Scoot’s flight from Singapore to Subang will depart at 11.55am from Changi Airport and arrive in Subang at 1.10pm every day from Sept 1. - ST FILE
SINGAPORE: Travellers who fly between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur will have another flight option from Sept 1, with low-cost carrier Scoot set to launch a new daily service to Subang Airport.
The budget arm of Singapore Airlines will operate its Airbus A320 aircraft, which each has about 180 seats, on the route. One-way economy class fares from Singapore start from S$83, while one-way fares from Subang start at RM108 (S$31), including taxes.
Flight bookings are available from July 18 via Scoot’s website and its mobile app, and they will be made available progressively through other sales channels.
With the addition of the new Subang service, Scoot will operate 110 weekly flights to a total of 10 points in Malaysia, increasing its overall route network to 70 destinations.
“The new daily flights... aim to provide customers with an alternative option to conveniently travel between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and beyond to the rest of Scoot’s network,” the airline said in a statement on July 18.
Scoot said the flight schedules are subject to government and regulatory approvals and changes.
For now, Scoot’s flight from Singapore to Subang will depart at 11.55am from Changi Airport and arrive in Subang at 1.10pm every day from Sept 1. The flight from Subang will depart at 2.10pm, arriving in Singapore at 3.20pm.
Scoot also flies to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Changi Airport, using Airbus A320, Airbus A321 and Boeing 787 aircraft.
For years, only general aviation and turboprop flights were allowed to operate out of Subang Airport, which is located closer to downtown Kuala Lumpur than the larger KLIA.
This was after all narrow-body jet plane operations were moved to KLIA in 1998.
Before Scoot’s new flights, only Malaysian budget carrier Firefly operated commercial flights between Singapore and Subang, flying ATR72-500 turboprop planes to and from Seletar Airport.
Firefly used to also fly between Changi Airport and Subang Airport, but that service was halted after all turboprop flights in Singapore were moved to Seletar in 2018.
In 2023, the Malaysian authorities changed tack on Subang, allowing the resumption of jet plane operations at the airport as part of a longer-term rejuvenation plan.
Malaysian media reported earlier in July that six airlines have received approval to operate narrow-body aircraft services at Subang for an interim period of four years between August 2024 and 2028. This included two foreign carriers.
Scoot was said to be one of the two foreign airlines that got the nod, especially in the light of comments by Scoot chief executive Leslie Thng in May expressing interest in operating the carrier’s new Embraer E190-E2 jets from Singapore to Subang.
Scoot had kept mum until its announcement on July 18.
The other foreign airline that will operate narrow-body flights to Subang is Indonesia’s TransNusa. The remaining four airlines that got the approval are all Malaysian – Firefly, Batik Air Malaysia, AirAsia and SKS Airways.
The resumption of jet operations at Subang is part of the first phase of the airport’s redevelopment, which began in December 2023. This first phase includes building up to five parking bays for narrow-body aircraft and six parking bays for turboprop planes.
The New Straits Times reported that the resumption of narrow-body aircraft services at Subang would see the airport handling up to three million passengers annually, up from the current 1.5 million.
The next phases of the redevelopment plan will increase Subang’s capacity so that it will eventually be able to handle up to eight million passengers a year.
Independent aviation analyst Brendan Sobie from Sobie Aviation said the resumption of flights between Changi Airport and Subang is a positive development for consumers, but its impact will be relatively small, given the massive size of the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur market.
This is also why he does not expect Scoot’s new flights to significantly impact Firefly’s operations here.
“Demand is generally higher than supply in the Singapore-Subang market, and Scoot operating one daily flight is not about to change this,” he said.
Sobie added that he is not surprised by Scoot’s decision to use Airbus A320 aircraft for the Subang route over the 112-seat Embraer jets. “They are better off using the larger aircraft as it can carry more passengers and help them keep fares low,” he noted.
As for whether travellers can expect to see more flights between Changi and Subang in the future, Sobie said Scoot may increase the frequency of its flights over time, but this will likely not happen until the second phase of Subang’s redevelopment.
The analyst said it would also be ideal for a Malaysian carrier to operate on the Changi-Subang route, so there is a level playing field.
“Malaysia selecting Scoot over many other foreign airline applicants shows how it values connectivity with Singapore. Hopefully, Singapore will return the favour with slots at Changi Airport for a Malaysian carrier,” he added. - The Straits Times/ANN
