Low-cost carrier (LCC) Scoot has commenced ticket sales for its upcoming flights to Berlin from its Singapore hub, offering Australians a new one-stop option to Germany.
The four-times weekly service with Boeing 787 equipment was first announced in December 2017 and is scheduled to commence on June 20 2018.
The flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with TZ734 departing Singapore at 0020 and arriving at 0725. The reciprocal TR735 leaves Berlin at 0925, touching down in Singapore at 0335 the next day.
Berlin is Scoot’s third long-haul destination, having started flights to Athens in June 2017 and Honolulu, via Osaka, in December 2017.
Scoot chief executive Lee Lik Hsin said the addition of Berlin was part of the airline’s efforts to offer travellers more choice for low-cost, long-haul travel.
“Scoot’s low-cost long-haul business model has finally taken off in the last six months with our flights to Athens and Honolulu,” Lee said in a statement.
“Both have lived up to our expectations and our guests tell us that the 787 Dreamliner has been key to convincing them to travel long-haul on low-cost.”
The 787-8s Scoot uses to Athens, and will likely operate to Berlin, feature 18 recliner-style seats in the forward Scootbiz cabin and 329 economy seats at nine abreast. The aircraft also has eight crew rest bunks.
In Australia, the Singapore Airlines-owned Scoot serves the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney from Singapore.
At 5,366nm, Singapore-Berlin would be one of the longest flights in the world operated by a low-cost carrier, rivalling Norweigan’s London Gatwick-Singapore (5,873nm) and Eurowings’ Bangkok-Cologne Bonn (5,074nm).
AirAsia X previously flew from Kuala Lumpur to London (Gatwick) with Airbus A340s but abandoned the 5,723nm route in 2012 due to high fuel prices.
Singapore Airlines previously served Athens but dropped the route in 2012 after 40 years of operations. It returned to Athens on a seasonal basis in 2014.
The only other one-stop, single-carrier option for Australians headed to Berlin is Qatar Airways from Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney via Doha. There were also a number of one-stop, multiple carrier options in the market.
While the upcoming Berlin service represents a new alternative for Australians headed to Europe alongside established one-stop options from full-service carriers, flight times indicate the bargain basement fares could involve significant transit times at Singapore in both directions, depending on the day of travel.
A sample of some long-haul low-cost carrier flights around the world (distance in nautical miles)
- London Gatwick-Singapore (5,873nm) – operated by Norwegian with Boeing 787-8s
- Berlin Tegel-Singapore (5,366nm) – operated by Scoot from June 20 2018 with Boeing 787-8s
- Bangkok-Cologne Bonn (5,074nm) – operated by Eurowings with Airbus A330-200s
- La Reunion-Paris (Orly)- (5,042nm) – operated by French Blue with Airbus A350-900s
- Cologne Bonn-Phuket (4,909nm) – operated by Eurowings with Airbus A330-200s
- Athens-Singapore (4,884nm) – to be operated by Scoot from June 20 2017 with Boeing 787-8s
- Honolulu-Melbourne (4,783nm) – operated by Jetstar with Boeing 787-8s
- Lisbon-Sao Paulo (Campinas) (4,268nm) – operated by Azul Brazilian Airlines with Airbus A330-200s
