November 9, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Budget airlines seem to be one of the hottest things around in South East Asia lately. Malaysia itself has two budget airlines, namely Air Asia and Firefly. Between the two, Air Asia seems to be growing at a faster rate than Firefly, which is a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines. And now it seems, according to a news article, Firefly is set to stop its services in East Malaysia, especially Sabah.
What would be the future for AirAsia now that Firefly has terminated its routes to East Malaysia? Only time will tell
This certainly is good news for Air Asia, as Firefly is its only competitor in budget domestic air travel. What does this mean for air passengers? Only time will tell. Although Air Asia has built up a reputation of offering reasonably priced tickets, it is also known for placing additional costs on a host of other things, most recently RM1.95 a minute for the calling up its customer service lines.
Read the full article below:
Sabah hopes Malaysia Airlines (MAS) or AirAsia would add more flights between Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu following the termination of Firefly’s services.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines Group, had contributed to the increased availability of seats resulting in an increase of 21 per cent in domestic arrivals in Sabah as of August.
“There will be an impact on Sabah’s domestic tourist arrivals in the short run.
“But I believe airlines are in the business of making money and eventually, when they know there is demand, obviously it will make sense for them to add on more flights,” he told reporters after opening a seminar on Sabah’s prospects and retrospects after colonial rule here today.
Masidi said the airline group needs to rationalise its operations in East Malaysia to ensure it does not lose more money.
While hoping the matter could be resolved in order to meet increasing demand, he expressed gratitude that passengers can still choose to travel by either MAS or AirAsia.
On Tuesday, the group said it had embarked on a network rationalisation programme with Firefly concentrating on short-haul turboprop operations and MAS focusing on its premium full-service offerings.
The programme will be undertaken over a two-month period on a sector-by-sector basis, and will result in all Firefly jet aircraft being redeployed into MAS’ operations by Dec 4, 2011.
However, the group remains committed to Sabah and Sarawak and will continue to operate all services to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.
Source: Bernama
Photo (c) Simon_sees
Firefly Bows Out of Sabah
November 9, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Budget airlines seem to be one of the hottest things around in South East Asia lately. Malaysia itself has two budget airlines, namely Air Asia and Firefly. Between the two, Air Asia seems to be growing at a faster rate than Firefly, which is a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines. And now it seems, according to a news article, Firefly is set to stop its services in East Malaysia, especially Sabah.
What would be the future for AirAsia now that Firefly has terminated its routes to East Malaysia? Only time will tell
This certainly is good news for Air Asia, as Firefly is its only competitor in budget domestic air travel. What does this mean for air passengers? Only time will tell. Although Air Asia has built up a reputation of offering reasonably priced tickets, it is also known for placing additional costs on a host of other things, most recently RM1.95 a minute for the calling up its customer service lines.
Read the full article below:
Sabah hopes Malaysia Airlines (MAS) or AirAsia would add more flights between Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu following the termination of Firefly’s services.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines Group, had contributed to the increased availability of seats resulting in an increase of 21 per cent in domestic arrivals in Sabah as of August.
“There will be an impact on Sabah’s domestic tourist arrivals in the short run.
“But I believe airlines are in the business of making money and eventually, when they know there is demand, obviously it will make sense for them to add on more flights,” he told reporters after opening a seminar on Sabah’s prospects and retrospects after colonial rule here today.
Masidi said the airline group needs to rationalise its operations in East Malaysia to ensure it does not lose more money.
While hoping the matter could be resolved in order to meet increasing demand, he expressed gratitude that passengers can still choose to travel by either MAS or AirAsia.
On Tuesday, the group said it had embarked on a network rationalisation programme with Firefly concentrating on short-haul turboprop operations and MAS focusing on its premium full-service offerings.
The programme will be undertaken over a two-month period on a sector-by-sector basis, and will result in all Firefly jet aircraft being redeployed into MAS’ operations by Dec 4, 2011.
However, the group remains committed to Sabah and Sarawak and will continue to operate all services to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.
Source: Bernama
Photo (c) Simon_sees
Tags: airasia, Domestic Air Travel, firefly, kota kinabalu, malaysia, sabah