SINGAPORE - Low-cost carrier Scoot's first long-haul flight to Europe took off from Changi Airport at 2.45am on Tuesday(June 20), with 316 passengers on board.

The 111/2-hour flight to Athens, Greece on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the longest flight operated by Scoot, with the flight distance exceeding 10,000 km.

On board the inaugural flight was marketer Hendric Tay, 29, who was on his second trip to Greece.

"It's exciting that a low cost carrier is flying to Europe and finally Singaporeans can fly to Europe for cheap," he said.

Scoot operates its Singapore-Athens route four times a week.

Scoot, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) subsidiary, had said the long-haul market will become a "significant part" of its network and in the next two to three years, it could triple its long-haul offerings.

Amid mounting competition, SIA has been expanding its budget operations through subsidiaries Scoot which operates medium- and long-haul flights, and Tigerair which operates shorter flights within the region.

Both budget carriers will soon be integrated under a common holding company, with Tigerair officially coming under the Scoot brand on July 25.