Scoot TR868 from Singapore to Bangkok Don Mueang is the very last flight of the day departing from Singapore for Bangkok, which continues on to Tokyo Narita. This timing is a rather good option to get to Bangkok the night before if you have limited time in the city, or works for a short weekend getaway too.
The Solari boards at Terminal 2, however, show the flight’s destination as Tokyo Narita only. Wish I could continue there though.
Heading to the FAST Check-in kiosks to get my boarding pass.
Printing my boarding pass from the FAST Check-in kiosk.
My boarding pass for my Scoot TR868 flight from Singapore to Bangkok Don Mueang.
Double-checking my gate once past immigration. Be careful not to mix this flight up with NH844 for Tokyo Haneda departing at around the same timing.
9V-OFE “The Future Is Yellow” will be taking me from Singapore to Bangkok Don Mueang today.
Heading to Gate E3, just a short walk away.
Queuing up for security screening at the gate hold room.
The departure screen of TR868 outside Gate E3.
The queue for boarding pass checks was unbelievably long, which is probably caused by the boarding pass checks actually since only 1 counter was in operation, and there was an error message for almost everyone saying that everyone’s travel documents had not been verified.
As the queue was so long, I could head straight to the plane after getting my boarding pass checked and torn.
Boarding the aircraft via the aerobridge.
Heading past the front Economy Class cabin.
My seat at 40H was on the second last row. However, due to the tapering of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft towards the rear, there are only 2 seats in a row as compared to the usual 3, and Scoot actually charges an additional fee to pre-select these seats as these are among the only pair of seats on board the aircraft. On top of that, these Super seats come with an additional adjustable headrest, as compared to regular Standard seats which are just flushed flat. Trust Scoot to make the lesser desirable seats at the rear of the cabin to become one of the most coveted instead.
The legroom available on Seat 40H. While it seems like the regular legroom as compared to Standard seats, I guess the benefit of this row is just for the pair seating and adjustable headrest.
The view of the aircraft from my seat.
As this is a low-cost airline, there aren’t any seat back entertainment options.
After take-off and the seat belt signs were switched off, the cabin lights were adjusted to an orangey hue.
Immigration cards were distributed for those leaving the plane at Bangkok Don Mueang.
The toilet on board was rather clean.
The cabin crew did their rounds for snacks and drinks, but I didn’t buy any since it was a short night-time flight.
However, I did purchase a Scoot Mini Brick Plane (similar to nanoblock) for S$10 from the duty free sales as I thought the design had a nicer control tower of Changi Airport than the generic control tower of AirAsia’s Mini Brick Plane.
If there’s one thing I don’t like when flying with Scoot, especially for night flights like this when I would like to nap, is that the cabin is always prepped for arrival way too early for comfort. The cabin is prepped right after the pilot’s announcement of the flight information while cruising and that we are going to descend from 38,000 ft in about 5 minutes. That means everyone’s seat had to be upright, tray tables stowed, seat belts on and window shades up (though this can be controlled by the cabin crew on the 787) even before the plane began it’s descend from 38,000 ft, which is about 45 minutes before landing.
The flight touched down in Bangkok Don Mueang at 11.47pm – 2 minutes delayed. Not too bad.
Disembarking from the aircraft. At Bangkok Don Mueang, only 1 aerobridge is in use for the 787, so it is shared between ScootBiz and Economy Class.
Disembarking from the aircraft via the aerobridge.
The ground staff at the end of the aerobridge calls out for passengers going on to Tokyo Narita to facilitate their transfer.
Unfortunately, I’m not one of those going to Tokyo, so I headed for immigration.
Heading out of the pier with two tour groups blocking the way in front of the toilet.
Flight information at Don Mueang is now available in Mandarin. Hmm.
Heading to the immigration counters.
I was greeted by this immense crowd at immigration.
This is the ASEAN lane.
This is the queue for the ASEAN lane, extending out to the next pier. Not a welcome sight at all at 12.15am when I’m trying to get to my hotel.
Luckily, I had a card which I could use to bypass the immigration queue. I think I might be able to catch the first train out of Don Mueang in the morning for Bangkok if I had queued in this.
Because the immigration queue was so long, bags from previous flights had to be moved off the baggage carousel for other incoming flights.
Heading out of the customs channel to the Arrival Hall, which is strangely empty, totally not reflecting the crowd inside.
Heading to the taxi queue since there aren’t any other public transport options past midnight.
The taxi queue at Don Mueang is actually quite comfortable, which actually doesn’t involve standing in line at all. It’s similar to a clinic or hospital actually. Just press the button for Taxi Service and a queue number ticket will be given to you. (A staff is actually seated behind this panel to help you press the button and give you the queue ticket, but she stood up because she didn’t want her picture to be taken.)
Once with your queue number in hand, just take a seat at the waiting area and wait for your number to be called.
My taxi queue ticket number.
Look out for your queue number to be called at the counter. The counter staff will ask you for your destination and write it on another ticket, giving a portion of the ticket to the taxi driver. Taxi fares are by meter only, with an additional 50 Baht airport surcharge and any relevant toll fees incurred. My total fare from Don Mueang Airport to my hotel in the city inclusive of airport surcharge and tolls was about 300+ Baht, but I gave the driver a rounded-up flat 400 Baht (~S$17.61) instead for his suffering in the 1am Bangkok traffic jam.
Overall, a good no-frills flight which got me to Bangkok on time, though it was a bit off-putting from the queues at both Changi and Don Mueang airports. The Super seat with the adjustable headrest was also rather comfortable for this short-haul flight. Hopefully I’ll get to use it on a long-haul flight in future?