Scoot Airlines set to tap Indian market early next year

Melbourne: In a bid to expand its network overseas, Singapore-based Scoot Airlines is now planning to tap the fast growing Indian market early next year. Campbell Wilson, CEO of Scoot said the plans were on to make the carrier enter the two fast growing markets—India and China from its home base in Singapore.

"The budget carrier is also launching services to as yet unannounced destinations in India and to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia," the Australian quoted Wilson as saying.

The airline was already operating in China, which is a major target. Hangzhou city was recently joined, as its destination and Gangzhou, expected to come online early next year, will be Scoot's sixth destination in China served from its Singapore base.

"Certainly with our expansion into China, with our closer co-operation with Tiger and the destination that adds for us and then our move into India early next year and also Jeddah from May, we felt there was good opportunity to carry people beyond Singapore and also from behind Singapore into Victoria," Wilson said.

He said many of the airline's customers in China were part of a growing group travelling for the first time out of the country, and Australia was an aspirational destination.

“Every time I go to China, every travel agent, every provincial governor, every mayor, every airport, they want a connection to Australia," he said.

Scoot is currently serving Australia's four biggest cities including Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Apart from Australia and China, it also has services for Thailand, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.