Mid last month, I took a trip down under to Perth for a short getaway. As it is spring, weather was wonderful for the entire trip, and I also get to visit sights which I had not been in and around Perth. Flight up was on Scoot Economy while return on SQ Business Class.


Self check-in done at Terminal 2, and it was pretty busy at this time.






Headed to TGM café to grab a Japanese bento set lunch, compliments of Priority Pass again.




Heading to the gate at the far end of the E pier.








18 October 2019
Scoot
TR 8
Singapore (SIN) - Perth (PER)
B787-8
9V-OFI
Economy Class
Flight Time: 4H43M


Boarding commenced shortly after.




Our aircraft is named Mous-Scoot-ka, and is primarily used on long-hauls.






Boarding the yellow Dreamliner.






This would be my first time flying on Scoot's B787 in Economy, and I was not too sure if it would be bearable on a mid-haul. Luckily it was not an awfully cramped A320 which Scoot also flies on certain days to Perth. First impression is fine, with 3-3-3 layout in economy and decent looking seats, though minus any other frills in basic economy. Call buttons and light switched are in the armrest. The basic seat frame is by Safran (previously known as Zodiac) and is similar to what many other airlines (including SQ) uses on their long-haul jets. Understandably, Scoot's seats does not have the bells and whistles of other full-service airlines.






Boarding in progress. The flight was almost full.




Legroom was pretty decent, and not as bad as I had feared. Similar legroom as many other full-service carriers.




Inflight literature. Scoot has discontinued its IFE streaming service ScootTV, replacing it with inflight internet access (payable of course) as the only available IFE option.




View from the window.




Doors closed on schedule and safety instructions were done manually.




Starting the taxi to the runway.






A logo-less SQ B772 was spotted departing to USA for storage, retired from the SQ fleet.




Vietjet Air A321 landing before your turn on the runway.




Departure from Rwy20C.







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0EC2jCoYdA


Climbing through the clouds.




About an hour after departure, crew came round to distribute the pre-paid meals.




I had pre-paid for the Chicken Tikka Masala with rice meal for S$17. The meal came with a chocolate bar and a can of Coke or bottled water.






The meal was tasty and flavourful. Portion was decent as well.






BOB and duty free sales conducted after pre-paid meals were delivered.




Leaving the Java coast.




Lavatory was basic but clean.




Cabin views






With about an hour to go, we had entered the Australian outback.




Soon we started the descend into Perth.




Crew turned on rainbow lights just before descend to 'wake' everyone up to Wahs and Oohs.








Approaching Perth.










And we were up again! Go-Around due to aircraft still on runway, according to the pilot. There was a deathly silence in the cabin as we attempted the go-around haha.










Video of approach and go-around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQtZ1HdT2bs&t=222s


Lets try again for a landing.








And touchdown on Rwy21, still a bit ahead of schedule.







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A01_xXuiebM


Taxied to the gate. Spotted a SA A343.








Disembarking




The 'premium' economy seats, ie. seats with more legroom and in Scoot-in-Silence cabin, are fitted with headrests.




The rebranded ScootPlus (previously ScootBiz) seats.




The mid-haul on Scoot was very decent and bearable, mainly due to the comfortable (for LCC standards) seating. All frills are additional charge, depending on how much you would need, but with the low base fare, Scoot B787s are still a reasonable decent way for fly for mid and maybe long-haul LCC flights.

After disembarkation.








Immigration and customs were seamless, and a quick 30min Airport Bus ride later, we reached Perth's CBD. Stay for the trip would be at Mantra on Murray, an aparthotel. Rooms were big and clean, and provide all the necessary facilities. Location was the best, right sack in the middle of town with easy access to shopping and transportation.








Dinner was a very tasty BBQ Bacon and Cheese Burger and buffalo wings from Short Order Burger just behind the hotel.






Perth CBD in the morning.








Visit to the Perth City Farm




Perth City Farm hosts a farmers' market every Saturday morning. It was not too big a market though.






There is a café on site which offers great brunch selection!




