A few days ago, I received a promotional email from SCOOT advertising for a one way flight departing from Australia to Maldives for A$199 between 08 Feb to 18 May 2017. This unbelievable promotion caught my attention.
I have never been to Maldives so I thought I should make use of this promotion to visit Maldives. In addition, since I am quite flexible with regard to the dates of departure, I am pretty confident that I should be able to get those cheap fares. Unfortunately, this irresistible deal has a catch. In fact, it has a few catch(es).
Firstly, since I am based in Melbourne, I think the A$199 deal does not apply for flights out of Melbourne. Either that or maybe all the cheap seats have been snapped up before I could get it. So the cheapest fare I could get was $301 one-way. Still a pretty decent deal considering the fact that flying from Melbourne to Singapore alone costs nearly $500 already.
Regardless, from what I have gathered after spending some time on their website, it seems like the A$199 only applies for flight departing out of Perth (closest to Singapore). So I did a quick search to see whether I could find the A$199 fare around the dates I wanted departing from Perth. I selected the cheapest fares I could find and the total fares came up to be A$239, pretty close. I suspected that there were some unwanted add-ons and I was right. I will explain that to you later.
Scoot from MEL – SIN – MLE Return
Scoot from MEL – SIN Return
Scoot from PER – MLE Return
Secondly, it does not matter which city in Australia you are departing from, as long as Scoot flies there (Perth, Melbourne, Gold Coast), you have to transit in Singapore. This is NOT a direct flight to Male.
This means that, depending on the timing of your flight, you might have to spend a night in Singapore. Look at the screenshot below. The onward journey has a decent connection time but the return journey is an agonising 19-hour wait in Changi! Actually, if you have never been to Changi, it is not a bad thing because Changi – being the best airport in the world – has so many things to do and see! If waiting at the airport is not your thing, then go for a day trip in Singapore. See it as a bonus.
Thirdly, you do not ‘Scoot’ all the way to Male in the B787 Dreamliner…. dream on. The second sector from Singapore to Male is operated by Scoot’s sister airline – Tigerair – on an A320. If you are 168cm short like me, you will probably make do with the seat just barely inches away from your knees for the next 5hr and 5min journey. However to some people, that 5hr 5min flight might be the longest yet.
Fourth, like with most budget carriers, you pay for everything. You pay for meals, you pay for extra bags, you pay to u̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶v̶a̶t̶o̶r̶y̶ have a seat assigned.
You ALSO have to pay for your bags to be checked through (Scoot-Thru) from Melbourne to Male. If you do not, you will have to go through passport control/immigration, collect your bags at the arrival hall, then head to the departure hall, check in your bags and then make your way through immigration, security-checks again and then to the gate.
Sounds complicated? Pay for Scoot-Thru then.
It costs $20 each way. Somehow Scoot-Thru for the Melbourne – Male sector was automatically added to the price of the ticket (although you can remove it or simply don’t check in any bags and that saves you another $20) because the connection time for your Tigerair flight to Male is only 2hr 20min. You might not have enough time to go through the whole immigration/security checks again.
Note: Scoot-Thru however, was not added to the return journey although you could if you want to. Scoot probably wants you to take your bags and spend a night in downtown Singapore than to sleep on the plush carpeted flooring in Changi.
Fortunately, you can check-in one [1] bag and they are already included in the price. Neat.
Finally, despite the long stopover in Singapore (pros and cons) if you intend to go budget, make sure you check the flight details carefully and see whether they are suitable for you. A return journey of nearly 31 hours from Male to Melbourne, I would have to spend one and a half day in the air and that means – less time in Maldives.
PS: This is not a paid advertisement and I have nothing against budget carriers. #justsaying
Condé Nast Traveller suggests “The best weather is between November and April. The high season falls between December and March. The monsoon runs from May to October, peaking around June. It is worth paying higher prices and sticking to the dry season as there is nothing to do on a rainy day except drink, work out or scuba dive.”