Firefly, a wholly-owned unit of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), is planning to add up to 30 B737-800s to its fleet by 2015 to expand into more regional markets. These aircraft are separate from the 35 737-800 aircraft order recently announced by MAS.
The airline has secured the lease of four 737-800s already, which is will use from January to serve flights from KL International Airport (KLIA) to Kota Kinabalu (KK) and Kuching. The remaining aircraft will be also leased or bought outright over the next few years.
“We will lease from the open market and will place (purchase) orders for the aircraft by third or fourth quarter of next year,” says Datuk Eddy Leong, managing director of Firefly. “Hopefully, by then, we will have enough cash for the pre-delivery payments.”
Leong said the airline would finance the first aircraft delivery through existing funds.