Sabah And Sarawak Will Have Domestic Flights

SIBU -- Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri said the people of Sabah and Sarawak had no cause to worry as they would still have domestic flight services despite Firefly's termination, at the beginning of this month.

He said MasWing, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airline System (MAS) would take over the service.

"The government will not allow the people to face unnecessary inconvenience and there will be no reduction in the frequency of flights.

I believe MAS will eventually take over from Firefly," he said during a press conference after a briefing on the progress of the Sibu Airport redevelopment project.

He said MAS and AirAsia were still in the midst of a high level discussion to come up with a comprehensive framework in order to solve the matter.

"MAS has to do a study as to whether there will be significant demand for flights between the two states and to Kuala Lumpur. It will rise to the occasion as MAS is there for business," he said.

Rahim said FireFly Flight Sdn Bhd discontinued its services due to escalating operation costs.

Meanwhile, commenting on the Sibu Airport redevelopment work costing RM136.888 million, he said it was ahead of schedule to meet the September 12, 2012 completion date.

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Move to stop flights will hurt Sabah tourism

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia Airlines' decision to stop direct flights between Sandakan and Kuala Lumpur will not augur well for Sabah's tourism and will lead to a monopoly of the route.

Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Department Datuk Edward Khoo said the decision by MAS, through its subsidiary Firefly, to stop the direct flights would hamper the state government's efforts to promote the east coast district as a tourism spot and an educational hub.

“This will also put a damper on our efforts to attract investors to the palm oil industrial cluster in Sandakan,” said Khoo, who is Sabah MCA chairman.

Speaking to reporters before leaving for Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Khoo alleged that the move smacked of a monopoly.

“MAS used to have daily return direct flights between Sandakan and Kuala Lumpur. When Firefly came in to service this route, MAS stopped.

Continue reading at: Move to stop flights will hurt Sabah tourism
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Discontinued FireFly services to have minor impact

KOTA KINABALU: Firefly’s decision to discontinue its flight services to Sabah could have some minor impact on the number of domestic tourists visiting the State but the effect would be short term, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

“Yes, there will be an impact in the short run but I believe they (Malaysia Airlines) are in the business to make money, so eventually if there is demand obviously it would make sense for them to add the number of flights between here and KL or other destinations,” he said.

Malaysia Airlines Group on Tuesday embarked on a network rationalisation programme which would see its subsidiary, Firefly, concentrating on serving short-haul turboprop operations and Malaysia Airlines focusing on enhancing its premium full-service offerings.

The programme will be undertaken over a two-month period on a sector-by-sector basis and will result in all Firefly jet aircrafts being redeployed into MAS’ operations by December 4.

The group assured that it would remain committed to Sabah and Sarawak and will continue to operate all services to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.

Masidi said Firefly had contributed to the increased availability of flight services to Sabah, resulting in an increase of 21 per cent in domestic arrivals in the State as of August.

In this regard, he said it was hoped that MAS or AirAsia would add more flights between Kota Kinabalu and destinations in the peninsula to make up for the termination of FireFly’s services.

“MAS wants to ensure it is profitable. The demise of Firefly is obviously one of the steps they need to do in order to rationalize their operations, at least in East Malaysia,” he said, while expressing hope that the matter would be resolved soon.

Continue reading at: Discontinued FireFly services to have minor impact
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MATTA Sabah regrets Firefly pulling out from Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Sabah Chapter regrets to note the network rationalization program of Malaysia Airlines group which will see the impending pullout of Firefly routes to Sabah by the end of this year.

The chapter’s chairman, KL Tan in a statement yesterday, said that pulling out from Sabah appeared to be a commercial decision without taking public interest into consideration.

He added that the demise of Firefly operations to Sabah is expected to have an adverse repercussion on tourist arrivals to the state as travellers will no longer have an option to pay low cost fares and travel in comfort.

“This has been a growing new segment of frugal tourists which is due to the gloomy economic conditions in the USA and Europe,” he said, adding that more than 90 per cent of Sabah’s tourist arrivals are by air and Firefly provides this comfort and reasonable price travelling structure which entices leisure and business travellers to visit the state.

