After missing out on flying Scoot to Singapore with the rest of the family due to Covid, I’m now reminded that it is ten years almost to the day since my very first flights with them, and it is bittersweet.

I look up at the blue skies out of my home office window, watch aircraft glide silently past, and dream of going somewhere, escaping this exhausted and routine existence. Then I remember the stories of turbulence that the other two told me as the descended into Melbourne. I think of the joy I feel right now of their embrace now we are all at home together.

That trip, ten years ago, shaped this last one I could not join. That was the first time I stayed at the Amara in Tanjong Pagar, after discovering mid-flight that I had booked the wrong hotel, a horrible cheap dive. I had dinner at the Old Airport Road Food Centre and admired the night time beauty of the Sky Trees. B and Alex visited them too.

There are differences. In Singapore, the Chinese and Japanese gardens of Singapore are unfortunately closed for renovation. I could not chat to the family over the WiFi. In fact there was no on board entertainment whatsoever and I had to make do with the wonderful view out of the window, my phone and my tablet. I remember playing Osmos, a relaxing game with serene music that is perfect for flight.

The aircraft itself is now a Boeing 787 instead of the 777 I flew on ten years ago. We flew Scoot again in March 2013 and January 2016. They’re okay. Not my favourite airline and not the worst. But definitely a source of some pleasant memories.