Firefly, the budget airline promoted by Malaysia Airlines, has started flights to Singapore from several Malaysian cities. The company plans regional expansion in month of July and will add more destination in order to increase capacity.

With the new service, Firefly would become the fourth no-frills carrier to fly the lucrative route from the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. The company will surely offer some stiff competition to rivals AirAsia, Jetstar and Tiger Airways in a market hit by the global economic slump.

From 1st July onwards, the airline will commence three daily flights including one from Subang airport near Kuala Lumpur to Singapore for an all-inclusive one-way fare from 88 ringgit ($24), with the frequency of the flights increasing to four times daily from July 12.

Location is one of the advantages which Firefly will have over its rivals, which operates from the main Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Firefly, which was launched in April 2007, will also fly to Singapore from the Malaysian cities of Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu and Kuantan by the end of July. From September this year, the flights from historical state of Malacca would also initiate.  

Presently, Firefly flies to several Malaysian cities, the Thai resort islands of Phuket and Koh Samui and to Banda Aceh, Medan and Pekanbaru in Indonesia.

(via TopNews Singapore. Contributed by Jaideep Kumar)