Influencer Daryl Aiden Yow Claims Scoot Downgrades His Seat from Business to Economy As “All Seats Were Taken”

When one thinks of the word “economy’, it usually has a positive connotation. When I think of the word economy, it’s usually something delicious like economy bee hoon or economy rice. 

But to Instagram Influencer Daryl Aiden Yow, economy seats were the very things that spoiled the treat he and his team were supposed to enjoy.

Daryl had wanted to treat his team to a well-deserved retreat at Bali and booked Scoot Business Class seats for them to enjoy during the flight. 

Scoot had downgraded their seats from Business Class to Economy a mere two hours before the flight commenced in what came as a rude shock to him and everyone else.

The alleged reason, according to the airline, was that all seats had been fully booked on the plane. 

Here’s what happened.

Instagram Influencer Daryl Aiden Yow Posts Instagram Story Expressing His Dissatisfaction With Scoot, Also Shares Comments About Another User’s Experience With the Airline

The 32-year-old, who had gained popularity snapping photos as an Instagram photographer for big brands such as Uniqlo and Sony (and also for his Photoshop skills, of course), has now snapped back at Scoot for downgrading him and his team’s seats at such short notice.

On the 22 June, Daryl released two Instagram stories that showed his frustration towards the airline’s handling of the situation.

In the first Instagram Story, Daryl claimed that the check-in staff at Scoot had failed to quote the full refund figure he was supposed to receive after having his seats downgraded to economy. 

Instead, the staff gave him a rough estimate of 30% off the original ticket prices, leaving him to do the maths on his own. 

Daryl also expressed concern about the application process for receiving his refunds, given Scoot’s notoriety for their slow replies. He was not too happy at the prospect of possibly receiving vouchers instead of cash.

In his second post, Daryl seemed to find a cause to justify his fears by posting comments from a fellow user with a similarly unsavoury experience with Scoot. 

The user complained that Scoot forgot to compensate them after being promised a travel voucher and a 30% refund of their tickets since the matter remained under review for over two months. 

Daryl’s Friend Was Not Supportive of His Team Flying With Scoot, But Finally Agreed Due to Last-Minute Nature Of Trip

In the first Instagram mentioned above, deciding to book the Business Class seats on Scoot was ultimately a last-minute decision made by Daryl. 

His friend, Glenn, had previously expressed his aversion towards the airline due to their “advertising morals” and was against the decision.

However, due to the last-minute nature of the booking, Glenn had no choice but to give in.

His friend’s instinct may not be entirely unfounded, as a similar incident with Scoot had occurred a year before.

Similar Incidents With Scoot Downgrading Flights Have Occurred Before

On 17 August 2022, A Singaporean woman and her family were downgraded from their business class seats on a Scoot flight two hours before take-off. There was also a delay in the family receiving their luggage.

Only on 21 October did the woman receive her refund, a full two months after the incident occurred. The refund consisted of only travel vouchers instead of cash, something which the woman did not agree to.

Sound familiar?