Scoot To Open Singapore-Melbourne Route

10th Dec 2014

The wholly-owned budget subsidiary of Singapore Airlines recently made public its plan to operate a fourth Australian route, this time between Singapore and Melbourne.

Starting November 1, 2015, Scoot will operate a five-times weekly service between Singapore and the capital of Australia's state of Victoria. Melbourne and the whole state of Victoria are mainly served by Tullamarine Airport.

There have been clamor among Australian travelers for Scoot to mount direct service to Singapore, according to the airline's CEO, Campbell Wilson. Air traffic between the two cities has been growing and the opening of service by Scoot is definitely a welcome development for many Aussie travelers who want to spend their holidays at the city state.

Melbourne Airport CEO, Chris Woodruff, himself, couldn't agree more with the airline executive saying that travelers from Victoria will soon have more choices when flying between the Southeast Asian city state and Australia's second most populous city.

He further said that Singapore has always been a popular destination for many Victorians, with air traffic growing at 20% annually, on the average, over the years.

Victorian tourists visit Singapore for varied purposes in mind, as the tiny city state offers a diverse attraction for its foreign visitors. However, shopping and sightseeing are the main activities most visitors engage in when they visit Singapore.

Scoot has been bullish about its operations in the continent since it commenced operations in 2012, when it launched its inaugural service between Singapore and Sydney. Since then, its traffic between the two cities has been growing steadily. Its Sydney-bound traffic, for example, posted an average of 32% annually, while its Singapore-bound traffic registered a 23% growth, year-on-year.

Scoot's other Australian destinations, Gold Coast and Perth, also posted double-digit growth since it started operations.

Scoot launched its commercial operations in June 4, 2012 with the inaugural flight from Singapore to Sydney. It commenced regular flights to Gold Coast from Singapore a week later, in June 11, 2012.

Victoria Tourism head, Leigh Harry, said that the opening of the Singapore-Melbourne service by Scoot is a positive development for the state's tourism industry which is currently valued at AUD 19.6 billion.

Currently, Singapore is the state's sixth largest source market for international visitors.