Tan pointed out that if travelling by Firefly, foreign tourists have the luxury and convenience of connecting their flights from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) instead of the hassle of having to check in at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).

“By December 2011, this option will cease. In addition, MATTA Sabah noted that 60 per cent of Sabah’s arrivals comprised domestic tourists,” he said, adding that since the commencement of Firefly service to Sabah on January 15 this year, domestic arrivals have recorded a steady increase of 1,304,981 from January to August compared to 1,077,830 arrivals for the same corresponding period last year.

Among the contributing factors are the flight frequencies of six flights daily to and from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu and the option available for Malaysians to pay affordable cost air tickets and yet experience the comfort of travelling and enjoying the international standard airport facilities and aerobridge facilities.

With the Firefly pullout, surely domestic tourism will be affected and holiday makers will consider neighbouring countries instead of Sabah, he lamented.

Continue reading at: MATTA Sabah regrets Firefly pulling out from Sabah
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Sabah Wants More MAS, AirAsia KL-KK Flights

KOTA KINABALU -- Sabah hopes Malaysia Airlines (MAS) or AirAsia would add more flights between Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu following the termination of Firefly's services.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines Group, had contributed to the increased availability of seats resulting in an increase of 21 per cent in domestic arrivals in Sabah as of August.

"There will be an impact on Sabah's domestic tourist arrivals in the short run.

"But I believe airlines are in the business of making money and eventually, when they know there is demand, obviously it will make sense for them to add on more flights," he told reporters after opening a seminar on Sabah's prospects and retrospects after colonial rule here today.

Masidi said the airline group needs to rationalise its operations in East Malaysia to ensure it does not lose more money.

While hoping the matter could be resolved in order to meet increasing demand, he expressed gratitude that passengers can still choose to travel by either MAS or AirAsia.

On Tuesday, the group said it had embarked on a network rationalisation programme with Firefly concentrating on short-haul turboprop operations and MAS focusing on its premium full-service offerings.

Continue reading at: Sabah Wants More MAS, AirAsia KL-KK Flights
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Cancellation of Firefly operations hampers development of Sarawak tourism industry

SIBU: The cancellation of Firefly operations between Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak and Sabah would severely hamper the development of the state tourism industry.

PKR Lanang division chairman George Chen said the government should, in fact, encourage more foreign airlines to operate these routes to attract foreign investments and ensure that the local produce could be exported promptly.

“However, instead of bringing in more airlines, what we have here is the cancellation of the Firefly operation,” he told a press conference here yesterday afternoon.

The proposed merger of AirAsia and MAS and the swapping of shares among the directors recently have sent shockwaves across the aviation industry with many speculating the eventual cancellation of the Firefly services in the Sarawak and Sabah routes.

“We suspect there are some other agendas behind the merger of the AirAsia and MAS,” Chen said.

If it was for political reasons, Chen said, it would defeat the 1Malaysia slogan of ‘People’s First, Performance Now’.

Chen urged the governments of Sarawak and Sabah to take immediate steps to get Firefly to resume their flights in the two states.

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Firefly begins silent cancellation in Sarawak, leaving passengers and tour operators fuming

KUCHING: Firefly, Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) community airline, has apparently begun cancelling some of its flights to and from Sarawak since yesterday.

This is ahead of Firefly’s rumoured pullout from the state by end of October.

It was learnt that at least one Kuching-Kuala Lumpur flight was cancelled late last night, with passengers put onboard a MAS flight instead. The unannounced move has left more than a few ticket holders unhappy.

“My Kuching-KL flight yesterday evening was cancelled after I booked it online just a few days earlier,” said Ng CH in an e-mail.

“I read in newspapers about the possible cancellations. When I checked (with Firefly), I was informed my flight had indeed been cancelled. They transferred me to a MAS flight, which was departing at about the same time.”

A senior MAS official confirmed that Firefly flights involving Sarawak without enough passengers, “to break even financially”, were being cancelled.

