Malaysia's Firefly to launch flights to Singapore

posted: 164 DAYS 23 HOURS AGO

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -Firefly, the budget wing of Malaysia Airlines, said Thursday it will launch flights from several Malaysian cities to Singapore starting in July as part of its regional expansion.

Firefly will be the fourth no-frills carrier to fly the lucrative route from the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, adding competition to rivals AirAsia, Jetstar and Tiger Airways in a market hit by the global economic slump.

It will start three daily flights from July 1 from Subang airport near Kuala Lumpur to Singapore for an all-inclusive one-way fare from 88 ringgit ($24). It will increase the frequency to four times daily from July 12.

Firefly will have an advantage in terms of location over its rivals, which operates from the main Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Subang airport is only 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the city, less than half the time it takes to travel to the main airport, which is 60 kilometers (36 miles) away.

Later in July, Firefly will also fly to Singapore from the Malaysian cities of Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu and Kuantan. Flights from the historical state of Malacca will start in September.

The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore air route — Asia's fourth-busiest — was controlled by the two countries' state-run carriers for over three decades. Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia and Singapore-based Jetstar and Tiger Airways were allowed to operate the route from February 2008 as part of air services liberalization.

Launched in April 2007, Firefly currently flies to several Malaysian cities, the Thai resort islands of Phuket and Koh Samui and to Banda Aceh, Medan and Pekanbaru in Indonesia.

2009-05-28 06:37:33