Firefly's Subang-Singapore flights from July 1

FIREFLY will start flying from Subang to Singapore from July 1, kicking it off with three flights a day.

The community airline plans to increase it to four flights a day, one to two weeks post the launch, Firefly head of marketing and communications Angelina Fernandez told reporters after welcoming media and tourism delegates from Thailand on the airline's inaugural flight from Subang to Phuket.

The delegation will participate in a full four day programme, which started yesterday, hosted by Tourism Selangor and Tourism Malaysia.

Angelina said the airline was also looking at flying to southern destinations in Thailand such as Krabi and Huahin.

"We are still doing our research on the route to gauge the level of demand for our services. Of course with the current economy situation we have to be prudent with our expansion plans," she said.

According to Tourism Malaysia director in Thailand Iskanda Mirza, some 110,000 Thais fly to Malaysia in a month.

"We are confident with the entry of a third airline, other than Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia, the numbers will increase," he said.

Firefly will bring the number of flights that service the Thai sector up to 42 flights a week from 35. Firefly will fly daily on the Subang-Phuket route.

Angelina said she is confident that the Subang-Phuket route will perform better than the Penang-Phuket route which it started in 2007 itself.

The Penang-Phuket route records an average load factor of 70 per cent.

"We are really targeting the expatriates in Phuket who do their visa runs. We hope that they will use the opportunity to renew their visas in Kuala Lumpur and also take the opportunity to visit other states in Malaysia," Angelina said.

She also announced that the airline now flies three times a day to Johor Baru from Subang.

Today will see the airline start its Subang-Batam route, at three times a week, while on May 15th, it will start four times a week flights to Padang in Indonesia.

Firefly is running an introductory price for Subang-Phuket flights from RM88 per way. The fares are available for booking for travel period from now till October 24 2009.

Source : Business Times Online
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