Malaysia Airlines is all set to shift its domestic routes in east Malaysia to Firefly, its sister unit starting from May 16. The routes rejig is a part of the airline’s strategic route rationalisation on its domestic network. FireFly will deploy its Boeing 737-800s on domestic flights within the states of Sabah and Sarawak.
The transferred routes include Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, Tawau and Kuching, Kuching and Miri, the airline said in a statement. Firefly will operate daily flights on the four routes thus increasing the capacity as compared to Malaysia Airlines that operates twice to five times on the above routes.
“The initiative represents a significant milestone in the strategic route rationalisation plan of MAG and a continuous assessment of its business operations,” Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) added in a statement.
With this in effect, Malaysia Airlines will only fly between Peninsular Malaysia and east Malaysia, as well as domestic flights within the Malaysian peninsula
Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, Airlines chief, MAG said: “The route rationalisation is part of efforts to refine and improve its network and product offerings. The launch of Firefly’s jet operations in 2022 has elicited a considerable response, particularly within the leisure travel sector. This continuous milestone reiterates MAG’s unwavering commitment to remain responsive to the changing demands of its customers and leverage the prevailing market conditions.”