Publication: The New Straits Times

Publication Date: Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Author: Gerald Chuah

Section: Other

Page: 1

FIREFLY launched the Firefly Mobile Application on Thursday (Jan 21) – a new and convenient option to book flights anytime, anywhere via mobile phone.

Firefly Head of Marketing and Communications Angelina Fernandez said during the launch: “Making a reservation is now possible via a mobile phone.

Offering convenience to our passengers has always been our top priority, and this marks our first step in providing a comprehensive online experience via mobile phone”

She added: Survey shows 65% of sales are done via Firefly website and 70% of Firefly’s passengers are from the professional to middle management level, who are always on the move, hence Firefly mobile booking will increase their travel flexibility.

“We have experienced exponential growth in mobile lifestyle over the last few years and Firefly is proud to enhance our representation on these devices”.

Booking flights via mobile phones is an additional channel apart from the current distribution methods in use: via Firefly website, ticketing agents, call centre, airport and ticket offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia; as well as Malaysia Airlines ticketing offices worldwide”

The Firefly Mobile Application is a FREE application that works with mobile phone that support JAVA application and Blackberry, and with WAP, GPRS, EDGE or 3G data connections. Phone and Windows Mobile versions will be available soon).

The system is jointly developed by Firefly and Second Wind Sdn Bhd. Firefly customers just need to register their mobile phones online at Firefly’s website, download the mobile application, and launch it on their mobile phone and start booking.

Booking a flight is now as easy as the Internet booking process as fewer data inputs is required:

Steps:

1. Launch Firefly Mobile Application in your mobile phone.

2. Select Book Flights from the Main Menu.

3. Select your trip itinerary.

4. Verify the traveler’s information.

5. Confirm the price.

6. Enter your credit card CVV number and PIN code.

7. The system will display the Booking PNR (confirmation code).

To register and download the new application visit http://www.fireflyz.com.my/mobile, and watch promotional videos too. Fernandez said: “The introduction of Firefly Mobile is only the beginning. There will be many more soon. “With this service, customers will have a new convenient option to book flights with a unique and simplified payment process at a click of a button or just the touch of the screen”. After the completion of our routes expansion in 2009, our focus is now to enhance and offer more convenience and distribution methods to our passengers.

RM1 fare

In conjunction with the launch, Firefly is also offering RM1 fare for all flight bookings done via mobile phone effective Jan 21 to 28, 2010. You stand a chance to win two tickets to Ko Samui if you are the “biggest spender’ for your mobile booking during this promotional period.

Firefly, the country’s only community airline, which has been in service for three years, offer customers a hassle-free and comfortable traveling experience. There are premium leather seats and plenty of legroom.

Firefly currently serves six cities in four countries. Based in Subang and Penang, it currently operates more than 70 flights a day.

For more info, visit FlyFirefly Sdn. Bhd. at 3rd Floor, Admin Building 1, MAS Complex A, Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang, Selangor. Call 03-7840 4106, or fax: 03- 7846 6461.

In this week’s post, I would like to share my own experience, ‘tips-and-tricks’ in getting the best deals out of Firefly Airline. Please note that these tips are from my personal experience and just like my other Firefly Reviews, it does not reflect the official view of the Airline. Have fun in trying out these tips and all the best in getting the best deals for your next air travel

Tip #1 – Book Early!

This is the mother of all tricks. Book your flight as early as possible. For each flight, there are seats that are set to be at the lowest price. Generally speaking, under the dynamic fare structure or bucket fare system, passengers who book first will pay only a fraction of what passengers who book last will pay. Fares are based on the daily market demand.

A quick search on early January flights to Penang still gives me quite a good fare.

For important events such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, School Holidays, the only way to get a best value ticket is to book in advance. For example, Hari Raya is a fixed date that you know 1 year in advance, so be smart and book early!

At the end of each year, go through the next year’s list of public holidays and plan your important journeys based on these dates. In the past I have successfully bought tickets 1-year in advance at the same normal rate even during ‘blackout periods’/holiday peak seasons. When I tried booking for the same flight 2 months before the flight date, the price has doubled from the normal price.

Tip #2 – Get those Promotional Tickets!!

 

Nowadays, almost everyday you can see airlines promotions on newspapers, websites and magazines. Look for limited-time promotional fares from Firefly. Occasionally they would have seasonal discounts on most destinations serve by Firefly. Also make full use of “new-destination” offers such as what the airline had for their Singapore flights when they launched it in July.

When they have promotions, there will be a higher chance for you to get those cheap tickets as more seats will be allocated with the lower fares. So if you can’t grab those tickets early, get them during promotions!

Tip #3 – Book Directly from Fireflyz.com.my!

 

In this modern era, it is very convenient to buy tickets online. All you need is access to the Internet and a credit card. When you buy straight from the airline’s website, you avoid any unnecessary hidden charges that might be charged by a third party who acts as an ‘agent’. There is one time when I went to a travel fair in KL where there was one travel agent that quoted me a more expensive ticket thanks to their own so called “service fee” bundled into their travel packages. If you need travel packages with your flights, check out Firefly Holidays packages on Fireflyz.com.my.

Tip #4 – Be Early and Beat the Crowd

Subscribe to Firefly Fly Mail updates and you’ll be notified about upcoming offers.

