Scoot’s first-of-its-kind inflight portal takes off

What's worse than cabin fever on the plane?

Cabin fever on ground. Badums.

Bad jokes aside, I’m sure many of us share the same frustrations at being land-bound for the entire year. Let’s not talk about winter vacations away from the heat of Singapore—we can’t even pop over to our neighbouring country for a quick jaunt to seek temporal reprieve from daily life (or pump petrol, and get groceries, but that’s another story...)

While many are holding out for a vaccine so that travels can resume, Scoot has been actively seeking solutions for when travelling actually resumes. Their solution comes in the form of ScootHub, a one-stop inflight portal where fliers can access on their personal mobile or tablet for the full range of services previously enjoyed from flying, minus the multiple surfaces they might come in contact with.

Here’s a closer look.

What is ScootHub

Snuggled in front of every airplane seat are the unmissable food and drinks menu, inflight magazine and shopping catalogue. It’s inevitable that those stacks of information have exchanged hands multiple times, which, in these times, is not an ideal situation.

Scoot got rid of all of that and replaced them with a one-stop portal where passengers can order food, shop duty-free and more through their own mobile devices. This digitalisation reduces surface contact and physical interactions between customers and crew in order to give customers peace of mind about their health and safety on board.

Passengers can also browse travel content, view flight's progress, play games and buy add-ons such as in-seat power or WiFi to get some work done.

How to access

Simply scan the QR code located in front of your seat on the plane with your personal devices such as mobile phone or tablet, which will bring you to Scoothub’s network. The app is intuitive and simple to navigate.

Once a food or shopping order has been placed, the crew will be alerted and they will deliver the orders to the passenger's seat as soon as it’s ready.

At launch, payment via credit card needs to be made physically to the cabin crew by credit card, but Scoot is aiming to allow credit card payments via the portal by end of March 2021.

Improved food offerings, sustainable packaging and further improvements

Scoot is also offering sustainable eco-friendly packaging and improved food menu, which gives passengers local fares which were previously not available, such porridge and carrot cake.

In ScootHub’s second phase from April 2021, customers will be able to book ground activities and attractions while inflight. They can also sync their Krisflyer membership to earn or redeem miles when they purchase items via KrisShop or activities and attractions via Pelago, the SIA Group’s new platform for destination inspiration and content.

Seniors or passengers who face difficulties with the technology can still approach the crew for any assistance during the flight.

For Scoot’s flight attendants, this inflight portal will help clear unnecessary interactions, streamline workflow onboard and most importantly keep true to their intended role, getting passengers from point A to B safely.