Scoot Updates Its Pikachu Boeing 787 Jet Flight Schedule

Earlier this month, Singapore’s low-cost carrier Scoot announced a series of enhanced flight schedules to cater to the rising passenger demand during the upcoming year-end holiday season. Part of the series included the addition of several more flights on the budget carrier’s Pikachu Jet, and following the growing love for the aircraft, Scoot has decided to add more flights.

The Pikachu Jet flies direct to Japan

Initially, the Pikachu Jet was scheduled to operate flight services from Singapore to Seoul and Tokyo, both cities were to be flown via Taipei. Instead, the Pokémon-liveried Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will now be scheduled to operate non-stop flights between Singapore and Tokyo-Narita in November and December.

With Japan’s recent reopening of its borders to international demand, passengers flying with Scoot will get quite the unique experience flying on the Pikachu Jet to the origin country of The Pokémon Company.

The new flight schedule for the Pikachu Jet is as follows:

This schedule change follows the airline’s adjustment of its aircraft deployment plans to meet demand and operational needs in the Northern Winter season. The Pikachu Jet will continue to operate three flights per month and be rostered on other routes operated by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner as part of regular airline operations.

Nearly fully restored

Given the popularity of the Pikachu Jet, it’s indeed strategic for Scoot to count on the adorable aircraft with direct flights to Japan to maintain a steady recovery rate to cover the loss from China’s ongoing closure. China accounted for approximately one-quarter of Scoot’s pre-pandemic capacity, and without a domestic market, it’s understandable why the budget carrier had to be more flexible and bank on the Pikachu Jet.

The flexibility also included launching new routes and ramping frequencies in other markets, especially in line with celebrations for its tenth year of operations. And despite how challenging recovery seemed initially, Scoot’s efforts seem to have been paying off as it has restored more than half of its pre-pandemic markets.

Pre-pandemic, Scoot offered flight services to about 71 destinations across 15 countries and through the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and European regions. And as of October 2022, the low-cost carrier offers flight services to 56 destinations.