It seems Singapore Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary – Scoot, is going in a new direction with its fleet, with it signing a Letter of Intent for nine Embraer E190-E2 aircraft.
Scoot Embraer E190-E2 – Rendering, Scoot.
Scoot signed the Letter of Intent with aircraft lessor, Azorra, to add nine new Embraer E190-E2 aircraft to support its network growth strategy. The move will mark the first deployment of the type in Asia.
The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in 2024, with the other eight to be progressively introduced by the end of 2025.
Out of the box, the Embraer E190-E2 has a capacity for 114 seats in a single class configuration (assuming a 29″ seat pitch). Scoot is selecting a configuration which will allow for 112 seats. The airline will deploy its E190-2 on short and medium-haul flights of up to five hours with a rather of 2,850 nm, utilising Pratt & Whitney GTF PW1900 to power it on its way.
The addition of the new type will complement the airlines’ larger Airbus A320 Family and Boeing 787 aircraft in Scoot’s fleet, serving thinner routes to non-metro destinations out of Singapore.
In Quotes
Mr Leslie Thng, Scoot’s Chief Executive Officer,
“Expanding Scoot’s fleet to include nine new E190-E2 aircraft enables us to continue operating a modern and fuel-efficient fleet. It also affirms our commitment to offer even more travel opportunities for our customers at the same great value. The new aircraft ensures that Scoot is ready for growth by enhancing our connectivity in the region and supports the further development of our Singapore hub.”
That’s one way of addressing “thin and long”
When deciding if you’re going to operate a route – the first concern is “how do you make it profitable” in many respects. This is where some of that demand forecasting, research and traffic analysis come into play.
Thin and long routes have to have the appropriate equipment to meet this requirement too (good examples recently are the buy-in of the Airbus A321LR/XLR and the venerable Boeing 757-200) which have specific cases for opening routes, or running routes that would not be sustainable.
We are also seeing this with the Airbus A220 family, and now the Embaer E190-E2- with Scoot seemingly wanting to make use of the “up to five hours” flight range.
Nine aircraft is a starting point for the airline – looking at the current fleet size, allowing them time to train, as well as integrating the type in its fleet and network.
It’ll be interesting to see where they end up and what new traffic flows are developed.
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