“The standard operation procedure is like this: When a last minute cancellation occurs because of too few passengers, then, preferably, affected ticket holders will be placed on the next Firefly flight. But when the (departure) time is too far apart, a FIM will be issued,” he explained.

FIM is an aviation terminology for “Flight Interruption Manifest”. It is normal for airlines to issue FIMs, especially among affordable airlines.

“Once the FIM is issued, passengers can be put onboard MAS,” the official added.

It was not determined how many of Firefly’s Kuching-KL-Kuching flights have been cancelled, or how many will be cancelled in the coming weeks.

Of the four Kuching-KL flights listed on Firefly’s website for today, only two evening flights are priced and with tickets bookable online.

For tomorrow, Firefly has three Kuching-KL flights on sale. For Sunday, five are on sale; but for Monday, there are only three flights again. Efforts to contact Firefly for comments on its scheduling were unsuccessful. Talk of Firefly being downsized surfaced after the MAS-AirAsia share swap deal was announced in August.

During Firefly’s peak around mid-year, the airline was flying multiple daily flights between Kuching-KL, Kuching-Johor and Sibu-KL. It had a reported load factor of 70%.

But Firefly is now all but certain to cease flights from Sarawak and Sabah to Peninsular Malaysia by the end of October. On Malaysia Day on Sept 16, the Kuching-Johor sector became the first Firefly route to be axed.

According to the MAS official, it was very likely all three Firefly routes involving Sarawak would be terminated by Oct 31.

He said this had “more or less been confirmed internally (with MAS and its subsidiaries)”, pending an official public announcement.

Continue reading at: Firefly begins silent cancellation in Sarawak, leaving passengers and tour operators fuming

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AirAsia-MAS tie-up offers growth opportunities for Sarawak's Hornbill Skyways

KUCHING: Hornbill Skyways sees great potential in helicopter services in Sarawak following the Malaysia Airline-AirAsia collaboration.

Although AirAsia and MAS’ Firefly flights are affordable there is already public anxiety as to whether they (people) are still going to enjoy the cheap fare.

“Although Hornbill Skyways may find that the plan is capital and labour-intensive, they must also see it as a business venture worth pursuing and a great social obligation to Sarawakians. We can’t deny the fact that the majority of the people still want affordable air fares,” Dato Ahmad Ibrahim, an entrepreneur said when met recently.

He proposed that Hornbill Skyways look into the suggestion because “if realised it will become a pride for Sarawakians”.

“It would be great if Sarawakians take up this venture because we can then have our own airline. Besides, it will create more jobs.”

Ahmad, however, said that to realise this dream, Hornbill Skyways would have to expand, diversify into airline service provider and increase its fleet and manpower from time to time to be more effective.

He acknowledged that such venture and running an airline company would need massive investment and capital.

Sarawak Tourism Board CEO Datuk Rashid Khan meanwhile believed that MAS’ collaboration with AirAsia would not adversely affect the state’s tourism sector.

“The airline would continue to support the state tourism industry,” he said, adding that a new
airline would emerge following the MAS-AirAsia collaboration.

On talks that Firefly was downsizing and cancelling flights and routes in the wake of the collaboration, Rashid said he would talk in detail about the implication of cancelled routes in the next few days.

On the suggestion that Hornbill Skyways should venture into airline business, he said the company would need huge capital to see it through.

Social activist Datuk Anthony Nait said it would take great political will to see the helicopter service provider take the challenge.

“Besides, huge capital is needed to run an airline company. But if Hornbill Skyways really wants it and successfully realises the plan, then we can say it is our pride,” he said.

State Democratic Action Party (DAP) treasurer Violet Yong who is also Pending assemblywoman said there must be some good reasons for routes to be cancelled.

On the cancellation of Firefly’s Kuching-Johor route (now) and the Kuching-Kuala Lumpur on Oct 31, Yong said if the routes were not attractive enough they were bound to be cancelled.