Off to Watertown Outlets for some shopping.




And back to the CBD.




Some Japanese ramen at Bari Uma.




Lively Yagan Square at dusk.






Ending the day with a selection of desserts at Koko Black!




The next day, we made a day tour to the Waverock, which was 350km southeast of Perth. First stop along the way was a quaint town of York.






Next was the Corrigin Dog Cemetery where it was only a very brief stop.






Wildflowers in bloom






Hippo's Yawn, a rock formation resembling, as the name suggested, a yawning hippo.






Mulka's Cave, a cave found with aboriginal hand paintings and with a dark history.








Highlight of the trip was the Wave Rock. Yes, it is a very unique rock formation, but is it worth the 350km ride from Perth? Lets just say don't set the expectations too high.






Landscape above the rock.






View from above Wave Rock.




After a long ride back to Perth, we had a late dinner at Ribs & Burgers. The signature Aussie Burger was simply awesome!




The next day was a visit to Rottnest Island. I had booked for the ferry departing from Perth CBD's Barracks Jetty, which was a pleasant short walk from the hotel with views of the Perth skyline.






After a 1.5hr ferry ride, we arrived on Rottnest Island. We had booked bicycles to explore the island ourselves, but first lets look for the famous inhabitants of Rottnest.




Quokkas spotted.




It is a fad to take a selfie with these cute creatures!




Exploring the bays.






And the inner lakes.






There is a Pink Lake on Rottnest Island too.




However, the lake was not the pinkiest at this time of the year. It is expected to be most pink in summer.




More scenery around Rottnest.






And ending the round-island cycling trip with a delicious pizza refuel at the café Frankie's on Rotto.




Back to the mainland by ferry.




For dinner, we walked to Northbridge, passing by Yagan Square again. Being a Monday evening, it was not too busy.




Had some authentic Italian food at the popular Francoforte Spaghetti Bar. We had the Kangaroo Bolognese and the Carbonara. Portions were huge!






Ending with a yummy tiramisu.




On the last day, we had a hearty breakfast at Holmes & Co.




Followed by some final shopping in town.




And a last burger and milkshake from Short Order Burger before heading to the airport.

Great pics and trip report.

Perth has started to develop well but still kind of sleepy for my liking. Great to see a lot more life in the CBD than when I have been there over the years though.

Reached the airport about 2hrs before departure. The check-in counters were pretty empty and we were checked in immediately.







FIDS. Perth has much lesser international traffic than the hubs of Sydney and Melbourne.




No queues at immigration and security as well, and we were through in no time. Typical of Australian airports, there is a need to pass through the duty-free shopping alley to reach the lounges and gates.




SQ operates its own Silver Kris Lounge at Perth. The lounge is also available to Star Alliance's premium pax.




Lounge is rather small and basic, with sofas and a small separate dining area. Design is in need of a revamp. Lounge also got quite busy nearer to the flight departure.






Buffet offering was rather decent, with sandwiches, hot food, satay (not very authentic though), Singapore laksa and desserts.










Teas, cookies and nuts. There is a separate coffee corner with barista service.




Cold beverages and ice-cream.








My light snacks.






Since the lounge was getting very crowded and it was actually not very comfortable seated in the enclosed area, I left the lounge early for some plane-spotting. The most interesting aircraft spotted was the giant Antonov. Also just realised that I could have also checked out Air New Zealand's lounge in Perth.








The brand new SQ A350 Regional aircraft waiting at the gate.





22 October 2019
Singapore Airlines
SQ 214
Perth (PER) - Singapore (SIN)
A350-900
9V-SHJ
Business Class
Flight Time: 4H55M


The gate area was not too crowded. After a bit of waiting, boarding commenced.






Stepped into the brand new A350R via Door 2. Took a peek at the forward Business Class cabin.




I was seated in the smaller 12-seater aft Business cabin. The seats are the New Regional Business Class lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 layout, fitted on the B787-10s and A359Rs. I chose the seat nearer to the window.






