Amusing Scoot Prices to Berlin

[OZDUCK]

I was just sitting idly at the computer when I wondered what sort of prices Scoot were offering on their fairly new Berlin (Txl) lights. I chose dates for a Perth/Berlin return flight at random. Leave Perth on 3/12/18 & leave Berlin on 17/12.

I was amazed when the fare, economy including a bag (20 kg) and some "meals, came to $1,477. For the same date on Qatar the cheapest economy fare, with 30 kg baggage allowance, came to $1,428. i did not take into account any specials for either airline.

The Scoot trip was 26 1/2 hours and Qatar was 19 1/2 hours. The only place where Scoot was in front was hand luggage - 10 kg compared to 7 kg. Why would anyone even think about Scoot? If I chose Sin/Berlin return and put the return flight for QR back a day I get $938 for Scoot and $973 for QR - admittedly the QR flight is a one stop instead of direct but still?

I am really surprised at these prices I know that LCC's are often little cheaper than full service ones but this still seems remarkable to me. I wonder how the Berlin flights are really going for Scoot?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I think the market is exSIN for Scoot. But it all comes down to perception. If it's low cost people assume it must be the cheapest. Many people subscribe to the Jetstar/Scoot/Air Asia emails. The sales must look enticing.

 

[dajop]

December, say no more. Scoot are not going to discount to Berlin when they are charging almost $700 just to go PER-SIN return on those dates. I’d suggest they are actually doing well if that’s the sort of fares they are charging even ex-SIN to Berlin.

I also suspect, at least for Singaporeans, many would be happy to travel without the expensive food add on an bring their own (bootleg) snacks, and some probably even make do with just 10kg luggage. Take off the food, you reduce the price $100 (ex-SIN), remove the luggage it’s another $120 off so $938 becomes $838 or $718. And there’s always a premium for non stop.

At certain times of year you can get fares ex-SIN for around $200-300 less, which isn’t too bad.

 

[JohnK]

As mentioned it's perception.

Until I found the Qantas fare recently for BNE-SIN rerurn in Nov-Jan I was looking at a whole lot of options such as points both ways, points one-way and revenue return and one thing became clear. LCC are not that cheap.

I ended up paying ~$2700 return for 3 people on QF/3K/EK and the best I could do with mixture of LCC's was close to $3000.

 

[dajop]

and one thing became clear. LCC are not that cheap.

It is impossible in the airline world to make such generalisations! Prices vary so much. But it is fair to say when flights are busy, LCC's can be as expensive as legacy carriers.

I booked a one way SIN-MEL recently for $119 on Scoot. Don't need luggage, for that trip, and the Debit Card I have waives the booking fee and seat selection fee for Scoot. The return is slightly more expensive (mainly due to higher AU airport charges and taxes). I wouldn't say LCCs are not that cheap. It just depends greatly on the time you are travelling and whether there is a sale on or not.

 

[seanpodge]

Always wise to remind oneself every once and a while that LCCs are companies, not charities. As always, don't believe the hype and shop around.

Relevant to OP's example, it should be noted that QR fares have been rather discounted for a while now, probably due to the effects of the GCC crisis. I managed to fly PEK-DUB return on QR in Y two months ago for just under $900. Planes (B787) to/from DUB not even close to full.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

for sure, LCC means low cost to the airline operator. Not necessarily to the passenger.

 

[JohnK]

It is impossible in the airline world to make such generalisations! Prices vary so much. But it is fair to say when flights are busy, LCC's can be as expensive as legacy carriers.

As someone who travels with golf clubs LCCs are generally not cheap but at times can be cheaper.

I know LCCs are not charitable organisations but stumped as to how at times they can be more expensive than full service legacy carriers and does anyone actually book those seats?

 

[dajop]

As someone who travels with golf clubs LCCs are generally not cheap but at times can be cheaper.

I know LCCs are not charitable organisations but stumped as to how at times they can be more expensive than full service legacy carriers and does anyone actually book those seats?

Here's the thing .... the vast majority of travellers do not travel with golf clubs! So that automatically is creating extra costs with LCC who charge for everything and sundry. To extrapolate your personal situation to the whole travelling population is probably not helping to understand why people fly LCCs. In my example, no golf clubs, 10kg of hand carry, no need for food at midnight, $300 return on Scoot from SIN-MEL makes more sense than paying $750 on QF or $800 on SQ. The savings easily pay for a few snacks, as well as my annual netflix subscription for IFE!

Also LCC don't tend to work so well if you are connecting as most do not offer "network fares" they simply add up 2x one way fares.

There are all sorts of reasons people still may book more expensive fares than full service legacy carriers:
1) Not knowing any better
2) Not needing all the add-ons like luggage and food (which will reduce the LCC price)
3) Schedule (some times a certain departure time will work better than others)
4) Preferring non-stop over connecting flights
5) Only wanting a one-way fare which may be more expensive on legacy
6) {Insert other reason}

 

[OZDUCK]

An interesting conversation about LCC's. In our case we are trying Scoot for the first time in September.

There are a number of reasons we are using Scoot :-

1) We are taking advantage of QR J sale to visit Spain and can save several thousand dollars by starting the trip in Singapore rather than Perth. We fly QR direct to Perth on the return leg. As it is only around a 5 hour flight Per - Sin we are normally happy to do that leg in Y.

2) We usually fly SQ but our last couple of trips in Y with them have been very ordinary and the last one was actually poor with unpleasant FA's and a tired plane with worn seats and scratched IFE screens - the A330. The J fare Per - Sin is more than I was prepared to pay for what was usually their regional business class.

3) QF was not an option as they are usually flying the B737 Per - Sin with all the problems of a sub-standard International J fit-out. Plus a tight, from my point of view, economy legroom.

4) With Scoot we booked, during a sale, ScootBiz seats for about the same price as a one way economy seat on SQ. I Know that it is not a real business class but the seats are the same width as the QF737 J seats but with an extra 1" pitch. The ,included, food will only be market hall standard - if that, but we will not starve on such a short flight. They have free streaming to your own device on board but I would be happy reading my Kindle and listening to an MP3 player. However, they do offer 30 kg baggage for ScootBiz - not that our bags will be anywhere near that but it may be useful. The important thing for us is the leg and shoulder room.

5) I certainly wouldn't rely on them for a connecting flight but we always spend a few days in Singapore on one leg of our trips if we can. So we have booked for 4 nights before heading on.

The only problem we have encountered is that they have pushed the flight back a few hours a month or so after we booked. We now arrive of at 0135 and will "waste" half of the first nights hotel stay. If that timing had been in place before I booked it would certainly have given me more pause for thought. The fare I got allowed one free date change but no cancellation so I will have to live with it.

Any way it is always interesting to try something new.

 

[Forg]

for sure, LCC means low cost to the airline operator. Not necessarily to the passenger.

I’ve only flown EzyJet a few of times, but have been moderately amazed at the cheapness; was 1/3 the price of BMI or BA from Gatwick up to Inverness (about SYD-BNE in distance), and same Stansted to Edinburgh.
By comparison I’ve rarely saved any money flying JQ rather than QF domestically. Was really cheap in NZ though, we only paid something like $50 getting to Christchurch from AKL.

 

[jase05]

We use Air Asia and Cebu a fair bit in Asia for short trips and don’t have a problem with them. I wouldn’t want to go long haul in them but for short journey they are more than adequate and far cheaper than the major airlines