Since airline business and tourism sector are usually interlinked, miscommunication between MAS and the state tourism players could be a factor.

Continue reading at: AirAsia-MAS tie-up offers growth opportunities for Sarawak's Hornbill Skyways

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Firefly pullout will dampen Sarawak target of four million tourist arrivals

KUCHING: Firefly’s impending pullout from Sarawak before the yearend may mean that the targeted four million foreign tourist arrivals, a figure set by state authorities earlier this year, is unlikely to be achieved.

This is according to Sarawak Tourism Federation, an umbrella association for the private sector, which said the pullout would be a huge setback for the industry, coming just months after Royal Brunei Airlines closed its Kuching-Brunei route.

Federation president Audry Wan Ullok said Firefly’s high flight frequency – up to seven times daily between Kuching and Kuala Lumpur – plus the high load factor of about 70% would be a big gap to fill.

“My feeling is we will really start to feel the impact (of Firefly’s possible pullout) during the year-end school holiday,” Audry told The Star here yesterday.

“Domestic tourists make up a very big part of our industry. Because of that, cheap airfares have always been an important ingredient of Sarawak’s tourism.

“As for non-Malaysian tourists, they have to transit because of lack of direct flights. Travel expenses to Sarawak are a big part of tourist budgets. Often times, travelling costs more than accommodation.”

Last year, about 3.2 million tourists came to Sarawak, out of which 1.4 million were domestic travellers.

Peninsular Malaysians made up about 747,000, and Sabahans about 625,000.

Non-Malaysian arrivals were just over 1.9 million, with Bruneians making up about 1.19 million.

For 2011, arrivals in Sarawak was increasing. Year-to-date arrivals growth had been around 20%, with the rate of non-Malaysian arrivals increasing faster than domestic travellers.

Continue reading at: Firefly pullout will dampen Sarawak target of four million tourist arrivals

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Firefly’s Kuching-Kuala Lumpur route scrapped

KUCHING: Firefly, the two-year-old affordable wing of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), has cancelled its second route between Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, with more cancellations likely.

The airline has ceased to sell Kuching-Kuala Lumpur tickets for flights after Oct 31 on its website, and tour agents are aware of the cancellation.

Firefly’s Kuching ticketing office yesterday said, ticket holders for flights beginning Nov 1 “will most likely be put onboard MAS”.

“That is most probably what will happen.

“That is what we are telling ticket holders for now. We are not sure of anything at this point.

“A new (flight) schedule has not been released,” said the ticketing office personnel, who declined to be named as he was not authoritised to speak on the matter.

The Kuching-Kuala Lumpur cancellation comes after Kuching-Johor was cancelled on Sept 15.

Firefly was flying three routes between Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia (and with high frequency) around mid year.

The only Firefly route left for Sarawak is between Sibu-Kuala Lumpur.

Firefly’s website is still selling tickets for those flights.

However, a well-placed source within MAS’ Sarawak management said yesterday that Firefly’s online ticket sales “should not be considered as an indicator of flight availability”.

“My staff and I have been told to wait for an internal announcement (that will come) by the end of this week,” the senior staff said. “We think it will be regarding the route rationalisation. Stage by stage the Firefly flights are taken off one sector at a time.”

The Malaysian aviation industry is undergoing its most extensive flight rationalisation exercise in recent weeks. This follows the surprise announcement of a MAS-AirAsia shareswap deal in August.

Since then, it has been an open secret that Firefly’s jet aircraft routes would be scrapped. Media reports have said it was not a matter of “if” but “when”.

Sarawak Tourism Federation president Audry Wan Ullok, when asked about this yesterday, said talk was that Firefly would cease all jet aircraft routes by November.

She said the deal to end such a large portion of Firefly’s operations – this is according to her sources in the state Tourism and Heritage Ministry – was brokered and finalised over the recent Hari Raya.

Continue reading at: Firefly’s Kuching-Kuala Lumpur route scrapped
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Support for MASwings’ Sarawak-Brunei initiative

KUCHING: BIMP-EAGA Malaysia Tourism Council is keen to see MASwings ply the Sarawak-Brunei route because the oil-rich sultanate could serve as another gateway into the state.

