Malaysia Airlines and Firefly Jointly Increase Capacity on Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan Route
Subang, 01 August 2011 : Effective today, 1 August 2011, Malaysia Airlines and its fully owned subsidiary, Firefly, have increased passenger seat capacity on the Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan vv route to meet the increased demand for leisure travel between these two Malaysian cities.
This is made possible with Firefly commencing twice daily non-stop services between the two cities effective today using the latest 189-seater B737-800 aircraft offering a total of 2646 seats weekly in each direction.
Malaysia Airlines will complement this by offering once daily Kuala Lumpur – Sandakan flight via Kota Kinabalu and twice daily Sandakan – Kuala Lumpur flights via Kota Kinabalu using its 144-seater B737-400 aircraft.
Malaysia Airlines Executive Vice President for Commercial Strategy, Dato’ Dr Amin Khan, said, “Both airlines have teamed up to improve connectivity and capacity between the two cities as there is potential for increased leisure and holiday travel on this route especially the proximity of Sandakan to several internationally acknowledged eco-tourist attractions like the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary and the Sipadan islands.”
Firefly’s Managing Director Dato’ Eddy Leong Chin Tung said, “Travellers on Kuala Lumpur – Sandakan route will be happy to note that they will continue to enjoy the same benefits they were used to on Malaysia Airlines as we will continue to offer premium facilities such as aerobridges for their comfort and safety and we operate this route out of KLIA, a world renowned award-winning airport.’
“In addition, our pre-purchase bundled service offers 30 per cent discount for hot meal with drinks, seat selection and an additional five kg checked baggage allowance,” he added.
Together, Malaysia Airlines and Firefly will offer a maximum capacity of 3654 seats weekly for Kuala Lumpur/Sandakan and 4662 seats for Sandakan/Kuala Lumpur.
The 3654 seats represents a 58% capacity increase over the previous maximum weekly capacity of 2304 seats by Malaysia Airlines on the Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan sector provided earlier through 9 direct flights and 7 flights via Kota Kinabalu.
Likewise the 4662 seats weekly capacity on the Sandakan – Kuala Lumpur route represents a 40% capacity increase over the earlier maximum weekly capacity of 3312 seats by the national carrier that was offered through 9 direct flights and 14 flights via Kota Kinabalu.
Passengers originally booked on Malaysia Airlines’ direct flights for travel between Kuala Lumpur and Sandakan from today will be transferred to Firefly’s flights or rerouted on Malaysia Airlines’ flights via Kota Kinabalu at no additional cost.
Where there is any refund due arising from this transfer, passengers will be reimbursed accordingly through Malaysia Airlines’ offices or travel agents, depending on where the tickets were originally purchased.
Both airlines will also take all necessary measures to provide seamless connectivity for passengers booked for travel beyond Kuala Lumpur and for return to Sandakan via Kuala Lumpur. This will be further enhanced when Firefly is able to provide interlining facility for Malaysia Airlines passengers by the fourth quarter of 2011.
Dato’ Dr. Amin Khan, Malaysia Airlines’ Executive Vice President Commercial Strategy
Dato’ Eddy Leong Chin, Firefly’s Managing Director
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