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.

Malindo Air launches daily flight to Phnom Penh and codeshare flight to Chennai

By Anthony Tan 

VIRGIN Communications 

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

Malindo Air will start its inaugural flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 1 August. 

It announced on 29 June that all bookings are opened for both Business Class and Economy Class seats for its new daily services from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) with immediate effect.

The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

The airline’s flight OD580 will depart daily from KLIA at 8 am and arrive at Phnom Penh International Airport (PNH) at 8:55 am. The return flight OD581 will depart PNH on the same day at 9:45am and expect to arrive at KLIA at 12:35 pm.

To celebrate this new route, Malindo Air is offering all-in return introductory fares to Phnom Penh for Business Class starting from RM749 and Economy Class from RM139. The promotional fares include perks such as baggage allowance, in-flight entertainment and meals.

The airline also announced a codeshare flight with sister airline Batik Air Indonesia between Kuala Lumpur and Chennai, India from 24 July. This route will see Batik Air Indonesia flying from Jakarta with stopover at KLIA enroute to Chennai and vice versa.

There are many colourful festivals in Chennai

The daily flight to Chennai will start from 24 July with OD9114 departing from KLIA at 6:25 am and arriving at Chennai International Airport (MAA) at 7:55 am. The return flight OD9115 will depart on the same day from MAA at 8:55 am and expect to arrive at KLIA at 3:25 pm.   

Come 30 August, a second flight will be added, thus making it two daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai with a good timing for business or leisure travellers. The additional flight OD9112 will depart daily from KLIA at 8:55 pm and expect to arrive at MAA at 10:20 pm. The return flight OD9113 will depart on the same day from MAA at 11:10 pm and expect to arrive at KLIA the next day at 5:40 am.

Chandran Rama Muthy

The introductory fares to Chennai for Economy Class will start from RM438 and Business Class from RM999. Both fares include better baggage allowance, in-flight entertainment and meals.

Malindo Air CEO Chandran Rama Muthy said, “We are thrilled to announce these two new routes to our network. Both Phnom Penh and Chennai are rich in culture and both destinations have active travellers for trade and leisure. These routes support our continuous efforts in making KLIA a transit hub by connecting passengers to visit Malaysia.    

“We hope to help boost the tourism in Malaysia and the cities that are connected through our network. Passengers from India, for example, can fly to Kuala Lumpur and further their journey to Indonesia, Australia or even Hong Kong or Taiwan. Our network grows rapidly, especially with our progressive codeshare strategies, which aim to provide better connectivity in the region.

Quick Look

Malindo Air’s schedule between Kuala Lumpur and Phnom Penh
Sector	Flight No:	ETD	ETA	Frequency
KUL/PNH	OD 580	8:00	8:55	Daily
PNH/KUL	OD 581	9:45	12:35

 

Malindo Air’s codeshare schedule between Kuala Lumpur and Chennai (operated by Batik Air)

Sector	Flight No.	ETD	ETA	Frequency
KUL/MAA	OD9114	6:25	7:55	Daily
MAA/KUL	OD 9115	8:55	15:25
Second frequency with effect from 30 August 2017
KUL/MAA	OD9112	20:55	22:10	Daily
MAA/KUL	OD 9113	23:10	5:40

 Note: All timings stated are local time in 24-hour format.

ETD: Estimated departure; ETA: Estimated arrival