Malaysian Regional Airline Plans Twice Daily Flights From Singapore to Ipoh

FlyFirefly Sendirian Berhad (Firefly), the regional airline owned by national flag carrier Malaysia Airlines, proposes doubling its flight frequency to twice daily for the service from this capital of northern Perak state to Singapore.

Firefly Managing Director Eddie Leong said here Wednesday the proposal was based on the high demand for the sector which had recorded a 90 per cent take-up rate for each flight.

“Prior to this, Firefly had followed the World Travel Mart in London and had been at the ITB in Berlin recently and we saw a lot of interest for the Ipoh-Singapore route and now they are aware of this direct link between Singapore and Ipoh. Many European companies offer flights to Singapore such as KLM, Air France and British Airways,” he told reporters.

He said Firefly was also scheduled to receive three more ATR72-500 aircraft costing 18 million USD each at the end of this year and this would further support the airline’s plan to expand its network and increase passenger numbers.

Earlier, Leong represented Firefly in signing a strategic partnership agreement with the state government of Perak. The state was represented by State Secretary Dr Abdul Rahman Hashim. Perak Chief Minister Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir witnessed the signing which took place at his office.

The partnership is aimed at giving focus to enabling international flight connections between Ipoh’s Sultan Azlan Shah Airport and Singapore’s Changi International Airport.

It is also aimed at promoting Perak as a major tourist destination and encouraging new investments and business expansion to drive Perak’s economic growth.
The state government will allocate 2.4 million Ringgit for the partnership with Firefly to market and promote the state’s tourism sector in the first year and another 1.8 million Ringgit in the second year. Among others, the allocation will cover advertising and promotional campaigns.