Singapore airlines’ subsidiary Scoot Airlines is set to operate fifth-freedom flights between Athens and Berlin. What’s interesting is that the airline is offering prices cheaper than European low-cost carriers (LCCs).
Fifth-Freedom flights
Today marks the first day that Singapore Airlines begins its fifth-freedom flights between Copenhagen and Rome using its Airbus A350. Now, Singapore Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary airline, Scoot has announced a new fifth-freedom route in Europe.
Starting 10th August 2021, a Scoot Boeing B787 Dreamliner will arrive at Athens International Airport after a nonstop flight from Singapore. Rather than returning to Singapore straight away, the aircraft will complete a much shorter hop up to Berlin Brandenburg Airport. After a quick turnaround, the aircraft will then make its way back to Singapore via Athens once more. This means that the airline will operate flights on Singapore-Athens-Berlin-Athens-Singapore route.
The flight schedule for this route is as follows:
- Singapore-Athens
- Departure time: 01:10
- Arrival time: 07:50
- Flight time: 11 hours and 40 minutes
- Flight number: TR722
- Frequency: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
- Athens-Berlin
- Departure time: 09:50
- Arrival time: 11:50
- Flight time: 3 hours
- Flight number: TR722
- Frequency: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
- Berlin-Athens
- Departure time: 12:50
- Arrival time: 16:50
- Flight time: 3 hours
- Flight number: TR723
- Frequency: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
- Athens-Singapore
- Departure time: 18:30
- Arrival time: 10:30 (the next day)
- Flight time: 11 hours
- Flight number: TR723
- Frequency: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
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Cheaper than European LCCs
With the launch of this fifth-freedom route, Scoot will be the cheapest carrier flying non-stop between the German capital and the Greek capital. For example, let us take the inaugural day. On 10th August, there are four airlines flying nonstop between Athens and Berlin. (Prices shown as Athens-Berlin/Berlin-Athens).
- Scoot will fly a Boeing B787 with tickets starting at €50/€51.
- Ryanair will fly a Boeing B737 with tickets starting from €71/€59.
- easyJet will fly an A320 family aircraft with ticket prices from €99/€58.
- Aegean will fly an A320 with tickets starting from €151/€57.
Each airline’s lowest fare doesn’t include checked baggage, with Ryanair not even having a cabin-sized carry-on bag.
Scoot’s B787
Scoot has 20 Boeing B787 Dreamliners in its fleet, split equally between the -8 and -9 variants. Scoot’s Boeing B787 aircraft have a range of seating options to choose from. The cheapest standard seats are 18 inches wide, with a legroom of 31 inches. Scoot also offers ‘Super Seats’ for an additional charge with 34 inches of pitch.
The airline’s bulkhead seats are called stretch seats, costing slightly more than the super seats, but coming with the same legroom. The whole front section of the cabin is called the ‘ScootinSilence’ quiet zone and is a silent cabin where children under the age of 12 are now allowed to sit.
Finally, at the front of the plane, there is ‘ScootPlus’ cabin in a 2-3-2 configuration. These seats have a pitch of 38 inches, with a width of 22 inches. These seats also recline six inches and come with included baggage, meals, power, and WiFi.
Featured image by Scoot Airlines
What do you think of Scoot’s fifth-freedom flights between Athens and Berlin? Let me know in the comments section below.
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