Firefly To Reintroduce Jet Aircraft Services from Penang International Airport

By Anthony Tan
VIRGIN Communications
16 December 2020

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

Firefly first began its jet service operations using the Boeing 737-800 aircraft in January 2011 with scheduled return flights for Johor Bahru -Kuching, Kuala Lumpur -  Kuching, Kuala Lumpur - Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur - Jakarta.

However, it was short-lived and discontinued from September 2011 due to a restructuring of services agreement made between AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines, Firefly's parent company at that time.

When Firefly was using Boeing 737-800 for the jet range services

Fast forward to 2020, Firefly Chief Executive Officer Philip See says, “We are thrilled to kickstart our 2021 journey with jet services from Penang. It has been a challenging 2020 for all of us in the travel industry. We hope these new services will accelerate the overall economic recovery in 2021.

Philip See

He adds that Penang, as the northern hub for our jet services, has a great mix of leisure and corporate business.

Firefly will introduce two daily services between Penang and Kota Kinabalu and Kuching respectively and three daily services between Penang and Johor Bahru. It will be using three Boeing 737-800 narrow body jet aircrafts seconded from Malaysia Airlines’ excess fleet.

Passengers on Firefly jet services will be using the aerobridge facilities for boarding and alighting from the aircraft at the airport terminals.

They can opt for the value bundle of FlyPremium and FlyInfinite set of services to enjoy its product features, which include unlimited flight changes, 35kgs of baggage allowance, in-flight hot meals, seat selection, insurance coverage besides collecting Enrich points.

Being part of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), Firefly has strong network links and code-sharing facilities with sister companies, Malaysia Airlines and MASwings, which can provide seamless connecting travel experiences to secondary cities in Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia to Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore in near future.

To celebrate the launch, Firefly will be giving discounted ticket sales for its three new jet routes from Penang with fares from as low as RM79 one way. Its registered members will get to enjoy exclusive rates with fares as low as RM69 one way.

Tickets are available for sale through all travel agents, Firefly website and booking offices. For more information on its products and services, visit www.fireflyz.com.my or call +603-78454543.

Sarawak’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture To Restart Domestic Tourism With Attractive Incentives

By Anthony Tan

VIRGIN Communications

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

Director Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) Suriya Charles Buas, Chief Operationg Officer for BeSarawak (Sarawak Convention Bureau) Amelia Roziman (2nd left), Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak, Hii Chang Kee(3rd left), Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak, YB Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah (middle), Assistant Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak, YB Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew, (3rd right) Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Tourism Board, Sharzede Datu Haji Salleh Askor (2nd right) and Tourism Malaysia Sarawak Director, Baharuddin Sulaiman (Right)

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak, YB Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah launched two initiatives for all Sarawak’s travel agents and tour operators to help restart the tourism industry which had been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The two initiatives launched were, the Visitors Incentive Package (VIP) and the Sarawak Tourism Online Ecosystem Fund.

For the VIP package, Sarawak Travel Agencies will receive support for tour packages sold for a minimum of 4 pax and a maximum of 15 pax at any one time, excluding children below 2 years old. The incentives have been categorised as follows:-

1. 3D/ 2N package – for tourists who travel in a minimum package of four (4) and maximum package of fifteen (15). Under this category, the agent will receive RM30 for each tourist, for the first four tourists and an additional RM20 for each subsequent tourist up to 15 pax.

2. 4D/ 3N package – for tourists who travel in a minimum package of four (4) and maximum package of fifteen (15). Under this category, the agent will receive RM40 for each tourist, for the first four tourists and an additional RM25 for each subsequent tourist up to 15 pax.

3. 5D/ 4N package – for tourists who travel in a minimum package of four (4) and maximum package of fifteen (15). Under this category, the agent will receive RM50 for each tourist, for the first four tourists and an additional RM30 for each subsequent tourist up to 15 pax'

The second incentive launched was the Sarawak Tourism Online Ecosystem Fund which is an initiative programme to enlarge Sarawak Tourism’s Digital coverage and Share of Voice (SOV) in collaboration with the tourism industry partners.

For this incentive, Sarawak Tourism Board will allocate funding grant up to RM5,000 per tour operator for website development and maintenance, content production and digital advertising which focuses on Sarawak Tourism.  

To promote these new initiatives and to let the industry players to get a clearer understanding, a  digital roadshow programme will be conducted in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, Bakalalan and Bario. 

YB Datuk Karim said, "The Government acknowledges the impact of the pandemic on tourism players and these initiatives have been crafted to provide support, push and accelerate the recovery of the tourism sector as well as to enhance industry confidence and encourage marketing and promotions of their products and services. It also aims to boost and motivate tourism partners to facilitate tourism activities and arrivals during this recovery phase. 

The Sarawak Tourism Online Ecosystem Fund seeks to align all industry players, with its key objective being the enhancement of digital economy within the Tourism Sector. It also aims at supporting and enhancing the use of e-commerce to drive more traffic within the ecosystem”.

This special launch event “Sesi Dialog Sektor Pelancongan Pasca Covid19 Bersama Menteri Pelancongan, Kesenian dan Kebudayaan Sarawak and Sarawak Reopens For Tourism” was held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching. Among those attended were over 100 tourism industry partners including Sarawak Tourism Federation, Association for Sarawak Inbound Agents, Malaysian Association of Hotels (Sarawak Chapter), Sarawak Tourism Board and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak.

All Sarawak tour operators are invited to apply for the incentives which will be made available from 1st July 2020 to 31st December 2020, in accordance to the criteria listed on a first come first serve basis. To find out more, please contact Sarawak Tourism Board at 082 423600 or stb@sarawaktourism.com