Its chairman Datuk Wee Hong Seng said the council would write to the Ministry of Transport to urge it to give MASwings the green light to start this service.

“I do not see any reason for not approving it since MASwings wants to fly the route,” he told reporters after opening the celebration of Pa Sien Kung’s birthday at King’s Centre here on Saturday.

The former president of Sarawak Tourism Federation asserted that any connectivity to the state “is a plus point” for the tourism market.

“If MASwings is willing to fly, why hold it back? It is not difficult for the Ministry of Transport to sort things out if the issue is for MASwings (to only) operate rural air services.

“I do not think it has something to do with the open sky policy. What matters is that over 100 seats can be easily filled if MASwings serves the route.”

Wee said the council supported MASwings to fly not only Kuching-Brunei but also Kuching-Jakarta and Kota Kinabalu-Brunei.

If this materialised, it would certainly enhance connectivity in the BIMP-EAGA region.

Responding to the possibility of Firefly terminating services in Sarawak and Sabah, he said the swapping of shares between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia should not result in a monopoly.

Continue reading at: Support for MASwings’ Sarawak-Brunei initiative
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Air Accessibility A Strategic Issue For Sarawak Tourism

KUCHING -- Air accessibility into Sarawak has become a very strategic issue, in view of the positive growth of visitor arrivals, said Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer, Datuk Rashid Khan.



Expressing concern over the recent share swap agreement between Malaysian Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia, he said tourism players would need to lobby for other airlines to land here.



"Their plans to rationalise operations will definitely have a negative impact on the tourism industry, which depends very much on air accessibility to bring tourists into Sarawak," he told reporters during the breaking of fast with tour agents and media representatives here last night.



MAS and AirAsia had on Aug 9 entered into a collaboration agreement to establish a framework to explore the possibilities of mutual co-operation.



He said Firefly, whose average load factor into Sarawak was about 70 per cent, could not operate as a low cost carrier at present.



"However, the move by Malaysia Airports to increase the airport tax, will not have any major impact, especially for medium and long haul customers as it represents only a very minimal portion of their travel expenditure," he added.



Continue reading at: Air Accessibility A Strategic Issue For Sarawak Tourism

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MAS and Firefly jointly increase capacity on KL-Sandakan route

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and its fully-owned unit, Firefly, have increased passenger seat capacity on the Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan route to meet the increase in demand for leisure travel between the two cities.

In a joint statement today, they said Firefly would commence twice daily non-stop services between the the two cities effective today using the latest 189-seater B737-800 aircraft, to offer 2,646 seats weekly in each direction.

Meanwhile, MAS would offer once daily KL-Sandakan flight via Kota Kinabalu and twice daily Sandakan-KL flights via Kota Kinabalu using its 144-seater B737-400 aircraft, it said.

MAS executive vice president for commercial stratevy, Datuk Dr Amin Khan, said both airlines had teamed up to improve connectivity and capacity between the two cities as there was potential for increased leisure and holiday travel on this route.

The statement said MAS and Firefly would offer a maximum capacity of 3,654 seats weekly for KL-Sandakan route and 4,662 seats for Sandakan-KL.

Meanwhile in SANDAKAN, Firefly Managing Director Datuk Eddy Leong said the company was eyeing to fly 100,000 passengers yearly on its new KL–Sandakan route.

"Mainly, we are targeting to attract tourists, both domestic and international," he told reporters.

Continue reading at: MAS and Firefly jointly increase capacity on KL-Sandakan route

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Firefly offers seats from as low as RM9 on July 11 and 12

KUCHING: Firefly is offering one million seats at fares from as low as RM9 for travels from Aug 6 this year up to Oct 27 next year during its Mega Sales Campaign with booking period from July 11 to 12.

This is the first time Firefly is offering so many seats at one go with such low fares, all in.

It should be good news for those planning their holidays on small budget.

