Scoot has announced it will add Embraer E190-E2 aircraft to its fleet, with the first delivery scheduled for 2024. The low-cost arm of the Singapore Airlines group plans to add nine of the latest variant of Embraer’s regional jets. The plan is for all nine aircraft to be introduced to the fleet by end-2025. Scoot will be the first airline in Singapore, and indeed this part of the world, to operate the E2 jets. The nine aircraft will be leased from Azorra, This will be the third aircraft type in Scoot’s fleet, adding to and complementing the current A320 family and 787.
What will Scoot’s E190-E2 be like?
According to Scoot’s press release, the E190-E2 jets will be configured with 112 seats. That’s 2 seats less than the maximum single-class configuration for the aircraft type. That’s with a 29in pitch, and I’d expect Scoot to give that amount of pitch. In short, expect it to be cramped in typical Scoot fashion. Considering Scoot mentions deploying the aircraft on routes of up to five hours, that will be a very painful five hours I’d imagine.
The Embraer E2 jets, and the earlier E-jets were designed for 2-2 seat configuration in Economy. Personally, i’m a big fan of this configuration. It’s great for couples, which should suit what I expect to be mostly leisure markets that Scoot will operate the E190-E2s to. Even for the solo flyers, it’s not bad as you’re only one seat away from the window or aisle. Best of all, no more middle seats unlike Scoot’s existing A320neo and 787. When I lived in Australia, my favourite aircraft in the Virgin Australia fleet were the E190s, and would always try to select flights operated by that type if it fit my schedule.
The only drawback with the smaller cabin is the overhead bins. On the original E190s, the overhead bins struggle to fit a rollaboard. This is a problem with almost all regional jets, not just the E-jets. The E2s should be better, but I don’t have personal experience with them yet. I’ll definitely want to get on one of Scoot’s E2s when they’re delivered though.
Where could Scoot fly the E190-E2?
The E190-E2 has a stated range of 2,850 nautical miles (5,278km) with a full passenger load. Of course, various other factors influence the true operating range. Still, that’s a fair bit of range to work with, and Scoot has already stated the aircraft could be deployed on routes up to five hours.
My guess though, is the aircraft will be largely utilised on shorter routes within Southeast Asia. I would definitely expect Koh Samui to be near the top of the list. The Samui route was always strategically important for the SIA group when Silkair operated it. The retirement of Silkair’s A319s during the pandemic – the only aircraft the group had allowed at Samui (USM) – meant the group hasn’t been able to reestablish the SIN-USM route. Assuming can get past whatever obstacles Bangkok Airways, owner and operator of USM airport, I would expect USM to be one of the first destinations for the E190-E2.
Other potential destinations include smaller points within Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the other Southeast Asian countries. Silkair handed over a number of Indonesian points to Scoot as part of the Silkair integration, such as Lombok, Palembang, Manado and others. Some have been reinstated during recovery, but not all. The E190-E2 would be a good candidate for some of these points, for frequency increase and allowing the A320 family to be redeployed elsewhere. I would also love to see Scoot fly to smaller leisure destinations in Vietnam, such as Phu Quoc and Nha Trang.
Conclusion
Scoot has announced it will receive a total of nine Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, starting in 2024. The aircraft will be configured with 112 seats. These new regional jets will enable growth and SIA group network expansion, and mainly be utilised on thinner routes. I’m personally quite of the original E-jets, so I can’t wait to see and fly on an E2 in Scoot’s colours.