Eddy (centre) flanked by pilots and crew as they bid adieu to the last Fokker-50 retiring from Firefly service
Captain Roland posing in front of the ATR 72-500
FO Awangku Abdul Hariz Pengiran Abu Bakar (left), seconded from RBA, receiving the certificate of appreciation
One last shot with the Fokker-50 which has served many in East MalaysiaFirefly’s ATR 72-500 fleet to be the new catalyst of growth
Text and photos by Anthony Tan
Community airline Firefly is now operating its flights solely with the new ATR 72-500 turbo-prop aircrafts having retired all three of its Fokker-50.
This has been made possible after the 100% owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) received its fifth ATR 72-500 from Toulouse on 15 December, which saw this new aircraft commencing its first service on 20 December.
Following Firefly’s aggressive network expansion in 2008, the airline will be receiving another five ATR 72-500 from April to August in 2009 to serve its existing and new routes.
Firefly managing director Eddy Leong said, “Plans are afoot to work on a code-share agreement with MAS by the first quarter of next year.”
He added, “Compared to the Fokker-50, the 72-seater ATR 72-500 gave us 44% additional revenue capacity while reducing operating cost by as much as 20%, especially on fuel and maintenance.
“Consequently, on 16 December, we decided to remove the fuel surcharge for all our flights.”
Besides a pair of fuel efficient engines, he said the new aircraft is equipped with a state-of-the-art cabin interior, comfortable two-abreast leather seats with ample leg room and low cabin noise due to modern acoustic technology.
Eddy recalled when Firefly commenced operations on 2 April 2007, it started with two Fokker-50s (9M-MGI and 9M-MGK) leased from MAS.
Its third Fokker-50 (9M-MGD) was subleased from MASWings, another MAS subsidiary which operates in Sabah and Sarawak, in December 2007.
The airline had returned 9M-MGD to MASWing on 3 September while 9M-MGK, returned on 30 September to MAS, had been sold while 9M-MGI would be returned to MAS by 31 December.
Speaking to pilots, flight crew, technical and ground staff, and a selected group of media, at a special ceremony to bid farewell to its last Fokker-50, at Hanger 1 of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang on Sunday morning (21 December), Eddy pointed out that this was the first Fokker-50 the airline had. He first laid his eyes on it when it was featured on the Internet.
“It is indeed a historical and emotional day for us at Firefly. The Fokker-50s have served us well during our initial start-up of Firefly.”
He deemed the Fokker-50 to be still “very reliable” although the manufacturer of this 19-year old aircraft has since stopped operations.
When MAS put the aircraft up for sale, Eddy said it was snapped up because the aircraft was still used in some parts of Europe and in good condition.
Eddy also took the opportunity to present certificates of appreciation to Firefly’s nine Fokker-50 pilots. Among them is Captain Roland Thomas, considered to be the most decorated captain who will be semi retiring.
The rest are two first officers (FOs) seconded from Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA), four captains seconded from MAS and two FOs from Firefly.
Text and photos by Anthony Tan
Community airline Firefly is now operating its flights solely with the new ATR 72-500 turbo-prop aircrafts having retired all three of its Fokker-50.
This has been made possible after the 100% owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) received its fifth ATR 72-500 from Toulouse on 15 December, which saw this new aircraft commencing its first service on 20 December.
Following Firefly’s aggressive network expansion in 2008, the airline will be receiving another five ATR 72-500 from April to August in 2009 to serve its existing and new routes.
Firefly managing director Eddy Leong said, “Plans are afoot to work on a code-share agreement with MAS by the first quarter of next year.”
He added, “Compared to the Fokker-50, the 72-seater ATR 72-500 gave us 44% additional revenue capacity while reducing operating cost by as much as 20%, especially on fuel and maintenance.
“Consequently, on 16 December, we decided to remove the fuel surcharge for all our flights.”
Besides a pair of fuel efficient engines, he said the new aircraft is equipped with a state-of-the-art cabin interior, comfortable two-abreast leather seats with ample leg room and low cabin noise due to modern acoustic technology.
Eddy recalled when Firefly commenced operations on 2 April 2007, it started with two Fokker-50s (9M-MGI and 9M-MGK) leased from MAS.
Its third Fokker-50 (9M-MGD) was subleased from MASWings, another MAS subsidiary which operates in Sabah and Sarawak, in December 2007.
The airline had returned 9M-MGD to MASWing on 3 September while 9M-MGK, returned on 30 September to MAS, had been sold while 9M-MGI would be returned to MAS by 31 December.
Speaking to pilots, flight crew, technical and ground staff, and a selected group of media, at a special ceremony to bid farewell to its last Fokker-50, at Hanger 1 of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang on Sunday morning (21 December), Eddy pointed out that this was the first Fokker-50 the airline had. He first laid his eyes on it when it was featured on the Internet.
“It is indeed a historical and emotional day for us at Firefly. The Fokker-50s have served us well during our initial start-up of Firefly.”
He deemed the Fokker-50 to be still “very reliable” although the manufacturer of this 19-year old aircraft has since stopped operations.
When MAS put the aircraft up for sale, Eddy said it was snapped up because the aircraft was still used in some parts of Europe and in good condition.
Eddy also took the opportunity to present certificates of appreciation to Firefly’s nine Fokker-50 pilots. Among them is Captain Roland Thomas, considered to be the most decorated captain who will be semi retiring.
The rest are two first officers (FOs) seconded from Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA), four captains seconded from MAS and two FOs from Firefly.
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