I also describe all the other options, prices and so on.

Is Scoot worth it for a long journey? My verdict

In short: yes, provided it offers a good price.

I was really satisfied.

I knew what I was getting into. I knew that the in-flight service would be limited, but I was pleasantly surprised by the crew’s behaviour, the legroom and the ability to recline the seat.

The food was brilliant.

So, personally, my approach is that if Scoot offers, say, a pricethat’s 100 eur lowerthan that of regular airlines – after factoring in all the charges that would otherwise be included in the fare with traditional airlines – I’ll go with Scoot.

It’s a quick connection from Vienna to South-East Asia; Singapore Airport is brilliant for transfers, and even if you have a long lay-over, there’s always plenty to keep you entertained.

By the way, we often post special deals with Scoot on our homepage, so sign up for our flight deal alerts and fly to Asia for a really low price!

My recommendations

Based on my own experience of the Singapore–Vienna flight, I’d make sure to check the following things before travelling:

• Order your meal in advance. It’s a bit cheaper than buying food on board.
• Take your own neck pillow. The seat isn’t fitted with a headrest.
• Download podcasts and films onto your mobile.Scoot doesn’t offer any form of in-flight entertainment apart from paid Wi-Fi.
• Charge your phone and laptop just before the flight. There’s a charge for using the power sockets, and power banks are strictly prohibited during the flight.
• Take an empty bottle through security in Singapore.There are drinking fountains at the gate.

What other flights have I experienced?

Flying is my biggest hobby, and I write articles about many other flights.

In my opinion, these were my most interesting trips:

• The first VietJetAir flight from Prague to Hanoi
• Air Arabia on the Prague–Sharjah–Bangkok route
• Emirates’ new Business Class from Tokyo to Dubai
• Emirates’ old Business Class from Dubai to Prague