A pillow and plush blanket were already placed on each seat. Crew welcomed me onboard and handed out some amenities, consisting of socks, slippers and headphones. The menu was already placed at the storage compartment beside the seat.




Inside the storage compartment was a bottle of water. Power and USB ports were available too.




The touch-sensitive seat controls and IFE handset.




Inflight literature rack and a shoe compartment below it.




Good legroom of course.




Inflight magazines and more.




The one and only hot towel service for the flight conducted.




Followed with a cold glass of Charles.




View out the window.




Flight info




Boarding in progress






Newspapers and magazines were offered. I requested for a coupe of travel mags.




Boarding completed, doors closed and safety video was played. We were not too full today, with only 4/12 in the aft Business cabin. The forward cabin was slightly busier. Economy seemed not to busy as well.




A whale just arrived in Perth.






SAA A343 spotted again!




Holding for a QantasLink B717 to land on the shorter cross-runway.




Continued the taxi to the longer runway.




Holding for a Scoot A320 to land from SIN. I would not want to fly on this cramped and uncomfortable narrowbody on the 5hrs sector! Bless those who 'survived' the flight.




Turning onto the runway.






Departure from Rwy21.














Video of the takeoff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYz9J_ckvOA


Flying up the Western Australian coast.








Quick visit to the lavatory after seatbelt signs were turned off. 3 lavatories were located between the forward and aft Business cabins, while the galley was all the way at the front. Amenities were well stocked in the lav.








Great evening to fly




A very relaxed cabin ambience.




Time to start on the IFE




And also peruse the menu. Dinner would be served on this sector.




Menu for SQ223 SIN-PER sector if you are interested.






Eye-boggling beverage selection, starting with the alcohols.












Mocktails




Non-alcohols. coffees and teas.












It had been a while since I last ordered a Singapore Sling onboard SQ, so a sling it shall be! It was perfectly mixed, not too strong as some crew would prepare. And the swizzle stick has now become an ice-cream stick!






Satay was served next as canape. It was surprising as I recalled satay were not served on Australia-originating flights due to some agricultural restrictions as the satays would be flown in from Singapore to be served on the way back. It was great as far as satay in the sky could be, though I have yet to try the MH version.






Leaving the Australian coast and into the sunset.






Dinner was served about 1.5hrs after departure. No trays were used. Starting with the appetiser and breads.




Tuna salad starter was fresh. The seared tuna was very thick and generous.




For main, I had pre-booked the Lobster Thermidor. This was the best lobster thermidor I had eaten onboard SQ. It was fresh and chunky, huge portions and tasted way better than the lobster thermidors from SIN. Guess the use of locally sourced western Australian lobsters played a part to ensure the freshness.








My friend had the Roasted duck from the onboard menu. Presented very well, it turned out to be way too salty.




Also tried the Baked chicken thigh in mushroom cream sauce. It was a safe but palatable choice.




Not being a fan of peppermint ice-cream, I had the lemon meringue tart. It was an enjoyable dessert.






Followed by selection of cheeses and fruits. The cheese plate had some uncommon condiments.






Watching our local singer's performance.




Rounding up with pralines and earl grey tea. The whole dinner service was conducted at a very comfortable pace, with excellent and personable service.




Reclined to full-flat for relaxation for the remainder of the flight.






Cabin lights were switched off. In the dark, the cabin was still pretty cosy.




An hour to go




Lights turned on before descent, and crew came round to offer pralines and candies. A nice touch.




Approach and landing on Rwy20R.







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMHVhZmbpA4


Windows fogged up after landing. We parked at Terminal 3.




Final look at the seat and cabin during disembarkation.








It was an excellent and comfortable flight on SQ A350-900 Regional. The hardware and service were top-notch. Catering was fantastic and the overall experience was up there among the best SQ flights I had flown.

Thanks for reading and comments are welcomed.

Thanks for writing up, great pictures. Perth is a nice place especially in the warmer months, and easier for a quick trip with no time change compared with the eastern states.

The SQ lounge doesnt look great, the NZ lounge is meant to be alot better!