By Will Lee
Scoot Leases Nine Embraer E190-E2s
Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ no-frills subsidiary, will bolster its services by leasing nine new Embraer E190-E2. The first aircraft is expected to deliver in 2024, with the remaining deliveries by the end of 2025 after signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Azorra, a commercial aircraft lessor.
E190-E2 can carry 112 passengers in a single-class configuration and will be deployed the flight up to five hours. The new aircraft are expected to serve the second tier destinations and to strengthen the position of Singapore’s Changi Airport as a leading hub.
“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.” Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer of the airline said.
Scoot started its services with three Boeing 777 and marked its 10 years anniversary last year. The low-cost-carrier currently owns a fleet of over 50 aircraft, consisting of Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A320 family. The airline mainly provides services to Southwest Pacific and Asian destinations, such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and India.
The low-cost carrier will be the first Singapore airline to operate E190-E2. The aircraft was first introduced in 2018 and best known for substainability with smallest noise footprint and lowest emission. According to Embraer, E190-E2 could lower the operating cost and deliver 17.3% better fuel efficiency per seat, compared to previous generation E-jets.
Embraer believed E190-E2 is the ideal aircraft for carrier to shed light on development of new markets and take advantage of new opportunities. Also, the passengers can benefit from the design of 2-2 configuration with no middle seats and more spaces for bags.
When the pandemic has come to an end, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer has seen the demand surge. In 2022, Embraer delivered a total of 159 aircraft, including 57 commercial jet and 102 executive jets with an increase of 12.7%, compare to 2021. In the fourth quarter of 2022, it delivered 80 aircraft, consisting of 30 were commercial jets and 50 were executive jets.
In the meantime, Singapore is on track for the recovery. Earlier, Singapore Airlines recorded largest half year operating profit in company’s history. In addition, Changi Airport, has handled 32.2 million passengers last year. The figure showed almost half of the traffic in 2019. However, the passenger number to North America has slightly exceeded pre-Covid levels in 2022. In December, the traffic reached 72% of pre-Covid levels.
“Changi Airport community’s efforts have paid off – the airport is now leading Asia Pacific region in travel recovery.” Lim Ching Kiat, Executive Vice President of Air Hub and Cargo Development, Changi Airport Group said.
The vibrant hub wasn’t left behind after the pandemic, connecting 140 cities globally with 90 airlines operating.
