Scoot Arrives in Melbourne

As I mentioned previously, Melbourne is pretty much my second home. Thus, I’m pleased to highlight the addition of Scoot on the Singapore-Melbourne route. Scoot commenced operations to Melbourne on 1 Nov with a Boeing 787-8. It’s currently a 5 weekly service, with TZ22 departing Singapore at 12.40am and arriving in Melbourne at 11am the same day. The return TZ21 is wheels up from Melbourne at 12.15pm, touching down back in Singapore in time for dinner at 4.45pm (Northern Summer timings, when Melbourne is on Australian Eastern Daylight Savings time).

Scoot goes head-to-head here with Jetstar, in an all-787 fight. It’s going to be an interesting contest. Personally, my preference between the 2 would be Jetstar, particularly when comparing Scootbiz versus Jetstar Business class. However, Jetstar fares do tend be higher in both classes. Jetstar also has rather terrible on-time performance on this route. Nonetheless, I rate Jetstar’s product higher – seatback in-flight entertainment (free for Business but limited free options in economy on a basic fare), and more comprehensive catering.

Which budget carrier is going to win this fight?

My first sighting of the SG50 A380

SIA has swapped the Boeing 777-300ER  (77W) for the Airbus A380 on the SQ227/228 Singapore-Melbourne rotation, amidst a number of equipment changes across the network to cater for the addition of premium economy cabins to the A380s and 77Ws, the latter of which will also be refurbished with the 2013 cabin products.

The change took effect with SQ227 yesterday (18 June) and was operated by 9V-SKI, the first of 2 A380s to carry a special SG50 livery. I haven’t been spotting in at least 7 or 8 years, but I headed up to Melbourne Tullamarine this afternoon to catch SKI departing as SQ228. Here she is climbing out from runway 16:

It was great to finally see the SG50 livery in person. I must say, I found it rather ugly at first, but it’s starting to grow on me. Kudos to SQ for coming up with a scheme to celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday.

Singapore to Melbourne: Picking through the options

This feature is about a route very close to my heart – flying between Singapore and Melbourne. I’ve made several trips back and forth between the two great cities while pursuing my studies in Melbourne. I made this journey at least twice a year usually, and once 4 times during one year.

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50% off Krisflyer Economy Saver Redemption to Selected Destinations

As part of a SG50 promotion, SIA is giving Krisflyer and PPS Club members 50% discount on economy saver redemption between Singapore and selected destinations. The list of destinations are: 

Australian Domestic Flying on Virgin Australia + UpgradeMe

I made a trip to Sydney last weekend to attend a festival which was unfortunately postponed. As I had non-refundable tickets with substantial change fees (nearly what I paid for each sector), I went ahead with a holiday in Sydney anyway. My flights between Melbourne and Sydney were on Virgin Australia (VA), who are my preferred airline for domestic flying. VA had a double miles promotion for Velocity members earlier this year, with my trip conveniently falling within the travel period. I was also planning to try out VA’s UpgradeMe, though I was in two minds over whether I really wanted to fork out extra cash for Business Class on such a short domestic hop. 

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Krisflyer points can now be exchanged for Scoot and Tigerair vouchers

The Krisflyer miles -for-voucher exchange was rolled out today, allowing Krisflyer/PPS Club members to exchange their miles for vouchers that can be used for Scoot and Tigerair (see Straits Times article here). This opens up more options and destinations for frequent flyers to use their miles.

Hello!

Welcome to Zero Two Twenty Aviation. This bog is about aviation and travel topics connected to Singapore. The name signifies the connection with Singapore – 02/20 is the configuration of our fantastic Changi Airport’s runways. My aim is to be a source of advice on the best options for a better travel experience. Most of my advice is based on my personal travel, which I’ll share through my trip reports. I’ll also give my simple analysis of aviation news and how it may impact us travelers in Singapore. Along the way, you might see some posts of air travel in Australia, as I spend quite a bit of time there.

Hopefully, my insights will aid many of you in creating a wonderful trip.

Sit back and enjoy the flight!