Singapore Air budget carrier Scoot to begin 2012

The new long-haul budget airline owned by Singapore Airlines says it will be named Scoot and begin flights by the middle of next year.

Scoot Chief Executive Campbell Wilson told reporters Tuesday that the carrier initially plans to fly to four or more cities in Australia and China. He said the airline's business strategy is to focus on destinations that are five to 10 hours from Singapore.

Wilson said the company plans to fly four Boeing 777-200 planes next year and have a fleet of 14 aircraft by 2016.

Wilson said Scoot will charge 40 percent less for tickets than full-service carriers.

Scoot is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, which invested 283 million Singapore dollars ($227 million) to start the long-haul carrier.