KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore Airlines' low-cost subsidiary, Scoot has selected Brazilian's Embraer E190-E2 aircraft to complement its existing Boeing and Airbus fleet as it targets to fly to more smaller cities in Southeast Asia.
Scoot chief executive officer Leslie Thng said the airline would also be able to increase frequencies to its current destinations using smaller narrow-body airplanes while continuing to operate its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A320 aircraft.
"We look at what fleet would be complementary to our existing fleet because we're not the typical low-cost carrier that operate only one single fleet. We've been operating two fleets – wide-body and narrow-body at the same time."
"What is more important for us is how we can continue to enhance our network connectivity not just for Scoot but for the whole Singapore Airlines' Group (SIA Group) and within that what aircraft type will be most suitable for the group to consider," he said yesterday.
When asked why Scoot did not choose to operate the Airbus A220, dubbed the competitor of Embraer's E190-E2 aircraft, Leslie reiterated that the Brazilian-made airplane is the best choice for the SIA Group.
He said the decision has nothing to do with the supply chain challenges that are affecting the production rate of Airbus, particularly the A320s.
"We still have a number of new A320s that we will continue to take delivery from Airbus. We're not stopping there. We still have a couple of Boeing 787s that we'll continue to take from Boeing. The number of new aircraft joining Scoot will continue for the next couple of years," Leslie added.
Scoot's fleet comprises of 21 Boeing 787 Dreamliners – six of which are B787-8, five B787-8 (with bunks) and 10 B787-9 with three more Dreamliners on order.
The airline also operate 31 A320s – 16 A320ceo (current engine option), nine A321neo (new engine option) and six A320neos. It has 12 A320neo and six A321neo on order.
Scoot had ordered nine new E190-E2 commercial aircraft under a lease agreement with Florida-based aircraft lessor, Azorra in 2023.
The Singaporean-based budget carrier had received two of its E190-E2 aircraft with the remaining three expected to arriving in 2024 while the balance of four would be delivered in 2025.
Leslie said that Scoot's capacity has been fully recovered post pandemic and the airline is currently in its growth stage.
The challenge for Scoot is the highly competitive operating landscape, Leslie said given that many of the budget airlines' competitors have also put in more aircraft and flight capacities back into the market.
"We're seeing very good traction in terms of our existing flights as well as the new destinations or the new frequencies that we're putting into the system."
"We continue to be optimistic that the current demand will continue to be robust especially within the region," Leslie said.