Budget carrier Scoot takes off - and it's got iPads
A new budget airline has started operations in Asia, offering a new service between Singapore and Sydney.
Owned by Singapore Airlines, low-cost subsidiary Scoot will initially fly routes between Singapore and Bangkok, Australia and China, although plans are already underway to expand the services.
Its first four destinations are Sydney, Gold Coast, Bangkok and Tianjin and are all available for booking on the website.
In a unique move, Scoot revealed this week that it will eschew all in-flight entertainment on its aircraft, opting instead to offer passengers iPads to rent, preloaded with movies, music, games and television shows.
While the move will cost passengers an extra $17 per flight, it will save the airline thousands in fuel costs, making each plane two tons lighter.
The airline plans to eventually offer budget flights to destinations including New Zealand, the United States and Europe.
Budget airlines are still something of an emerging phenomenon in Asia, although travelers in the region are rapidly gaining new services as established names try to keep up with soaring demand.
AirAsia Japan opened its ticket sales last week ahead of a takeoff in August, adding yet another country to the hugely successful AirAsia franchise which already dominates the low-cost arena in Malaysia and Thailand.
Peach Aviation, another Japanese competitor operated by Japan's All Nippon Airways, started operations last month, and plans to add more routes from Japan to Hong Kong and Taipei by the end of this year.
