According to Singaporean travellers
These tales of travel terror get us all nervous, but they're anecdotal at best. In the grand scheme of things, how do we know if flight delays really do happen very frequently on Airline X? Or if Airline Y really does end up cancelling a lot of their flights?
We carry out a proper survey on flight cancellations and delays, that's how. MoneySmart asked over 1,700 Singaporeans about the flight delays, flight cancellations, and compensation received for both over the past year or so (May 2022-2023). Here's what we found out about flight delays, cancellations, compensation for flight disruptions & impact of travel disruptions:
- Air India and Air China had the highest reported rates of flight delays
- Almost 2 out of 5 Singapore Airlines travellers had their flights delayed
- Most travel delays didn't exceed 4 hours
- Air India and Cebu Pacific Air had the highest reported rates of flight cancellations
- About 1 in 4 respondents waited only 1 to 3 hours for a replacement flight
- About 2 in 5 respondents did not get compensated for delayed flights
- Air China was the most likely to compensate respondents whose flights were delayed or cancelled
- Are the travellers we surveyed scarred for life?
- How do I avoid flight delays and cancellations?
Scoot Airlines Review – The Worst Airline in Asia
Scoot Airlines Review – My Awful Experience
I don’t often write bad things on my blog. BUT I feel a little bit like I need to warn you all about how atrocious Scoot Airlines is. Mainly so that what happened to me, never happens to you. I love you guys and want you to have only the best travelling experiences. With that said, here’s my Scoot Airlines review.
Well, to answer your question quickly, NO, Scoot is not a good airline at all. I would go so far as to say that it is the worst airline I have ever used and, at a minimum, the worst airline in Asia. Now, let me tell you all about my personal experience with Scoot and why I’m a little bit bitter. And don’t get me wrong, I know Scoot is a budget airline, I wasn’t expecting too much, trust me.
Have you ever booked a flight with a budget airline and after clicking “confirm”, thought that MAYBE you should have just paid a bit extra for a better known airline? No? Well, neither had I until I booked a flight from Sydney to Hong Kong (via Changi airport, Singapore) with Scoot Airlines. I didn’t know it then, but I was about to have one of the worst flying experiences of my life. My fears were somewhat calmed when I discovered that Scoot is owned by Singapore Airlines. After all, Singapore Airlines is a decent airline! I thought, “I’ll be grand, Singapore couldn’t possibly run a dodgy budget airline”. Sadly, I was about to be proven seriously wrong. Let me tell you EVERYTHING that made me believe that Scoot Airlines might possibly be the worst airline in Asia.
Fire breaks out on Scoot plane bound for Singapore
Fire breaks out on Scoot plane bound for Singapore at Taiwan airport
As a Scoot airlines plane prepared to take off from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport bound for Singapore on Tuesday night (Jan. 10), a power bank caught fire, filling the cabin with smoke and injuring two passengers, and leading to the cancelation of the flight. The Taoyuan International Airport Corporation issued a press release stating it had received notification from the tower at about 7:40 p.m. Scoot Flight TR993 was taxiing on the ground and about to take off when the blaze broke out. Crew members quickly extinguished the fire, while the aircraft was guided back to the apron for inspection and all 189 passengers safely exited the plane.
The airport said the fire was caused by a passenger's power bank that caught fire, and two passengers suffered minor injuries, including slight burns to the hands and a bruise on the bridge of the nose. The fire did not affect other flights at the airport. A passenger told PTS Taiwan that smoke suddenly started emitting from a bag, while its owner threw it on the ground, and it erupted in flames. The passenger said that smoke started billowing, and flight attendants grabbed fire extinguishers to put out the fire. Another passenger said that when the fire broke out, Scoot crew members "immediately grabbed fire extinguishers and sprayed them to put out the fire. After spraying the fire extinguishers, there was a lot of smoke, so photos make it look smoky." However, the passenger said that the flames were not that large, similar to "burning joss paper we commonly use at home."
In addition to arranging for passengers to clear customs, Scoot will also reschedule flights and provide accommodation and meals for those affected. Scoot emphasized that maintaining the safety of passengers and crew is its top priority, and the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the incident. The injured passengers decided to continue on the same flight, while six passengers decided to make other arrangements. The airline is compensating passengers for transportation expenses to return to their residences or accommodations until they can get on the next flight. The flight from Taipei to Singapore has been rescheduled to depart at 7:35 p.m. on Wednesday evening and arrive in Singapore at 12:20 a.m. on Thursday (Jan 12).
related:
Spate of Scoot 'flight disruptions'
It is harder for planes to take off in extreme heat, as higher temperatures reduce the performance of an aircraft’s engines and the lift that it needs to take off. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Passengers on board at least two Scoot flights from Athens to Singapore had to fly without their baggage after the heatwave engulfing Greece affected aircraft performance.
On Tuesday, another Scoot flight from Athens to Singapore, which is usually a direct non-stop route, had to refuel in Amritsar, India, as the plane began the journey with less fuel to accommodate baggage.
In response to queries, the budget airline attributed the disruptions to the “extreme weather conditions” that have been afflicting the Greek capital, where temperatures have exceeded 40 deg C.
World's Best Airline 2023
Singapore Airlines is named the World’s Best Airline at the 2023 World Airline Awards
The 2023 World Airline Awards have been announced in a gala ceremony held in the iconic Air and Space Museum at the Paris Air Show. More than 350 guests attended the event from airlines across the world, with a large number of airline CEO’s, Presidents and Senior Management present to accept their awards. As has become customary at the World Airline Awards, there were a lot of uniformed airline cabin crew showing off the airline corporate brands.
Widely regarded as ‘the Oscars of the aviation industry’, the World Airline Awards began in 1999, and remain totally independent and impartial with all of the customer survey costs and awards event paid by the organisers, Skytrax. The seven times winner of the prestigious Airline of the Year award, Qatar Airways, was ranked No 2 in the world for 2023, with ANA All Nippon Airways in third place, Emirates fourth, and Japan Airlines in fifth position, out of more than 325 airlines included in the survey results.
