Asia's Scoot spreads wings to Europe, picks Athens as entry point

Scoot plans to launch a long-haul service to Europe, picking Athens as its entry point, executives said Wednesday. "Athens will be our first destination to Europe, a good spot for us to expand our network," Budget Aviation Holdings (BAH) CE Lee Lik Hsin said. BAH manages Scoot and sister airline Tigerair, the short-haul budget carrier of the SIA group. "There will be further routes to connect Europe with Asia Pacific but not at major capitals, where competition is already keen," Hsin said. Scoot will start the service to Athens June 20 with 4 flights a week on new Boeing Dreamliner 787 jets. "The decision is in line with the group's strategic move to stimulate passenger traffic between Asia Pacific and Europe, boosting connectivity through the Singapore hub. There is still room to grow," Hsin said. <br/>