GEORGE TOWN: Having recorded close to 500,000 passengers in the first four months of this year, premium short-haul carrier Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines Bhd, is on track to meet its target of carrying between 1.25 million and 1.3 million passengers this year.
“We are doing more than 100,000 a month now and on track to achieve the target.
“This is despite Firefly having taken out six aircraft from its previous fleet of 18 and cutting three non-profitable routes,” said its chief executive officer Ignatius Ong at a media gathering, here, on Wednesday.
Last year, the airline carried 1.2 million passengers in 18 aircraft. It stopped three direct flights to Koh Samui, Krabi and Medan from Penang at the end of last year.
Ong said Firefly’s 92 per cent on-time performance rating last year and the first four months of this year made it a better choice for air travellers compared with other airlines.
He said coupled with numerous measures in place, the airline’s load factor increased to about 70 per cent from more than 50 per cent last year.
Ong said the increase in operational costs, on the back of a softer ringgit, had hit the group badly.
“However, our zero wastage measure to cope with rising costs has done us some good,” he added.
Ong said Firefly had also introduced several value-added services to combat competition, such as the FY c-wallet for corporate travellers and the FY e-wallet, a loyalty programme for frequent flyers where consumers can buy credits with 20 per cent extra reward. Other services include an online store as well as travel and auto insurance.
Source: New Straits Times | 5 May 2017
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