See (fourth right) and his team in a group photo.
KOTA KINABALU (Mar 3): Firefly is planning to build another hub in Kota Kinabalu to expand its international routes from Sabah.
Its Chief Executive Officer, Philip See, said the airline would commence building its Kota Kinabalu hub as its capacity grew.
He said Sabah had thrived on foreign tourists and offered huge opportunities on the international market.
When the borders reopened, he said Firefly would start with international chartered flights from Kota Kinabalu.
“Over a period of time, we will add a lot more international routes and work with travel agents to introduce a whole series of charter services and group bookings,” he said during a media meet on Thursday to introduce its jet operations from Penang to Kota Kinabalu, Johor Bahru and Kuching on Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Firefly is currently based in Subang and Penang. The airline, along with its sister companies Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and MASwings, are subsidiaries of the Malaysia Aviation Group.
See said Firefly would be looking at taking over some of the international routes previously operated by MAS, such as Tokyo, Taipei and Korea.
However, he said the international expansion from Kota Kinabalu would likely commence next year as East Asia was expected to reopen later.
“We are monitoring very closely on the recovery and reopening.
“We think that the reopening of East Asia will be a bit later and longer so international expansion from Kota Kinabalu will likely be next year.”
On Firefly’s jet operations from Penang to Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu that will commence on April 11, See said Sabah was the most popular route among the three.
“Sabah as a tourist destination is very attractive for Penangites.”
With its MAS network, he said Firefly was looking at creating multi-itinerary stops, such as getting travellers from Kota Kinabalu to Penang to fly to Kuala Lumpur or Langkawi.
Similarly, he said the airline worked with MASwings to sell not only tickets to Kota Kinabalu, but also to Sandakan and Tawau.
“That’s the power of synergy of the Malaysia Aviation Group,” he said.