New aircraft to drive Firefly ASEAN expansion
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Firefly has taken delivery of the first of a new batch of ATR 72-600 aircraft, which it will eventually use to expand across the ASEAN region.
The Malaysian regional carrier received the new turboprop aircraft at a ceremony in France last week, marking the first of 20 aircraft ordered by parent company Malaysia Airlines in December 2012.
The new ATR 72-600s come equipped with 72 seats and will be able to fly up to 1,665km with a full load of passengers. This will enable Firefly to reach destinations in Southeast Asia, including Phnon Penh and Ho Chi Minh City from it base at Subang Airport, near Kuala Lumpur.
Initially the new aircraft will be deployed on the domestic route from Subang to Johor Bahru from 12 July 2013, but the carrier’s CEO, Ignatius Ong, told Malaysia’s Bernama news agency that he intends to “focus on new routes… to Vietnam and Cambodia from next year onwards”, when more ATR 72-600s arrive.
The airline’s 20 ATR 72-600s will be delivered in stages from now until 2019.
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