On board the first low-cost flight from Britain to Bangkok

The seeming clarity of Scoot’s pricing is appealing. Indeed, passengers can log into Scoot’s mobile app to see exactly how the costs break down: £82 for air passenger duty; a £16.81 passenger service charge. 

Wilson had mentioned that the first few flights (running on Boeing 787s) would be full. Yet, when I reached Gatwick’s North Terminal, I hadn’t quite anticipated the size of the check-in queue. The tangle of Thailand’s entry rules prevented anyone from completing the process online; the litany of paperwork required human approval.

“Scoot?” asked an airport worker, as I blindly barrelled towards the area framed with a halo of the airline’s fluorescent signs. “Over there for the back of the queue”. I surveyed the line, which snaked through a complex network of cordons. My time for a pre-flight meal at Wetherspoons, and last-minute dash to Boots, had quickly…