Malaysia's Firefly to launch narrowbody ops in 1Q21

Gabon's Afrijet Business Service adds another ATR72-600

Afrijet Business Service (J7, Libreville) has ordered an additional ATR72-600 with delivery due by the end of 2022, the carrier disclosed during the 2022 Farnborough Air Show.

"The unique terrain in which Afrijet operates, comprising of the Congo rainforest - the world's second-largest tropical forest after the Amazon - makes an even stronger reason to select the most responsible aircraft on the market for such essential connections," Chief Executive Marc Gaffajoli said.

The Gabonese carrier currently operates two ATR72-600s, including one ordered directly from Avions de Transport Régional (EVX, Toulouse Blagnac) in November 2021 and one added as a second-hand unit from Firefly (FY, Penang). The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows the airline has a further two ATR72-600s on direct order from ATR. Afrijet said, including the newly ordered unit, it plans to have six ATR72-600 in its fleet by 2023. It added that the new aircraft would be used both to add frequencies on existing routes and launch new services.

Gaffajoli has since told ch-aviation that...

Editorial Comment: Added CEO's clarification on this order's exact nature - 20.07.2022 - 19:39 UTC

Malaysia Airlines to select A330 replacement in early 3Q22

Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur Int'l) intends to announce its selection for the replacement of its fleet of six A330-200s and fifteen A330-300s by mid-July 2022, Chief Executive Izham Ismail told Reuters during the 2022 IATA AGM in Doha.

"We are in a late stage of the process. We are looking at one-to-one replacement on our A330 fleet," he said, without disclosing any further details concerning the potential type or whether the aircraft would be ordered from the manufacturer(s) or lessors.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows Malaysia Airlines operates six A330-200s, which are 14.7 years old on average, and fifteen -300s, which are 10.1 years old on average. The carrier owns nine of the -300s and leases the remainder, the ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows. The airline's widebody fleet also comprises six A350-900s. Malaysia Airlines owns six A380-800s, which it has retired from revenue service and has been trying to sell for nearly a year.

Malaysia Airlines had a non-binding order for eight B787-9s but...

Malaysia's Firefly to grow fleet as network expands

Firefly (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 Firefly inducts first B737-800

Firefly (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.