There's now an airline called Firefly that operates with small aircrafts based at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang. It is not quite certain how the name of the airline was derived from this particular insect, but it is indeed convenient to fly from Subang compared to flying from KLIA or LCCT.
Dubbed "your community airline," I suppose now "everyone can fly" on Firefly.
The first experience I had flying with Firefly was quite pleasant. I'm impressed with the punctuality- which is currently lacking in 2 other airlines operating locally, MAS and AirAsia. I took an early morning flight from Subang to Alor Setar on July 3rd without any expectation or high hopes. The aircraft looked small from the airport waiting lounge and I was immediately hoping that I won't get claustrophobic.
The aircraft, seen from inside the waiting area.
On board, the interior was exactly like an express bus with 2 seats each on the right and left, plus a small aisle in the middle.
Being a small aircraft, the flight time is a bit longer. It took 1 hour to reach Alor Setar compared to the normal 45 minutes on a wide-body aircraft.
The interior was very Transnasional-ish, with ads placed on every available space on the aircraft!
Bank Islam ad on the back of the seat table
SP Setia ad on the luggage compartment door
SP Setia ad on the back of the headrest liner
On board, passengers were given biscuits, specially packed for Firefly and juice, served in a sad looking papercup with Firefly logo on it.
Returning to Subang from Alor Setar, the flight once again took off and arrived exactly on time.
They say the first impression matters. With the punctuality of the airline and convenient airport location, I'm willing to overlook the rest - the express-bus like interiors and also the misserable refreshments. However, the ticket price is another story altogether. I've booked Firefly once for my maid and managed to get a good deal for SBZ MES sector and back. But the last minute booking for SBZ AOR sector caused ticket price to be at par with the MAS price- which was not community community friendly one.
Well, I suposed you can't have it all...
Having said that, would I fly Firefly again? It's a definite YES!
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