Background & Booking
I needed a flight from Koh Samui to Singapore, before getting on my Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to New York. I could fly on Bangkok Airways, which I had a solid experience with on my flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui, but the departure time on Scoot was better, so I decided to try Scoot and was booked on one of the newest aircraft types, the Scoot Embraer 190-E2.
Scoot is the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, and while almost all flights from Samui are operated by Bangkok Airways as they own and operate the airport, there are 3 flights a day from Scoot to Singapore that commenced back in 2024, onboard their new Embraer 190-E2 aircraft. I had never flown Scoot before, but the yellow paint scheme gave me Spirit Airlines vibes, and so I had managed expectations.
Overall, Bangkok Airways definitely provides a superior experience, but Scoot is fine for the right price. Even though Scoot is owned by Singapore Airlines, don’t expect the traditional mainline experience by any means, but it’s a bit more polished than an EasyJet or Spirit.
My ticket cost approximately $125 USD, which did not include bags or a seat, something that Bangkok Airways does include. I paid about $14 USD to reserve a seat towards the front of the aircraft rather than face the random allotment that Scoot would assign you at check-in. And a checked bag online for 20kg ran for about $30 USD. So all in, it was about $170 a ticket, which was on par with the Bangkok Airways ticket price.
Scoot Embraer 190 Flight Details
Scoot Flight 643
Koh Samui (USM) to Singapore (SIN)
Aircraft (age): Embraer 190-E2
Scheduled Duration: 2 hours 0 minutes
Seat/Cabin: 6C/Economy
Status: On Time
Date of Flight: June 2025
Check-In and At the Airport
Scoot online check-in opens 48 hours before departure, and I added my checked bag online here as they claimed it would save at least 20% than doing it at the airport.
At Koh Samui, there wasn’t a line to check in my bag, and the friendly agent got us boarding passes quickly, then you pass through shopping and dining before going through security and immigration at the international gates. There are still some shops and dining options after passing security, but it’s definitely more limited. It’s a pretty small airport.
Koh Samui Airport is mostly outdoors, and to my delight, there are lounges that are accessible by Priority Pass. Since we were flying to Singapore, our flight departed from the international terminal, and we were able to access Bangkok Airways’ Blue Ribbon Lounge with Priority Pass. It was a solid lounge, with numerous food options, and a nice spot to get some air conditioning from the open-air airport. You can check out my full write-up here if you’d like.
Boarding & At the Gate
There was a courtesy corner that offered some cookies and packaged snacks, which I was surprised a low-cost carrier would offer. Perhaps it is to compete with Bangkok Airways, which provides a full meal service for all passengers on board.
Boarding was scheduled 45 minutes before departure, but in reality, the flight attendants didn’t even show up at the gate until 40 minutes before. Boarding for passengers didn’t commence until 25 minutes before our scheduled departure. Wish I had stayed in the lounge a bit longer to avoid the heat, haha.
We were in zone 1, but they boarded from back to front. Passengers in the last rows (zone 3) boarded first, followed by the middle rows (zone 2), then zone 1, which I was in. We had to board trolleys to take us to the plane.
The boarding process was extremely inefficient, and those who boarded first in zone 3 had to sit in the trolley for quite a while before leaving the gate. We even caught up with them at the plane as they had to wait to board outside the aircraft. They probably sat on the runway for almost half an hour. At the point when I finally got on the aircraft, it was already past our scheduled departure time.
It was a pretty full flight, and the doors finally closed 10 minutes late. We left shortly after, and didn’t have to wait too long for takeoff. The pilots let us know that the time in the air would be 1 hour and 30 minutes.
I did find it cute that they added their name in fun ways during the safety announcements, such as saying that we will be “scooting off soon”.
The Seat
The Scoot Embraer 190-E2 is one of their newest aircraft types, and the plane looked quite new when I boarded. Our specific aircraft had only been in service for a little less than 1 year. It has a total of 112 seats in a full economy configuration. Extra legroom “Stretch” seats are available in row 1 and the exit row 11. Standard economy pitch is 29 inches, and you can definitely feel the pinch.
There are no power ports onboard, and the rule on not being able to use power banks during the flight is a bit of a bummer, so make sure to keep your devices fully charged before boarding.
There was no Wi-Fi available, and as a low-cost carrier, all food, drinks (including water), and snacks must be purchased on board.
It was a quick flight, and we landed at our scheduled arrival time and got to the gate 5 minutes later.
The Verdict
Overall, the Scoot Embraer 190 offers a no-frills experience to get from point A to point B. It was fine, but I definitely preferred my Bangkok Airways experience.
Have you flown on the Scoot Embraer 190-E2 before? How was your experience? Comment below!
Happy travels,
Ty
Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!
