Scoot's Inaugural Flight and Tips to being a Frequent Budget Flyer

This is a media trip made possible by Scoot and Tourism Queensland.

I was invited to be on board SCOOT's inaugural flight to Gold Coast and to be on board an inaugural flight is indeed special. I haven't heard much hype from any other airline's inaugural flight and thus SCOOT really lives up to its reputation of being different.

How is it different? Here's my review.

I recognized SCOOT's CEO Campbell Wilson as the cover boy on last month's Marketing Magazine so i asked for an autograph!

To be a frequent traveller while you're a salaried worker who has limited annual leave, one needs to maximize holidays by taking an after-work flight.

SCOOT not only go easy on the salaried worker's pockets but also have fitting flight times for the frequent traveller! SCOOT departs Singapore for Sydney at 2am, 10pm for Gold Coast, 5.25pm for Bangkok and 1.30am for TianJin. This makes a lot of sense when you're going to spend 6 hours or more traveling, just sleep and wake up in a different city!

On SCOOT's inaugural flights, their customized blanket is for keeps. Subsequently, they are on sale for $12.

I get a cold very easily on board, especially night flights. As a frequent traveller, i done enough experiments to realize the below equipment is what keeps a cold at bay!

Winter socks!
Have trouble falling asleep in a plane? Keeping your feet warm makes you fall asleep in a jiffy. Make yourself comfortable, remove the shoes and wear socks with anti slip soles. You may even walk around the plane with these slipper socks.

Except when visiting the loo because some inconsiderate passengers really have bad aims.

That's when the next item is a must-have in your carry-on luggage.

Disposable bedroom slippers!
Which you can ka-poh (steal) from hotels. With these slip-ons, you don't have to go through the hassle of removing your thick socks to put on your shoes to visit the bathroom.

Lastly, i learnt from my German auntie that to keep warm is to keep the neck covered. So a scarf should also be in your carry-on.

With these 3 items which you can pack from home, hopefully you won't need spend $12 for the SCOOT blanket, although it's tempting because it looks good!

Like other budget airlines, SCOOT offers the latest movies and games on an iPad ($22 for whole flight) too, which you can save if you bring your own BOOK.

On SCOOT's inagural flight to Sydney and Gold Coast, the 400 passengers had the honour of having The Noose on board for live inflight entertainment! They were hilarious. If only we could have them over the PA system for EVERY SCOOT FLIGHT.

The inflight menu prices are comparable (starting from $4 for a drink and $8 for a sandwich). If you want to save on that so you can be a frequent traveller, quench your thirst by bringing oranges!

They are easy to eat and you could do with a vitamin C boost in that cabin air.

But really, every passenger's highlight during flight time is meal time. So it'll be really sad to watch other people enjoying hot meals while you're popping orange slices. I recommend the soya chicken rice with quail eggs and mushrooms ($10).

Being an frequent traveller, i scrutinize every item found in the front seat pocket, just because. SCOOT's inflight shopping is also different from other airlines, not just budget! It's the best inflight shopping i've seen so far, other than Swiss Air where they provided airline exclusive luxury products (like a Long Champ).

It's different because i haven't seen Juicy Couture being offered.

Better yet, they have kitschy stuff like these...

I really wanted to buy this except the cap probably won't fit my adult head!

For all SCOOT's inaugural flights, they get a fire engine salute upon landing. Look at the left fire engine spewing a rainbow!!

Photo by James Morgan

SCOOT CEO Campbell Wilson and Queensland Tourism Minister Jann Stuckey literally rolled out the red carpet for us.

Photo by James Morgan

 Not only did we feel special on board, we also felt special upon arrival. The Gold Coast warmly welcomed us by having signature Australian animals greet passengers.

That's a koala in the middle.

 We were also all given a welcome pack courtesy of Tourism of Queensland consisting of water, cookies, airplane toy, caps and sunblock! All much needed to start a holiday of fun.

Phyton welcoming passengers at Gold Coast airport.

SCOOT has more inaugural flights taking place in Bangkok, TianJin and Tokyo. Check out dates here, i hope you get on board them!

Me and The Noose crew

The Noose is largely filmed without a script, Michelle Chong and Chua Eng Lai are better than stand-up comedians!

I can't wait for extra footage and out-takes to be uploaded to Youtube. Pornsak calls Barberella "full of hot air" while on the hot air balloon. While it's supposed to be silence on the set, some of our laughter was caught on camera because it was too funny!

Gold Coast, famous for fun. 

Prices start from $300 including tax on SCOOT, it's unbelievable!

KL-Genting-KL

Genting hasn't changed since i last went there 13 years ago! Like kids again, we excitedly analyzed and strategised which ride to conquer first.

I LOVE the weather up there. I think everyone does.Eating hot cup corn in the chilling weather while queuing up for rides was simply divine. Ok, not the queuing up part. We love the Tower of Terror. The one that goes 9 storeys up and drops down unexpectedly. Somehow, we managed to jump queue ( i was SO AFRAID i would get stoned) but thank God we did. Because it rained shortly after. Imagine queuing all the way till its almost your turn then *plop plop.....rooooooar.....shiiiiiiiiish.........*

I regret not buying that photo they took of us when we were high up though. His expression was priceless :P But $15 was very pricey for a photograph. I guess that's how theme parks make more money.

Anybody who sees this museum ought to pay it a visit. It costs SGD 15 for the museum AND the haunted house.The haunted house is not quite worth going (more neon 3D effects than real stuff). But the one in Pattaya, Thailand is. The museum is 90% similar to the one in Pattaya, which is why i encouraged him to see and i wouldn't mind seeing them again too.

Inside, you find interesting facts like this. And...

shrunken heads!When i first saw this in Thailand, i was spooked out. I thought it was REAL. But seeing another one here in Genting, i kinda suspect they're all replicates.

All i all, i didn't get to shop nor eat as much as i planned too. I bought nothing! But it was good to get away for the weekend. Away from work stress. We walked around alot. He had some new experiences with herbal jelly and theme parks.

Travel Tip: We stayed at Orchid Inn that is only RM 88 a night for 2. It's very conviniently beside Times Square, Imbiah Station. Going up to Genting costs only RM 10 for the Genting Highway bus from KL Sentral Station. We bought the package that includes the outdoor theme park pass + cable car + bus for RM 35.

Oh! And Krispy Kreme is CLOSER than we thought!! They have it in KL's Time Square. Yipee!! I only had 2, i used my last RM 5 :P

I love holidays!! Going to Japan AGAIN!!! But that's next year. Hahaha. I can't wait. Darwin first, i need to go apply leave. Ta ta!