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Malaysia's Firefly to grow fleet as network expands
13.04.2022 - 23:50 UTCFirefly (FY, Penang) plans to add seven more aircraft in phases over the next two to three years to boost its domestic, ASEAN, and Asia-Pacific capacity, according to Izham Ismail, Chief Executive Officer of Firefly parent Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur Int'l).
“Domestic travel and short distance flights are expected to be in high demand, and this will meet the northern region’s growing demand with Penang as Firefly’s new hub,” he told reporters after seeing off the resumption of a B737-800 service from Penang on April 11, 2022.
“Additional Firefly aircraft in the next two to three years are expected to expand its flight network and at the same time introduce new markets to draw passengers to Malaysia via Penang to boost the economy, trade, [and] tourism industries,” he said.
Firefly briefly had narrowbody operations from Penang with B737-800s from its parent last year, but put the idea on hold after just three flights and returned all aircraft to Malaysian Airlines in July 2021.
The regional subsidiary of...
Editorial Comment: Corrected the registration of B737-800 (msn 31723) from 9M-MJH to 9M-MLH. - 14.04.2022 - 05:26 UTC
Malaysia's Sarawak state eyes own boutique airline
31.03.2022 - 23:12 UTCDiscussions around the Malaysian state of Sarawak setting up its own boutique airline are at an advanced stage with the central government, with a decision expected within three months, according to local media reports.
Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg told reporters the matter was being discussed with Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who had been receptive to the plan. “We are also still in talks with the State Economic Planning Unit (the principal government agency responsible for development plans for Malaysia) and Khazanah Nasional Berhad (the sovereign wealth fund of the Malaysian government) about establishing our own boutique airline to boost our tourism industry,” he was cited by Dayak Daily.
“We want an arrangement where international tourists can board a direct flight to Kuching, bypassing Kuala Lumpur Int'l along the way, as it would be more convenient to provide a point-to-point transit to tourists,” he said earlier during a dinner for the Sarawak Business Federation (SBF) and the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (NCCIM), reported the...
Malaysia's Firefly inducts first B737-800
31.03.2022 - 01:30 UTCFirefly (FY, Penang) has inducted its first B737-800 ahead of its launch of narrowbody scheduled operations on April 11, 2022.
9M-MLH (msn 31723) operated its last flight for Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur Int'l) on February 5, 2022 and then underwent maintenance and repainting at Kuala Lumpur Int'l airport and began proving flights for Firefly on March 22.
Firefly will require two B737-800s to operate its initial schedule and a third to ramp-up frequencies from April 25. The airline will base its Boeing narrowbodies out of Penang and serve domestic routes to Johor Bahru, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu.
The airline currently operates twelve ATR72-500s out of Kuala Lumpur Subang and Penang. It initially tried to enter the narrowbody market with three B737-800s, all transferred from Malaysia Airlines (other than 9M-MLH), in May 2021 but deferred the move after just three flights due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.