Scoot flight on Embraer jet marks S’pore debut for Brazil-made plane

Maiden flight on 112-seater to Krabi almost full, just like for later Hat Yai flight

- Kok Yufeng

There was hardly an empty seat on budget carrier Scoot's brand-new Embraer E190-E2 jet plane as it took off from Changi Airport at 4.07pm on May 7.

The Brazilian-made aircraft landed in Krabi, Thailand, 12 hours later, after a smooth journey on its first commercial flight out of Singapore, barring a 20-minute delay on its departure.

Scoot, the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines, also started Embraer flights to Hat Yai in southern Thailand the same day.

In all, Scoot will fly the Embraer aircraft to six destinations in South-east Asia for a start.

Two of these, Koh Samui in Thailand and Sibu in Malaysia, are new routes for the airline, made possible by the smaller jet.

To commemorate the historic moment in Singapore aviation, passengers on the 112-seater aircraft's maiden flight to Krabi were given a model of the plane, a greeting card and elephant pants - baggy cotton trousers that are a popular tourist souvenir from Thailand.