Sunday, April 3, 2016

Fly Scoot to Perth

We booked our flight to Perth from Singapore through FlyScoot's website last Oct.  Including check-in luggage and a meal, the total cost was $461.  We were quite excited as it would be our first time flying Boeing's much touted 787 Dreamliner.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Spacious Legroom

The Dreamliner is sleek and spacious.  For our tall and leggy friends, they would like the Dreamliner, as there is very comfortable legroom between rows.

The window shade is also different.  Instead of the manual version, now there is a button for you to press to darken or lighten the window shade.  It is electronic control.

The first impression was very good.  However, once the plane took off, all the good impressions that I had so far became meaningless.  From the moment of take-off, the plane vibrated violently.  You can take a look at the YouTube video I took during the flight, and this was NOT during a turbulence!


When turbulence comes, what will happened?  We encountered two major turbulence during the 5-hour flight.  Once the plane lost a bit of altitude.  The air stewardesses were still pushing the carts, the sudden loss of altitude made a lot of them fall and scream.   Drinks were spilled, unsecured objects flying.  It was a scary scene.

Finally, we reached above Perth airport.  The weather was good, sunny, good visibility, but our landing was terrible.  It was like we were landing in a big turbulence.  The air stewardess sitting behind me said it was the worst landing she had ever experienced.  To me, it was the worst flight and worst landing I had experienced.

Our air ticket included a meal during the flight.  This is what I got.  For 20kg check-in luggage and a hot meal, we paid additional S$55/pax.  If you are hungry, I don't think this meal can cure your starvation.

In-Flight Hot Meal

After the plane landed safely at Perth airport finally, the cabin light changed from a single color to a rain bow.

Rainbow Cabin Light

The rainbow cabin light was beautiful, and it was something nice and fuels passenger's fantasy, however, flight safety is what is most important to any passenger, not the fancy stuff.

I wondered whether my poor flight experience is to do with the Dreamliner or the pilot.  I got the answer after my return flight from Perth to Singapore.

I will say 10% due to the Dreamliner.  As the Dreamliner is really slim, the hulk is tiny, naturally it is less stable compared with the heavier planes.  For the remaining 90%, I will say it is due to the pilot.  Our return flight had been relatively smooth.  We encountered some turbulence too, but the plane didn't shake so violently.  When there was no turbulence, the ride was smooth in general.

After this experience, I would think twice before I fly with Scoot again.  Anyway, the price difference between Scoot and SIA is only about $100.

Other posts about Perth are at: Journey to Perth 2016

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