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It has taken me a while to fly Scoot but a ‘big trip’ provided the perfect opportunity to give them a try. We had enough frequent flyer points to get our family of three to and from Singapore to Europe on Scoot’s ‘big sister’ carrier Singapore Airlines.

However, we still needed to get to and from Singapore from Australia to catch our European flight. We decided to give Scoot Airlines business class service a try and fly Scoot Airlines to Singapore.

Given Scoot’s ‘business class’, ScootBiz, often costs less than an economy ticket on other carriers flying Scoot was a no-brainer, especially when a sale meant we could fly up the pointy end for the cost of a regular ticket.

Speaking of sale airfares, Scoot has some REALLY good ones. I’d suggest you sign up for their newsletter or follow one of the Scoot social media accounts and hold off booking until there is a sale.

Scoot Airlines baggage is included in the ScootBiz fare so you don’t need to pay extra for this when you purchase your fare.

We stayed overnight at La Costa Motel, a cute renovated 1950s motel right across the road from Gold Coast airport. At around $99 per night, it’s a great deal if you don’t live on the Gold Coast.

We could have driven down from Brisbane that morning but it would have meant a very early start as the Scoot Airlines Gold Coast service leaves early in the morning.

One of the advantages of flying out of the Gold Coast is you travel on one of Scoot’s new Dreamliners. You also get to fly out of Gold Coast airport which offers a very laid back Scoot Airlines checkin experience.

I love the Dreamliner aircraft as they have high-tech tinted windows instead of shades and when you’re inside the cabin it is very, very quiet with virtually no engine noise.

The ScootBiz cabin is a 2:3:2 configuration and the seats are super-comfy with a small side table and stretch-out leg rest. They don’t lie flat but this didn’t bother us as it was a daytime flight.

A cup of water was waiting on our side tables pre-takeoff. Any water after that costs extra, even in ScootBiz, so it can be a good idea to either bring some onboard like we did or fill up ‘camel style’ before your flight as the bottles available for sale onboard aren’t cheap (or large).

Pre-flight refreshment & lots of leg room for my husband who is 6ft 4"
Pre-flight refreshment & lots of leg room for my husband who is 6ft 4″
ScootBiz cabin
ScootBiz cabin
My son enjoying his ScootBiz experience
My son enjoying his ScootBiz experience

In-flight power is free in the ScootBiz seats. We didn’t bother paying for in-flight entertainment as we had plenty of movies on our iPads to keep us occupied.

Wi-fi is also available onboard but once again, we had no need to use this. We were all impressed with the friendly, efficient crew who were bright and cheerful throughout the flight. I don’t know how they do it!

Always smiling!
Always smiling!

Lunch was served pretty much immediately after takeoff which our family agreed was a bit early for an eight hour flight leaving at around 9am.

Holding off until closer to lunch time would have been our preference but the meals were good when they arrived. The ScootBiz fare includes one meal and one alcoholic drink and comes with another small cup of water.

Lunch minus the ice cream which was served later, as requested
Lunch minus the ice cream which was served later, as requested

My pre-ordered Hainanese chicken rice was much better than expected and a request for the accompanying Haagen Dazs ice cream cup to be brought back later as a snack was met with a smile and a ‘Sure, no problem.’

Other food can be purchased from the onboard menu throughout the flight. There is a much larger choice of eats to buy onboard Scoot than some other budget carriers so you will almost certainly find something on the menu that appeals.

On the flight back to Australia, I flew in the economy ScootinSilence cabin in the interests of research while my husband and son travelled back in ScootBiz (yes, I was a little bit jealous of them after our great flight to Singapore).

Not surprisingly, they were pretty happy about this – until they realised the kids were on school holidays in Singapore AND Australia when we were due to fly home.

Fortunately for them there were just a few young children in the ScootBiz cabin, all of whom were very well behaved. We did notice loads of youngsters in the waiting area before we boarded the flight though. I would fly ScootinSilence again during the school holidays.

ScootinSilence cabin before everyone got on board
ScootinSilence cabin before everyone got on board

If you are travelling during the school holidays, I would highly recommend the ScootinSilence cabin as only those aged 12 and over can be seated in this section of the aircraft.

It was blissfully quiet in this section during our overnight flight back to the Gold Coast. While the economy seating in the ScootinSilence cabin wasn’t as fancy as ScootBiz all of the seats in this section are either a Super seat or Stretch seat, both of which have extra leg room.

I was very comfortable and even managed to get a bit of sleep. Once again the meal was served straight after take-off. I pre-ordered a beef wrap this time but it was nothing like the meal pictured on the Scoot website.

Instead of slices of roast beef, the wrap was filled with the type of beef mince you find on a taco except the beef was cold. Cold roast beef is delicious but cold beef mince?  Not so much.

I took a few bites and decided to leave it at that. Next time I’ll stick with a hot meal similar to the one I had on the flight over as this was really tasty.

While my dinner wasn’t exactly a trip highlight, the pilot getting us to Gold Coast airport a whole half an hour ahead of schedule certainly was.

I would definitely fly Scoot again, either in ScootBiz or in a Super seat or Stretch seat. Flying at a bargain price means you can spend the money you’ve saved having fun at your destination.

Disclosure: The writer flew as a guest of Scoot Airlines. Her husband and son paid full-price for their tickets and were equally impressed with their ScootBiz experience.

Looking for some Gold Coast accommodation before you fly out? Read our reviews of Oaks Calypso Plaza, the Surfers Paradise Marriott, The Star Gold Coast, voco Gold Coast and the retro La Costa Motel. Or you can check out this Gold Coast accommodation roundup.

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Dr Tiana Templeman is an award-winning food and travel journalist, travel author and media industry academic. She is the creator of The Travel Temple, writes for Australian and international media outlets and appears on radio talking about where to go, what to see and travel industry trends.