Getting better: Scoot announces June 2020 flight schedules and cancellations

Scoot has published its flight schedule for June 2020, and it’s planning to serve a total of six destinations, up from just two in May.

That’s far short of the 67 it used to fly to before Covid-19, but hey, I’ll take good news wherever I can find it.

Scoot June 2020 Schedule Overview

In April and May 2020, Scoot only served Hong Kong and Perth. In June, it’ll add Guangzhou, Ipoh, Kuching, and Penang, operating a total of 108 flights split as follows:

• to/from Guangzhou (CAN): 8 flights
• to/ from Hong Kong (HKG): 26 flights
• to/from Ipoh (IPH): 16 flights
• to/from Kuching (KCH): 16 flights
• to/from Penang (PEN): 16 flights
• to/from Perth (PER): 26 flights

These flights are already available for sale on the Scoot website, and we can see they’re bringing the A320 back into service. In previous months, Scoot only operated a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

What does this mean for the reopening of borders?

Looking at the schedule, I can’t help but wonder if Scoot knows something we don’t.

The Singapore government has announced its intention to gradually reopen borders for essential travel among countries with low Covid-19 transmission rates.

According to National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, it’s “too early” to say which countries would be first to have travel restrictions lifted. However, given the importance of cross-causeway travel, Malaysia would have to be high on that list, assuming the government assesses the risk of imported cases to be tolerable.

Scoot’s schedule suggests that a “travel bubble” with Malaysia may very much be on the cards. Now, I certainly don’t think we’ll see leisure travel- that’s still a long way off, and probably not until we enter Phase 3 of the end of Circuit Breaker measures. But these are baby steps towards that day, and for that we should be thankful.

Full list of Scoot flights operating in June 2020

Here’s the list of Scoot flights that will operate in June 2020. Any flight not listed below is cancelled.

South East Asia

North Asia

Australia

What if my Scoot flight has been cancelled?

If your flight has been cancelled, you’re entitled to:

• a 100% refund in cash, or
• a 120% refund in vouchers, valid for 12 months

Do note that cash refunds may take up to 14 weeks to process, and will be done to the original mode of payment.

Vouchers can be redeemed on the Scoot website, and a maximum of two vouchers can be used per transaction. Those who previously received a 100% refund in Scoot vouchers (the policy before 9 April 2020) will automatically receive an additional voucher worth 20% of the original itinerary value to make up the difference.

Scoot allows you to apply for refunds or vouchers on the website under the Manage My Booking function.  Try your best to avoid calling up the hotline, as the main call centre in the Philippines has been temporarily shut down.

If your flight has not been cancelled, but you don’t wish to travel anymore, you may still be able to get a refund provided your flight was booked on/before 15 March 2020 (the date of the MOH advisory against all non-essential overseas travel), with a departure date by 30 June 2020. 

Scoot’s full refund policy for Covid-19 can be found here.

Conclusion

Scoot’s June schedule hints at just a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, although it’s good to moderate our expectations. The vast majority of the Scoot fleet will still be grounded, and 27 flights a week is a drop in the ocean compared to what it was before.

It says a lot about how much I miss flying now that I’d bite your hand off to get on a Scoot flight to Penang…