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.

Batik Air Indonesia’s Inaugural Flight To Kuala Lumpur

By Anthony Tan 

VIRGIN Communications 

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

Today (19 June 2017), Batik Air Indonesia, a scheduled airline which made its inaugural flight from Soekarno - Hatta International Airport, Cengkareng to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Malaysia. 

This is a daily flight that departs Soekarno - Hatta International Airport at 1435 (2:35pm [WIB - West Indonesian Time]) by Flight ID716 and is expected to arrive into KLIA at 1730 (5.30pm, Malaysian Time). The return flight of the same aircraft Flight 7162 to Soekarno - Hatta International Airport, Cengkareng will depart the same evening at 1920 (7:20pm, Malaysian Time) and is expected to arrive at 2020 (8:20pm [WIB - West Indonesian Time]).

Andy M Saladin

Andy M Saladin, Public Relation Manager of Lion Air Group said, “This is a form of additional service to our customers who want to travel on international routes to Kuala Lumpur. We hope that with this new destination we can provide a variety of choices to them. This route is also the beginning of the opening plan to several other countries by Batik Air such as Perth in Australia (scheduled to fly from June 21) and also India from Denpasar.

Senior General Manager of Malaysia Airports, Tuan Haji 
Zainol Moha Isa (Forth From Left) Presenting A Memento To
The Representative Of Batik Air Indonesia (In Red Batik Shirt)

This is Lion Air Group’s support for the Ministry of Tourism program to attract more foreign tourists. Tourists from Chennai and Kuala Lumpur will be able to continue their flight to other cities in Indonesia using Batik Air and other Lion Air Group airlines such as Lion Air and Wings Air.”

Officials From Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia Airports And 
Batik Air Indonesia At The Business Class Cabin

Batik Air Indonesian has plans to increase its international routes after Singapore and Malaysia. In the pipeline, it plans to launch its maiden flight  to Perth, Australia on June 21st. Also on its drawing board, Batik Air Indonesian has drawn a new route from Denpasar to Chennai in India via Kuala Lumpur and vice versa.

To date, Batik Air has landed in 35 domestic destinations and with Singapore and Malaysia as the added current international destinations. Batik Air has a fleet combination of 49 aircrafts consisting of Boeing 737-800, 737-900ER and Airbus A320 CEOs to provide 250 connecting flights per day.

Batik Air's 737-900ERs are fitted with two-class seating. Batik Air provides a personal LED Screen for the in-flight entertainment system in every seat, light snacks and free meals are served during flight. The seat pitches of 32 inches (81 cm) for economy class and 45 inches (114 cm) for business class, and a free baggage allowance of 20 kg (44 lb) for economy class and 30 kg (66 lb) for business class.

Batik Air Quick Facts

Founded: 1 March 2013
Commenced operations: 3 May 2013

Hubs - International

Jakarta - Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
Jakarta - Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport

Focus cities    

Manado - Sam Ratulangi International Airport

Pekanbaru - Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport

Palembang - Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International
Airport

Frequent-flyer programme     Batik Frequent Flyer
Alliance                                   Lion Group
Fleet size                                47
Destinations                            26
Company slogan                    Journey Begins
Parent company                     Lion Air Group
Headquarters                         Jakarta, Indonesia
Key people                             Captain Achmad Luthfie (CEO)
Website                                  www.batikair.com