These low fares are only available online and applicable to Firefly’s entire network and would soon commence new routes.

In a press statement, Firefly’s head of marketing and communications Angelina C Fernandez said this is the first time they are offering a Mega Sale of this nature and for such a long travel period.

She revealed that jet operations which began early this year have increased Firefly’s seat capacity by almost 50 per cent. As a result of this, she pointed out Firefly are now able to offer 1 million seats.

“At Firefly, we make dreams come true. We may be low in fares but high in service. We offer aerobridge facilities for our jet customers’ safety and convenience and our highly fuel efficient ATR 72-500 aircraft fly from city airports.

“Our message to the public is to plan your holiday early, even a year in advance, and you get to save ‘Big’, the Firefly way,” she enthused.

The statement also disclosed that two new routes would commence soon, which include two flights daily Kuala Lumpur – Sandakan from Aug 1 and three flights daily Kuala Lumpur – Langkawi from Dec 1.

Continue reading at: Firefly offers seats from as low as RM9 on July 11 and 12

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Firefly may make Sibu its hub to capture East Malaysian market

SIBU: Firefly, which is aiming for a bigger share of the East Malaysian market, has plans to make Sibu its hub for the central region.

“Never say never. It is a question of time. If you look at hubs in Malaysia, it is the result of everybody working together. For example, in Penang, KL, KK and Subang, all industry players come together and not just the airline.

“Even businesses and those related to tourism industry, education and hospitality sectors come together. Only then, it can happen,” Firefly managing director Datuk Eddy Leong told The Borneo Post in an exclusive interview after the ‘Firefly celebrates its B737-800 inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sibu’ function here yesterday.

Leong said while they recognised such a need, more work had to be done for the plan to materialise.

“Infrastructure and products wise need to be considered. We have to take one step at time. Hence, for stage one, we will connect Sibu to the main hub/transit point.”

He explained that Firefly connects from KL while Maswings connect from Kuching and KK.

From there, he said they would slowly proceed to the second stage when Sibu matured into a destination for tourism and business.

Earlier, Leong described Sibu as a growth market.

Hence, for the start, they would roll out two flights daily to serve the local populace. He is optimistic that Firefly could help excite the local market given its low fare.

Continue reading at: Firefly may make Sibu its hub to capture East Malaysian market

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Romancing Rajang River to bring in tourist dollar

SIBU: The mighty Rajang River has vast eco-tourism potential to take Sibu places.

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) CEO Datuk Rashid Khan said tourism players need not have to make huge investment to get the ball rolling.

“The central region of Sarawak, with its natural rivers, the mighty Rajang River and diverse cultures are a trove of adventure waiting to be explored,” he enthused.

This, he pointed out, was in addition to the popular Pandaw Cruise.

“They (tourism players) just need to be creative and innovative in coming up with a package to entice tourists to come to experience the adventure and excitements of what Rajang River has to offer,” Rashid told The Borneo Post after the ‘Firefly celebrates its B737-800 inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sibu’ function here yesterday.

Citing the public tram service in San Francisco, he said this was an attraction to outsiders.

Similarly, the tourism players here can make use of the existing boats’ service to bring tourists down river to other places of interest, he suggested.

And from there, they could tie up with locals to connect the tourists to visit other places to experience a different adventure.

“They just need to find out the schedule and work out a package and promote them to visitors. There is no need to invest in the boat for example. Just utilise whatever resources that they have.”

Continue reading at: Romancing Rajang River to bring in tourist dollar

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A Johor Bahru-Sibu route may materialise soon

SIBU: Firefly is toying with the idea of serving the Johor Bahru (JB)-Sibu route to excite the market here after making its inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sibu yesterday.

“Yes, we are definitely thinking about this … the JB-Sibu route may materialise quite soon. The fact that we already have an aircraft based in JB certainly makes the task easier.

“The thing is you just need to fly to Sibu and back again. And you can get very good timing,” its managing director Datuk Eddy Leong told The Borneo Post in an exclusive interview after the ‘Firefly celebrates its B737-800 inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sibu’ function here yesterday.

