IPOH, March 24 (Bernama) — FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd (Firefly) is proposing to increase its flight frequency to twice daily for the Ipoh-Singapore from one daily flight currently.

Managing Director of Firefly, Datuk Eddie Leong said the proposal was based on the high demand for the route which records a 90 per cent take-up each flight.

“Prior to this, Firefly had followed the World Travel Mart in London and had been at the ITB in Berlin recently and we saw a lot of interest for the Ipoh-Singapore route and now they are aware of this direct link between Singapore and Ipoh. Many European companies offer flights to Singapore such as KLM, Air France and British Airways,” he told reporters here on Wednesday.

He said Firefly was also scheduled to receive three more ATR72-500 aircraft costing US$18 million each at the end of this year and this will further support the company’s plan to expand its network and increase passenger number.

Earlier, Leong represented Firefly in signing a strategic partnership agreement with the state government of Perak. The state was represented by State Secretary Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Hashim. Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir witnessed the signing held at the Menteri Besar office here today.

The partnership is aimed at giving focus to enabling international flights between the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (LTSAS) in Ipoh with Singapore’s Changi International Airport.

It is also aimed at promoting Perak as a major tourist destination and encouraging new investments and business expansion to drive Perak’s economic growth.

The state government will allocate RM2.4 million for the partnership with Firefly to market and promote the state’s tourism sector in the first year and another RM1.8 million in the second year. Among others, the allocation will cover advertising and promotional campaigns.

– BERNAMA