Review: Scoot Plus Premium Economy on their flagship 787 Dreamliner aircraft
After an excellent but short break in Thailand, it was time to make our way back to London on Scoot. Unlike our inbound flight, we was travelling in their Scoot Plus cabin which offers an elevated experience over and above Scoot Economy and Scoot in silence. After an eventful check-in experience, which you can read more about here, we were through security and ready to board the flight.
This flight was paid for by Scoot, read my policy on ‘free’ media trips here.
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What is Scoot Plus?
Scoot Plus is the Premium Economy offering aboard Scoot Air’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Formerly called Scootbiz, the upgrade is not a match for long haul business class but is an extremely competitive offering above Economy Class. The differences come down to:
Greater legroom
Wider seat
A US domestic first class-style seat
Inclusive food and unlimited water
Free seat selection
32kg of luggage
Boarding experience
Unlike the inaugural flight from Gatwick, the experience at Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Airport was a dream. This was thanks to the infinitely large boarding gate versus Gatwick, which felt about as big as my London flat, but also due to the passenger load on our flight. A quick look around and there was no more than thirty or so passengers on this aircraft that can carry over ten times that number. I will note the low passenger load is to be expected as we took our Bangkok to London flight on 23rd December 2021 - most people travelling to Thailand from the UK are likely to stay until at least after Christmas or New Year.
One aspect I absolutely loved about the boarding experience at Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi International Terminal was the beautiful view of the aircraft from the light and airy boarding space. Just look at that beautiful livery in the stunning Bangkok sunlight!
First impressions
On this flight we were situated in seats 1A and 1B at the very front of the aircraft. Scoot Plus has three rows in a 2-3-2 configuration meaning that there is one seat less across than Economy class. The Scoot Plus cabin looks a little more grown up and smarter than the Economy cabin featuring dark navy-black leather seats with accent stripes of Scoot’s signature yellow colour. The cabin itself is what you expect from a Dreamliner - airy, spacious and signature mood lighting - whilst it is sectioned off from the primary cabin by a yellow curtain. Although not champagne, we did receive small sealed cup of water as our pre-departure beverage.
The seat
While Scoot in Silence was perfectly serviceable for our outbound flight, Scoot Plus really levels up the experience. Let’s start with similarities, and there is only one, there is still no in-flight entertainment screen - meaning that there is no meaningful upgrade in this sense. Where it matters, Scoot have bought their best game to this seat and is better than what I have seen on Virgin Atlantic and British Airways (a direct competitor on this route). The inbound flight from Bangkok to London was significantly longer than the outbound at around 14 hours but this seat was comfortable for this extended journey duration. Buttons such as the call bell and light switch are found next to your legs on the seat.
The seat is very well padded across the base and back while the leather-like fabric is cosier than you may expect it to be - but my legs did stick a bit to the seat thanks to wearing shorts.
Recline is excellent on Scoot’s premium seat with the seat moving back 15cm when you lift the manual buttons on the seat. Sitting in the first row ensures that you do not have anybody lean into your personal space but this is an issue in rows two and three on the aircraft. This is less of an issue than on other airlines with similar seats - firstly as you will not be using an in-flight entertainment screen as there is none and secondly because the tray table is within the armrest and not attached to the seat in front. The tray table itself was sturdy despite the split design that can often result in a poor table design.
When in recline mode, there is decent support for your calves through a little part of the seat that flips out. At my 188cm height, there was plenty of legroom for me to stretch out and relax without worrying about the dreaded leg pain you sometimes get.
Headrests are also adjustable in four directions (up, down, left and right) to provide suitable support for your neck and head. I didn’t sleep on this flight, as we was landing at 20h00 UK time and wanted to sleep better when arriving home, but my partner did, and he seemed to get to sleep okay for a few hours. I suspect had I wanted to, I would have slept very well also in this seat - having had a pretty good sleep during my outbound Economy flight.
