Firefly ready for Malindo Air

SUBANG JAYA (May 20, 2013): Firefly, which has been operating out of the SkyPark Terminal at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor since April 2007, is ready for head-on competition with Malindo Air, its chief said.

Subang airport is currently the hub for Firefly and Berjaya Air commercial turboprop services, but the latter mainly offer flights to island resorts in the country and popular destination like Hua Hin, Thailand.

FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd CEO Ignatius Ong (pix) said the airline is ready to "embrace competition" from Malindo Air, which has been granted an air operators certificate (AOC) to operate turboprop flights out of Subang airport and is slated to start its first scheduled flight on June 3, 2013.

"We are always prepared if the eventuality comes (new airline coming to Subang). We embrace competition, but it must be ethical competition," he told SunBiz in an interview.

Ong said today, Firefly's value proposition consisting of convenience, speed and customer service, has worked well for the airline and its passengers, of whom 80% accounts for business travellers.

"Subang, being a city airport close to Petaling Jaya, Klang and Kuala Lumpur, many businessmen love to fly with us and they love the airport… We work with Subang SkyPark Sdn Bhd management and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to ensure that passengers take no more than 15 minutes to walk to the aircraft from the time they are dropped off. That's the appeal that people like," he said.

The SkyPark Terminal is also designed to avoid long gate walks and long queues to get into aerobridges, while Firefly's aircraft size of 72 seats translates into quicker boarding.

Its ground operations also ensure smooth traffic movement.

"The one most important thing that we feel strongly for Firefly is that it makes flying hassle free. We don't ask you to come here two hours in advance. You don't have long check-in. You don't have a long boarding process with us.

"Basically, even when I fly, I get to the airport 15 minutes before the flight departs and I never delay my aircraft. It's really because of how the set-up is like and the aircraft type we use, that is, the ATRs. These are the latest generation aircraft out in the market. A lot of people say we don't offer aerobridges (and thus, when) raining (it) could be a hassle, but it's also because we are quick - it's the speed (that we offer)."

And although Firefly offers more commercial flights out of Subang airport and connects to more destinations, it has not been complacent in providing value to customers.

"Customers today are very savvy. I can't up my price to RM2,000 and still expect people to fly. You need to make sure that the customer sees that whatever they're paying for is worth their money.

"A lot of people did say that I'm a monopoly. I am, from a certain perspective, but like I say people are very savvy today," he said, adding that it will continue to ensure its air fares are reasonable.

"Monopoly is one thing but I still want to give low fares. Customers are very intelligent today and if Firefly behaves like the only carrier here and milk people in an unethical way, they will not come back to you.

"The whole point is to get more passengers to fly with you. It builds brand equity, loyalty and customer base," he added.

Ong also said even though Firefly will maintain its business model as a full service carrier, offering frills like 20kg complimentary baggage, refreshments served on board and assigned seats, there are no plans to offer in-flight entertainment or WiFi on its fleet of ATR 72-600s.

"(To have) WiFi on an ATR doesn't make sense. The flight is a short hop. By the time you reach cruising speed, the flight attendant will be on the PA system asking passengers to switch off their gadgets.

"In fact I have reviewed this before and we always said that for any flight that is less than two hours, it doesn't make sense to have WiFi because it takes time for the aircraft to ascend, during which time under national law you cannot switch on your WiFi," said Ong.

"When you're descending, you also can't switch on the Wifi. On a one-and-a-half hours flight, the time allowed for you to turn on the Wifi is probably 10 minutes. People will be angry if you charge them only to go online for 10 minutes and then they have to switch off before they can download anything," he said.

Thus, services like Wifi are more relevant for flights of at least five hours.

He added that Firefly's aim is to provide value to passengers rather than antagonise them by charging them for services that do not benefit them.

Although Firefly is a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), Ong said Firefly operates "95% independently of MAS" and has its own marketing strategies and cost structures.

"Our independent perspective gives us a way to build our own brand equity so people who work in Firefly have a sense of belonging and are never seen as a distant cousin of MAS," he said.

And while the airline has group procurements with MAS on certain items such as fuel, but its aircraft, on-board catering and others are separate from the parent company.

"We have an efficient team of less than 1,000 people. We always look at best alternatives and put our partners on their toes. To me, we do it as long as it is the lowest cost for us to operate because ultimately I need to translate this back to the customer," said Ong.

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