“Hi, I am Chun Hoy Yuen from the German National Tourism Board.” With a face full of smile, he introduced himself as he handed out his name card and briefly told us about Berlin.
That was during the lunch session before the #SCOOT2BERLIN press event started. I and few others friends were invited as part of the blogger community in Indonesia to support in spreading the exciting news about the new destination that Scoot Airlines is going to launch soon this mid of the year – Singapore to Berlin.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Why Berlin?
As the capital city of Germany, Berlin has many things to see and do – the lively nightlife, its many cafés, clubs, bars, street art, and many museums, palaces, and other sites of historic interest. Every day of the year, any time of day or night – a sparkling array of events, highlights, entertainment and culture are happening throughout the year.
In the year 2014-2016, the number of visitors from Indonesia to Germany has doubled from 50.000 to 110.000. “Among the cities in Germany, Berlin is the second city that receives the most inbound visitors since 2016,” said Chun Hoy Yuen. “With that number, Indonesia has become one important market for us and we are happy to welcome visitors from Indonesia to enjoy the various attractions we have here in Berlin as well as in other cities in Germany.”
Berlin’s official Travel Website, Visit Berlin, provides all the necessary information to explore the city that is also known as a City of Design, declared by UNESCO in the year 2006. Browse through it and you will find many reasons to visit Berlin.
Scoot Fly to Berlin starting from June 20th, 2018!
It was only recently I knew that Scoot now has direct flights from Singapore to Honolulu, USA. If you also haven’t known yet, Scoot also fly to Athena, Greece. And starts from June 20th onwards, Scoot will fly to Berlin directly from Singapore on alternate days – Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday!
For those who stay in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta, you shall be delighted because of the well-connected flights between Jakarta to Singapore and Singapore to Berlin. There is no long transit time in Singapore as you can see from the online booking test I made below on flyscoot.com. It is only about 1.5 to 4 hours waiting time which I think is still acceptable.
Besides Jakarta, Scoot also cater flights to Singapore from other cities in Indonesia, such as Denpasar, Surabaya, Palembang and Pekanbaru (coming soon).
How about the price?
As for now, the return airfare from Jakarta to Berlin is offered at only IDR6,626,126! However, the price is not including baggage and in-flight meals yet. Fret not, we will have options whether to include the baggage (FlyBag) or baggage and meals altogether (FlyBagEat) depending on what we think we will need later when we make the flight booking.
By opting for both facilities – meal and baggage allowances, which I think we will usually need for a long-haul flight, the total airfare becomes IDR 9,686,126,- It is about IDR3,000,000,- more from the basic fare. But, I find out the fare offered is still saver compared to other airlines with the same facilities.
When we choose FlyBagEat, besides we get the 20kg baggage allowances, we also get to enjoy the in-flight meals which we can choose in advance from the meal list shown on the booking screen. Scoot always try to include at least one of the local dishes from the country destination into the meal choices.
Otherwise, if we book Fly or FlyBag only, we can always purchase our meals separately onboard. However, the choices may be limited and may not to your liking! Then, if you think 20kg baggage allowance is not enough, you can always upsize your bags up to 40kg.
Why Scoot?
Scoot may not be popular in Indonesia but they have been around since 2012. Scoot belongs to Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group and it was born with an aim to fulfil the demand for long-haul flights at a lower price. Scoot is the only low-cost carrier (LCC) in Southeast Asia that flies to Germany direct from Singapore.
When we say low-cost, it doesn’t mean that our comfort is being compromised. In fact, Scoot uses the wide-body aircraft, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, to fly to Berlin. So, we get to enjoy the comfort of a full-service flight at a lower price, including the Fly with wi-fi (wi-fi services at additional cost) and in-seat power that are only available in 787 Dreamliner. And of course, if we want to take a few steps further, we can always upgrade to ScootBiz – business class with much more benefits.
The interesting feature that Scoot offers is the ScootinSilence – the quiet zone or seating area where no children under 12 are allowed. In general, people love children. But Scoot understands that sometimes people need a good rest during the flight. If you are one of those, you shall opt for this additional feature when selecting your seat.
With their Scootitude – the attitude to deliver a pleasant safe, reliable, and unique travel journey to their passengers, Scoot has won the Best Low-Cost Airline (Asia-Pacific) for four consecutive years since 2015. Scoot also has made it to the list of Top 10 World’s Best Low-Cost Airlines in 2015 by Skytrax.
With all those achievements and by paying only what we need – a plus point that is not being offered by other airlines at the moment, I think that Scoot is more than qualified to be into our consideration list when planning our holiday to Europe. Likewise, for those who are in Europe, this is for you, too!
“See you in Berlin!”
[Images source: some of the images taken from flyscoot.com and visitberlin.de]