In-flight entertainment and in-seat amenities
As noted previously, there are no traditional in-flight entertainment screens in Scoot Plus. This isn’t really that big of a deal in an age where streaming services allow you to download films and TV shows offline. Unlike regular economy, in-seat power is free and features the usual multi-adapter socket that can take UK-style plugs. Surprisingly, there was no USB port so be sure to bring your wall adapter with you. This did not bother me too much as it meant that I could charge my laptop whilst on the flight - unlike a previous flight on American Airlines, the socket delivered enough power to charge the device up.
Wi-Fi was available on this flight, which was not the case on the outbound. I had hoped to be able to put it to the test, but coverage was a little patchy across the globe and often was not available at all. When it was available the service was barely usable and I struggled to open a basic Google search - this is quite disappointing but equally it is quite nice to disconnect from the world while up above the clouds. Scoot do provide 30mb of free data for you to use if you are in Scoot Plus.
I spent a good six hours of the flight tapping away and writing blogs ready to get uploaded after landing. The tray table provided significant support to type on my keyboard without feeling uncomfortable - my time in Scoot Plus was one of my most productive ever when it came to writing articles.
As reviewed in my Scoot Economy class article, Scoot Hub is also available, and I made use of it to order some snacks through the flight.
Food and drink
Scoot Plus does not provide a better food offering over regular Economy class. The offering is the same as Economy besides the main meal being offered as part of the ticket cost. I opted for the vegetarian curry which was more flavourful than the ‘mum’s fried rice’ dish which I had on the London-Bangkok journey. All drinks cost extra besides water which the cabin crew proactively served throughout the flight - this was a god send because even water costs extra in regular economy.
I did decide to ‘treat’ myself to a Nissin Cup Noodle, ordered through Scoot Hub, which staved off my hunger for the rest of the flight - and were pretty tasty despite them being instant noodles!
Odds and ends
As per the first flight, all the crew were super helpful during the flight and were very proactive to offer support or provide water throughout the journey. They proactively cleaned the toilets seemingly after every other passenger used the toilets which is a big plus in an era where Covid-19 is still spreading in large numbers across the globe. There are dedicated toilets in Scoot Plus but they do not offer any extra amenities other than soap. This is a step above other airlines who usually have shared Economy and Premium Economy toilets along with no additional amenities.
I will note that due to the light load of passengers on this flight there was an upgrade offer from Scoot Economy to Scoot Plus for just SGD 80 - quite a decent deal for the improved seat. Sensibly, nobody took this offer. You may be thinking that’s a bit crazy but practically every passenger in Economy on this flight had their own row of seats to lay out on.
Conclusion
Scoot Plus offers a no-frills upgrade to the regular Economy experience on-board their 787 aircraft. While the logic of upgrading may not have been there on this journey, if you were on a full flight the extra space and more comfortable seat is greatly appreciated on this lengthy 14-hour trip. Just like in Economy Class, Scoot Plus gets all the basics right while I really appreciated the extras like in-seat power and free water. While not the extra luxury you get with Singapore Airlines or British Airways, the extra cost for Scoot Plus is a steal in comparison. Taking a random return date in April, the cost is GBP 919.49 in Scoot Plus from London to Bangkok compared to GBP 2,400 on Singapore Airlines in Premium Economy. While Singapore Airlines will have a superior food offering, amenities and in-flight entertainment, GBP 1500 is a large price differential for somebody to absorb just for them minor improvements.
While it would be good to see a more differentiated experience between Economy and Scoot Plus, namely better food and in-flight entertainment I realise that this will increase the cost base too much for Scoot to remain a low-cost, long-haul carrier. With that in mind, I happily recommend Scoot for your long-haul journey to Bangkok and beyond. They offer an unbeatable Premium Economy service pound for pound in Scoot Plus versus the alternatives - be sure to give them a look in if you are planning a low-cost trip to South East Asia any time soon.
