Scoot debuts new Airbus jets

Singapore Airlines' subsidiary Scoot will debut new Airbus A321neo jets to serve Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines from Monday, as it tries to position itself for an anticipated post-pandemic rebound in Asian travel. The low-cost carrier said the first flights using the planes will serve its Singapore to Bangkok route on Monday. The A321neos will then be rolled out for travel from the city-state to Cebu in the Philippines and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam from August. Scoot has 16 of the aircraft on order from Airbus, and will own six of them while leasing the rest. The carrier made the commitment to refresh its fleet with the jets in 2019, before the world was hit by COVID-19 -- which plunged global aviation into a severe downturn. But vaccination campaigns to reverse COVID's damaging effects in Asia have offered a glimmer of hope to airlines like Scoot, which have activated plans to prepare for a revival of air travel in core markets within the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the wider region. "We're quite excited, as the pandemic recovery continues, at the new opportunities that the 321 opens up," the carrier's CEO Campbell Wilson said Monday.<br/>