Firefly’s ATR 72-500 fleet to be the new catalyst of growth

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 Malaysia

Firefly’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.

AirAsia Enters Indian Market

A splendid dance performance from the Temple of Fine Arts

AirAsia flight AK 232 arrived at LCCT with the first batch of guests from Trichy were given a warm welcome

AirAsia team dressed in Indian theme. HE Ashoke is in Western attire as

he was not informed of the dress code like other guests

Tony grabed in Indian attire for the KL-Trichy-KL launch

HE Ashok said the launch timing is just right in view of rapidly growing

trade relations and tourist arrivals

AirAsia enters Indian market
Text and Photos by Anthony Tan

AirAsia’s foray into India, with the start of its direct daily return flights from Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchirappalli(Trichy) -Kuala Lumpur on 1 December, has inevitably led to questions on when the low cost carrier (LCC) will begin flights to the other parts of the country.

AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer (CEO) Dato’ Seri Tony Fernandes’ response is, “We hope to put five to six more flights in India in the next 18 months.

He believes it is viable for AirAsia and AirAsia X to compliment each other to fly to 10 Indian destinations such as Bombay, New Delhi, Madras, Cochin and Tiruvananthapuram within the next 18 months.

Describing the maiden Trichy flight into KL as “the most spectacular launch AirAsia has ever had”, Tony said it answered the question of recession where most airlines are cutting back and not expanding.

Barely three weeks after opening the ticket sales for its new KL-Trichy route using the new 180-seater Airbus A320, he said AirAsia has recorded 100% load factor from 1-18 December. This worked out to be an average of over 80% load factor both ways for December.

“We have created new demands for the market and are very proud to service an underserved sector. The continuous strength of this network will allow AirAsia to rapidly drive growth, perhaps even ramping up more frequencies in the future so that our guests can continue to enjoy our revolutionary low fares.”

He told reporters later that there is definitely a demand for a second flight to Trichy, adding that “it is a matter of whether we put another flight to Trichy or look at another Indian destination".

Trichy, which represents AirAsia’s entry into the India, is the fourth largest city in South India’s Tamil Nadu state. Sited on the banks of the sacred Cauvery River, the best time to visit Trichy is between October and February as you can enjoy cool weather.

Its most famous landmark is the Rockfort Temple, a spectacular monument perched on a massive rocky outcrop. It is one of the world’s oldest rock formations that rise abruptly from the plain to tower over the old city. You need to climb 437 steps to reach the temple.

Trichy, a thriving commercial centre in Tamil Nadu, is also famous for artificial diamonds, cigars, handloom cloths, glass bangles, wooden and clay toys.

AirAsia departs from the LCC Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang, Selangor at 7.40am and arrives at Trichy at 8.55am (local time). The return flight leaves Trichy at 9.25am (local time) to arrive at the LCCT at 3.40pm.

The airline had performances from local Indian dance troupes to welcome its maiden flight from Trichy to KL.

Among those present were the High Commissioner for India to Malaysia, His Excellency (HE) Ashok K Kantha, AirAsia deputy group CEO Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan and Malaysia Airport Bhd’s officials.

Before the start of the event, a minute of silence was observed as a mark of respect for the innocent lives lost at the recent terrorists’ crisis in Mumbai.

HE Ashok said the terrorists underestimated the resilience and strength of Mumbai and that India will remain a land of great opportunities.

“The fight against terrorism is a global campaign that we do not stand alone.”

He also thanked Tony for keeping his promise by starting the Trichy route. Tony had said he would start the flights in 2008 when HE Ashok popped the question to him a year ago.

Tony, who was dressed in Indian attire (for the first time in a public function) together with his team to celebrate this new route, admitted he had not heard of Trichy until at a funeral.

With no market study, he said he sent two staff to Trichy who returned saying it was a great route.

“One phone call to HE and two days later we got the permit to fly (to Trichy),” said Tony, who has been advised not to do a celebration launch for its Trichy flight in India yet due to the Mumbai unrest.

“AirAsia will go ahead with Trichy’s launch in India in mid-December and would not be deterred by outside influences.”

Amid a looming global recession and the recent unrests in Mumbai and Bangkok, Tony said he was not worried about it.

His solution is, “Be positive and market aggressively. We have to be innovative and find new ways to stimulate travel. People still have to fly. Our job is to give them values.”

To find out more on the low fare hot deal for your flight check: http://www.airasia.com/

Air Nuigini’s inaugural flight will enhance connectivity at KLIA

Air Nuigini’s inaugural flight will enhance connectivity at KLIA
Text and photos by Anthony Tan

Malaysia is now connected by air with Papua New Guinea (PNG) effective 29 October with the introduction of Air Nuigini’s weekly non-stop flight every Wednesday.

PNG’s national airline, established since 1973, is using the Boeing 757 aircraft with 189-seat configuration for its flight to the KL International Airport (KLIA).
The flight will depart Port Moresby at 3 pm and lands at KLIA at 7.10 pm (Malaysian time). The total flight duration is six hours and 10 minutes.

The same aircraft will have one hour turnaround time before it departs for Port Moresby at 8.10 pm and arrives at 4.20am (PNG time).

In Malaysia Airports Bhd (MAB) managing director Dato’ Seri Bashir Ahmad’s speech, which was read out by KLIA general manager Datuk Murad Azmi, PNG is viewed as a new market with Air Nuigini being the first airline offering connections from the Pacific Islands in the Oceania region to Malaysia.

Air Nuigini will be entitled to MAB’s incentive programme to ensure that its operation is smooth and fruitful. It is hoped that more airlines from the region will fly to Malaysia.

Welcoming the inaugural flight at the KLIA were the PNG High Commissioner His Excellency Veali Vagi, PNG’s minister for state assisting the prime minister on constitutional affair Honourable Philemon Embei and Malaysia’s deputy transport minister Datuk Seri Panglima Lajim Ukim.

Also present were Air Nuigini’s general sales agent, Abadi Aviation Services Sdn Bhd’s chairman NY Lai and general manager Henry Goh, officials from MAB, Malaysia Airlines and Tourism Malaysia.

Air Niugini chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri said the national flag carrier’s service to Kuala Lumpur would help ease capacity shortage experienced in its Port Moresby to Singapore flights. He anticipates the airline to achieve 50% load initially and reach 60% to 70% load factor within two to three months. He expects 20% to 30% of the passengers to use KLIA as a transit point for onwards flight to other Asian destinations (such as India and Sri Lanka) and European cities like Frankfurt and London.

Kumarasiri said the flight from Port Moresby to KLIA had been designed to provide greater connectivity with less than three hours transit time to connect to their onwards destinations to Europe.

The other new Air Nuigini flights that were launched that day were the direct service to Hong Kong every Monday and the additional flight to Honiara in the Solomon Islands on Wednesday. These extra flights will allow passengers to fly from Manila and Hong Kong to Honiara and those from Honiara to Kuala Lumpur.
Presently, the airline operates once a week to Hong Kong via Manila while it flies to Honiara on Friday and Sunday and continue its onward flight to Nadi in Fiji.

With Air Nuigini flying to Malaysia, Tourism Malaysia director of communication division Wan Zawawi Mohamed expects the tourist traffic to open up new destinations between the Pacific Islands and ASEAN. This will be mutually beneficial to both PNG and Malaysia as the gateways of these respective regions.

A cocktail party was held with Malaysia’s travel trade industry the next evening at one of the leading hotels in Kuala Lumpur to celebrate Air Nuigini’s inaugural flight. The guests had the opportunity to sample some of the PNG’s cuisine.