Malaysia Airlines’ subsidiary, Firefly, has started selling tickets for its new jet flights from Penang. The airline will be using the Boeing 737-800 aircraft to operate its daily flights to Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Johor Bahru.
As part of its introductory promo, Firefly is offering promo fares from as low as RM69 for one-way all-in for members (from RM79 for non-members) if you book from now until 31st December 2020. This is applicable for the travel period from 25th January to 30th June 2021.
From the looks of it, the daily flights from Penang to Johor Bahru and Kuching will start from 25th January, however, flights to Kota Kinabalu will only start from 1st February. When we did a search, the cheapest one-way fare we found for Penang to Johor Bahru is RM64, Penang to Kuching is RM104 and Penang to Kota Kinabalu is RM114.
Similar to Malaysia Airlines, the cheapest fare type (FlyBasic) does not come with check-in luggage included and you’re given 7kg of cabin baggage allowance. If you want meals and 20kg checked baggage allowance, you’ll have to top up RM99 for the FlyPremier option which also comes with a 1x free flight change option subject to fare difference.
For a more worry-free experience, the FlyInfinite option which costs RM149 extra from the base fare provides 35kg of checked baggage allowance, priority boarding and baggage handling plus unlimited flight change subject to fare difference.
The Boeing 737 jets appear to be redeployed within the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) as the seat plan looks similar to a typical Malaysia Airlines 737-800. Interestingly, you do have the option to upgrade to a Business Class seat which Firefly calls “Exclusive Seat” for an extra RM318.
If you choose the FlyBasic option, you can still purchase hot meals for RM12.00 per set. The meals are included with the FlyPremier and FlyInfinite option.
It was previously reported that MAG will add 10 narrow-body jetliners to Firefly’s fleet to serve domestic, ASEAN and Asia Pacific markets out of Penang International Airport. It intends to have Firefly to complement Malaysia Airlines in serving the leisure market while diversifying its base connecting secondary cities in Malaysia to East Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
Firefly used to operate a fleet of Boeing 737 in 2011 for a short period of time before it became a turboprop only airline. It currently operates a fleet of 12 ATR 72-500.
For more info, visit Firefly’s website.