He, however, was quick to point out that they had not made any decision yet as they needed more aircrafts to better service this sector.

Leong said this when asked if Firefly would serve the Sibu-JB sector following requests from local travel agents for more of such flights.

He also did not discount the possibility of the airline serving the much-awaited Sibu-Singapore route in the near future.

Meanwhile, according to a long time travel agent, managing director of Equitorial Tours and Travel Sdn Bhd Robert Tan, currently the Sibu-JB route is served by another low-cost carrier.

“But the time is rather inconvenient since it is an evening flight and it is rather late when passengers land in JB. Besides, the single flight is only available on alternate days.

“Perhaps, Firefly can fly Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays using the noon flight so as to enable travellers to cross over to Singapore,” Tan said, singing praises of Firefly’s initiative to fly the KL-Sibu route, saying it brought convenience and better connectivity for Sibu folk.

The agent said if the Sibu-JB route materialise, this would make it economically viable for travellers heading to JB and Singapore.

Leong said it would not be beneficial to fly Sibu-JB at midnight, adding “flights have to be either in the midmorning or midday.”

On the possible Sibu-Singapore sector, he disclosed that they had such plans in the pipeline but such a move required thorough planning.

“We definitely have such plans but the issue is when do we do it? Right now, we do not have any aircraft based in either Sibu or Singapore.”

Continue reading at: A Johor Bahru-Sibu route may materialise soon
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Firefly to take over KL-Sibu route from MAS

Firefly will gradually take over the Kuala Lumpur-Sibu route from MAS from July 1.

The airline will continue to offer the same twice-daily flight services as MAS, which will withdraw from the route effective Aug 1.

“We have an agreement with our code share partner, Malaysia Airlines, that we will operate this route using our B737-800 aircraft and will continue to provide connectivity to other MAS' routes and services,” said Firefly managing director Datuk Eddy Leong in a statement yesterday.

Leong said they were fully aware of the concerns of travellers and travel agents from Sibu on the inavailability of passenger and baggage through-check for those with onward journey on MAS and vice versa.

“On Sept 1, our departure control system upgrade, which will allow passengers to through-check their baggage on multiple flights to their final destination, will be operational.”

Until then, he said, passengers on the Kuala Lumpur-Sibu flight would have to bear the inconvenience of checking out and re-checking-in.

Continue reading at: Firefly to take over KL-Sibu route from MAS
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MAS confirms it will stop KL-Sibu flights

KUCHING: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has confirmed that it will stop its flights for the Sibu-Kuala Lumpur route.

MAS managing director and chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Azmil Zahruddin Raja Abdul Aziz told the media this at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget on Tuesday.

“Basically Firefly will start coming in twice a day and MAS will basically transfer the service to Firefly,” he said.

As for other routes in the state and in Sabah, he said these were still under review.

“We will review our routes. We look at it as a group. You know some will be only one airline, some like Kuching and KK (Kota Kinabalu) we will have both.

“So over time we’ll see. There will some that both will operate, there will be some that only MAS operates. There will be some that only Firefly operates,” said Azmil.

MAS used to operate the Sibu-Kuala Lumpur route twice daily.

Continue reading at: MAS confirms it will stop KL-Sibu flights
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Firefly starts Johor-Sabah flights

Firefly Sdn Bhd, the community airline, has commenced twice daily return flights between Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu from yesterday.

The budget airline said Kota Kinabalu was the second capital city in Sabah and Sarawak that Firefly was serving from its southern hub in Johor Baru.

The airline launched four daily services between Johor Baru and Kuching on May 19

Managing director Datuk Eddy Leong said the Johor Baru-Kota Kinabalu route signifies an improvement in connectivity between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak and from Johor to North Asia, connecting through Kota Kinabalu.

“Additionally, our strong network and code sharing with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and MASwings will further provide seamless travel to our guests and help stimulate economic growth through the tourism industry for Sabah and Johor,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Continue reading at: Firefly starts Johor-Sabah flights

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