In selecting Sydney as its first route, Scoot favours a low risk market with little competition

Scoot's selection today of Sydney as its first destination from its Singapore hub is a solid move from Singapore Airlines' new low-cost long-haul carrier. Scoot previously said it was looking to initially concentrate on Australia and China. There is no existing low-cost long-haul service from Singapore to Sydney or fifth-freedom rights from Emirates, unlike at Australia's second largest city, Melbourne.

The Singapore Airlines (SIA) group decided earlier this year to launch a low-cost long-haul carrier to re-capture some of the growth the group has lost over the past decade, especially to LCCs. Sydney is still a high O&D market SIA and Scoot can try to keep, unlike at Melbourne or the Gold Coast where AirAsia X and Jetstar have firmly planted themselves. Scoot's entry could be expected to galvanise the Malaysian government to finally let AirAsia X serve Sydney - likely before Scoot - and could cause the Qantas Group to consider unleashing its LCC subsidiary Jetstar in one of its last premium markets.