Firefly to Open Kuala Lumpur - Langkawi Flight

Posted 15/07/2011

Firefly, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, has confirmed that it will inaugurate a three times daily service between Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi from December 1.  The route is already operated up to five times daily by its parent carrier, although it is currently unclear if it will reduce its own schedules once Firefly enters the market.  The region’s largest low-cost carrier AirAsia also serves the route with seven flights per day.

An estimated 990,000 O&D passengers travelled between Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in the past year, a market that has remained fairly stable over the past 12 months after a period of strong growth.  AirAsia currently dominates the route with a 75 per cent share and is seeing its proportion grow steadily year-upon-year.  The airline’s success on the route can be attributed to its low fares.  Its average one-way ticket costs $64, almost a half the $115 fare being charged by Malaysia Airlines and the latter will hope to be able to compete more effectively through its subsidiary operation which has a much lower cost structure.

A full codeshare will also be implemented between Firefly and Malaysia Airlines which will enable passengers to connect directly with the national carrier’s international flights.  “The codeshare agreement permits passengers with onward journey on Firefly to enjoy the same benefits they had enjoyed on Malaysia Airlines such as meals on board and the same checked baggage allowance as Malaysia Airlines as we honour the carrier’s General Conditions of Carriage,” said Eddy Leong, Managing Director, Firefly.

The local carrier already offers a twice daily service to Langkawi from its main base at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor, the former gateway to the Malaysian capital, where it operates over 250 weekly turboprop links to 12 destinations.  It also serves Langkawi twice daily from its base at Penang International Airport.  Both routes are operated using ATR 72-500 turboprops, but Firefly plans to use its largest aircraft on its new service.  “Market research has shown there is good demand for this sector.  Thus, we are utilising our biggest aircraft, B737-800 which has a seating capacity of 189,” said Eddy Leong.

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