Singapore-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Scoot sees India as a country with enormous potential for the carrier’s growth and is constantly on the hunt for opportunities jointly with its parent Singapore Airlines (SIA) for building and strengthening the group’s network in one of the world’s fastest-growing large aviation markets, the budget airline’s chief executive officer Leslie Thng said. The Scoot CEO also said that calls on building synergies with the Air India group will be taken once the merger of Tata-SIA joint venture Vistara with Air India is completed.
“India is definitely a market of huge potential and is definitely a market that we continuously review to see whether there are further opportunities,” Thng said in an interaction with reporters in Singapore ahead of the inaugural flight of the carrier’s first Embraer E190-E2 aircraft.
Currently, Scoot operates over 40 weekly flights from Singapore to six Indian cities—Chennai, Amritsar, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram, and Visakhapatnam. Parent SIA, which is a full-service carrier (FSC), operates flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Pune, Kochi, and Coimbatore.
Thng said that SIA and Scoot approach network development together at the group level, and decide on which airline and aircraft to deploy based on market and demand analysis. This constant exercise at times also sees shifts in specific sectors based on changes in demand, passenger profile, and market dynamics. For instance, Scoot used to operate the Singapore-Bengaluru route earlier, but it was then transferred to SIA.
“At a group level, we have a committee that is chaired by the SIA CEO, which looks at the fleet requirements as well as the network development for the whole group…when we look at the market, wherever we feel that the FSC is more suitable because of the profile of the customers…then SIA will be operating to the market…Where we think that there are different market segments that the group will be able to target with a budget airline, then Scoot will be operating to the market,” Thng said.
“For some markets, both airlines are flying. For some markets, it is quite distinct, where SIA is there and we are not there or we are there and SIA is not there,” the Scoot CEO added. In response to a question on whether Scoot is looking to launch any new route between Singapore and India, Thng said that while the airline continues to scout for more opportunities in India, new routes are unlikely in the immediate future.
On the question of building synergies with the Air India group after Vistara merges with the Tata group’s flagship airline, Thng said that it would be premature to comment on the matter and the focus is to see the merger through at the earliest possible. SIA will own 25.1 per cent stake in Air India after the merger, which is expected by next year. Most regulatory approvals for the merger have been received by Air India, Tata group, and SIA, and the few remaining ones are expected over the next few months.
“I think that (merger) process needs to be completed first. So, I will say that it is a bit premature at this point to comment on other cooperation that we may have with the Air India group. The focus is really to complete the merger between Air India and Vistara…that process will take a bit of time. So, our focus is really to let the process be completed as soon as it can be. Then, of course, we will look at what other opportunities we can work on together,” said Thng, who served as the CEO of Vistara before his assignment as Scoot CEO.
Responding to questions on whether Scoot would be using the Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, which the airline pressed in service on Tuesday, to operate to any destination in India, Thng said that the airline did not have any plan to do so in the immediately, even as he did not rule out the possibility of doing so in the future. Scoot currently operates flights to five of its six destinations in India using the narrow-body A320 family aircraft, while one route destination—Singapore-Amritsar—is operated using the wide-body Boeing 787.
“If you look at the range of the E2 (E190-E2), it does allow you to consider deploying it to India…But at this moment, our priorities are actually to try to deploy it within this region (Southeast Asia). Not ruling it (deploying the plane on India routes) out at this moment, but definitely it is not in our immediate plan,” Thng said.
The E190-E2 has a range of up to six hours, which would cover large parts of India. The aircraft from the stable of Brazilian regional jet manufacturer Embraer will be used by Scoot to open a couple of new regional routes and increase frequencies on a few others by replacing the larger A320 family jets on those routes. Scoot has taken delivery of two Embraer jets already and another seven will be added to the fleet by the end of 2025. The airline’s total fleet size currently stands at over 50 aircraft.
Scoot’s E190-E2s have a seat capacity of 112, against its A320 planes that can carry 180 passengers. According to Embraer, the lower seat capacity, and competitive cost per seat and fuel efficiency of the regional jet make it a suitable candidate for opening new routes, increasing frequencies of existing short and medium-haul routes, and serving thin markets where larger narrow-body jets fly with low passenger loads.
The reporter was in Singapore on Scoot’s invitation for the launch the airline’s first Embraer E190-E2 service.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 07-05-2024 at 22:16 IST
