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| Founded | 2007 | |||
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| Hubs | Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport Penang International Airport |
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| Secondary hubs | Senai International Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 15 | |||
| Destinations | 19 | |||
| Company slogan | Your community Airline | |||
| Parent company | Malaysia Airlines | |||
| Headquarters | Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport Subang, Selangor, Malaysia |
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| Key people | Dato' Eddy Leong | |||
| Website | www.fireflyz.com.my | |||
FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd, operating as Firefly, is a full service point to point carrier and a full subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines. Its head office is located on the grounds of Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor.[1] It claims to be the first community airline in Malaysia. Firefly operates from two hubs - Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang, Selangor and Penang International Airport. The airline's first flight was on April 3, 2007, from Penang to Kota Bharu.
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Beginning mid-September 2011, Firefly has started discontinuing flights served by its Boeing 737 fleet which consist of 737-400 and 737-800 aircrafts. It is understood that all Boeing 737 aircraft will be transferred to upcoming Sapphire Airlines.[2] According to a Sun Daily report dated August 16, Firefly will become a full service turbo prop airline.[3]
Firefly responded: "We are truly sorry for the inconvenience that has resulted from the recent route cancellations due to a business realignment exercise by our parent company, Malaysia Airlines. There are many questions over this and Malaysia Airlines will be releasing a statement to address your concerns in due course."
"Please rest assured that Firefly will take all necessary steps to minimise the disruption to you, valued passengers who have been impacted by the business realignment exercise. If you have any queries relating to your bookings with us, please write to us at customer_care@fireflyz.com.my with your booking confirmation number and flight details or call 603-7845 4543 for details."
"Once again, please accept our sincere apologies and we thank you for your patience, kind understanding and continued support."
Tour operators were reported to be fuming as well as their queries on flight cancellation were not answered by Firefly. According to a MAS official, it is likely that all 3 routes (JHB to KCH, KUL to KCH and KUL to SBW) will be terminated by end of October. Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF) Sibu chairman Frankie Ting said his customers had been advised to only purchase AirAsia tickets.[4]
On 18 October, Malaysia Airlines has officially announced that Firefly will cease all jet routes by 4 December 2011.[5] The last flight for Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu is on 30 October while flights to Sibu and Sandakan will end on 4 December 2011.[6] Firefly will continue to use its turboprop to operate short-haul routes from Subang and Penang while jet services will be taken over by Malaysia Airlines.
Even though Firefly is 100% owned by Malaysia Airlines, it has a separate management, which is by FlyFirefly Sdn.Bhd. Firefly focuses on serving the dynamic Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore growth region, populated by more than 70 million people.
Idris Jala, Malaysia Airlines' managing director, speaking at a business briefing and launch of the new airline's logo on 16 March 2007, said Firefly would work with MAS in breaking new ground and realising a core network over the next five years. The core network would include markets like North America, South America and South Africa.[7]
Firefly flies from two hubs, Penang and Subang in Kuala Lumpur. The domestic flights from Penang are Langkawi, Kota Bharu, Subang, Kuala Terengganu and Kuantan 2 flights daily, as well as to Koh Samui and Phuket in Thailand a daily flight. The flights out of Subang are Penang, Langkawi, Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Kuala Terengganu and Kota Bharu, Singapore, Koh Samui in Thailand and Pekanbaru in Indonesia. However, Firefly announced on March 8, 2009 that flights from Penang to Kuala Terengganu, Kota Bharu, Koh Samui and Kuantan have been temporarily suspended.[8] In 2011, the routes to Kuala Terengganu, Kota Bharu, and Kuantan from Penang have been reinstated.[9]
The airline is planning to use Malacca International Airport in Malacca to expand their base. New routes there are under planning are Subang-Bengkulu, Subang-Jambi, Subang-Pangkal Pinang, Penang-Krabi and Penang-Huahin.[10]
The airline has also been granted rights to fly from Singapore to Subang, Penang, Kuantan, Terengganu, Ipoh & Malacca.[11] They plan to expand rapidly through Asia through the next 5 years as the ordered Boeing 737-800s are delivered.[12]
As of November 2011, the Firefly fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 5 years:[13]
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATR 72-500 | 12 | 0 | 72 |
| Total | 12 | 0 |
Firefly started operations with two 50-seater Fokker F50 aircraft.
Firefly expanded its operation on 29 October 2007 from Penang to Subang. Firefly also took delivery of a third leased Fokker F50 aircraft to expand its services.
On 26 June 2007, MAS signed an agreement for the acquisition of 10 ATR 72-500 aircraft with options of 10 more, which has been exercised, to replace the F50.[14] The aircraft started to arrive from 11 August 2008,[15] with five planes delivered in 2008, five in 2009, four in 2010 and the rest in 2011.[16] Firefly had replaced all of their Fokker F50s by the end of 2008.[17]
On 25 August 2010, Firefly announced that it will take up 4 planes in the option clause of the purchase agreement.[18] On 8 November 2010, Firefly announced the order of 30 Boeing 737-800 aircraft from year-end to 2015 as part of its expansion into east Malaysia initially, and into regional markets in future. Firefly's first Boeing 737-800 arrived in December 2010 and began its operations on 15 January 2011.[19][20]
On 16 August 2011, Firefly had announced that they will only operate the ATR aircraft from Subang and Penang,and will cease its Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-400 flights. The aircraft and the flights will be transferred to the new regional entity named Sapphire.[21]
As of 16 September 2011, Firefly has ceased the Johor Bahru - Kuching route. Other flights on Boeing 737 fleet, including Kuala Lumpur - Kuching and Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, are expected to be discontinued at the end of October 2011.[22]The aircraft have been returned to the parent company.
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