During promo times, there will be many people accessing the website at the same time. Most of them will be searching continuously for a great deal. Beat the crowd by being online at odd hours on the first day of the promo. In the past, during promo times, I’ve successfully secured tickets by waking up at 2am in the morning. I know it sounds crazy but it helped me saves a couple hundred ringgit.

Tip # 5 – Go against the flow~!

If you book on days that nobody wants to fly on, you can usually get a good deal.

If you are a leisure traveler, try to avoid peak period such as morning flights on a working day. Leave the early flights for those business travelers and try to get on those mid-day or weekend flights. Based on my experience, by avoiding flights that have tendency to be fully-booked, there is a higher chance to get those cheaper tickets.

Tip # 6 – Grab those online deals!

I find this trick as quite useful simply because not many people know more it. Do you know that Firefly has a very strong and active presence in the cyber-world? Yes, they have their own blog, twitter, Facebook page that lets you be connected with the airline.

Last few weeks, someone won a FREE ticket to any destination of Firefly by simply answering simple questions on a Facebook quiz for 7 consecutive days. That’s how easy you can win something by being online with Firefly.

If you’re not the lucky type, do not worry as you can still benefit by being connected through Firefly at Facebook. Make full use of their great Firefly Face Savers, available through this website. Not many people know about it (yet!) so go get those cheap tickets now!

Tip # 7 – Do not hesitate!

This is really based on my own personal experience. When you find the cheapest flight that suits your needs, go ahead and buy it. You don’t want to go through my experience of “oops, that RM70 flight is now RM200?” Sometimes you can get cheaper ticket if you wait but do not hesitate once you think you found a great deal.

Tip # 8 – One way vs Return Trip

Every time you are planning for a return trip, try to find out which sector/flight is contributing the most to the total ticket price. Sometimes you can have a flight that is cheap on one way and expensive on the return flight. If that’s the case, try to mix and match the flights by using the “one-way only” features. It’s not a problem to buy two “one-way” tickets (example: SZB – JHB and JHB-SZB instead of SZB-JHB-SZB) as Firefly is a point-to-point airline. This will also allow you to mix and match with other airlines for the best deal.

Tip # 9 – Best Deal = Total “All-inclusive” Price!

I am a person who goes for “best value for money” over “best price” when it comes to choosing my air travel. Factors like convenience, cost and time to travel to airport, flight timing and additional charges are always factors that I considered along with the ticket price.

Remember that the best deal is the lowest overall cost after considering these factors

Ticket Price + Taxes + Admin Fee + Luggage Check-in Fee + Transport to the airport/parking fee

Many times after considering all these factors, I would choose Firefly Airline over other available options. Maybe this is because I live in Shah Alam and transportation (taxi) to LCCT/KLIA can be as expensive as the flight ticket itself but I guess that’s the beauty of competition in our airline industry. In the end, you get to choose what best suits your needs and wants. In my case, most of the time it’s Firefly Airline.

Tip # 10 – Get a husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend working with the airline!

Just kidding.

***

There you go my favorite 9 tips in getting the best deals out of Firefly Airline. All the best in your best fares hunting and do get back to me through the comments function or my email azuan_az@hotmail.com if you have any other suggestions.

See you next week!

Looks like Azuan had another post about Singapore. Let’s check it out!

Posted by azuan in :: All Posts ::, Featured Articles, Firefly Airline, Travel on 07 12th, 2009 | 10 responses

“Singapore offers experiences that are captivating beyond words”.At least that’s what written on the cover of my Singapore Guide Book. Some people call it great tourism branding but I just call it one heck of a good country to visit. I love KL, I love Malaysia but if I need a good weekend breakaway far from work and other daily stuff, I would choose Singapore definitely!

The only thing I hate about my many trips to Singapore is the traveling. I used to travel by bus and I’ve tried those executive/VIP express busses and it’s comfortable but the journey takes approximately 5 hours. That’s 10-hours for a return trip wasted being on the road out of 48-hours of weekend. And one way fare is RM90 in average!

(An old photo of me… don’t laugh!)

So when airlines start to offer low fares for flights to Singapore I was excited to have more options to spend my weekend in Singapore. Just recently Firefly has joined the fun and begins its flights to Singapore from Subang which offers me the best way to maximize my weekend in Singapore.

Yes!! no more 5-hours bus ride to Singapore or 1-hour drive to LCCT/KLIA. It’s only 15 minutes drive from Shah Alam to Subang and after a short 70 minutes flight, I’ll be in Singapore! And thanks to a well-planned schedule for Firefly Subang-Singapore flights, I can now leave Subang very early on Saturday (07:50am) and come back very late on Sunday (10:35pm) to maximize my weekend in Singapore and still get back on time for work on Monday.

I’m already planning my next 2D1N weekend breakaway trip to Singapore and here is the itinerary. Feel free to use it the next time you Firefly to Singapore

Note: Some of the photos used below are very ‘classic’ photos of mine. I know I look funny when I was younger (some say I still look funny now! Hehe), but try not to laugh too hard.

SINGAPORE 2 Days 1 Night Weekend Break! By AzuanZahdi.com

Day 1: Saturday

0600: Wake up early, grab your backpack and make way to Subang SkyPark.

0630: Check in at Subang SkyPark; enjoy a cup of coffee at Starbucks which opens early.

07:50: Enjoy a comfortable ride with Firefly’s ATR72-500. Start your day with a choice of juice/coffee/tea with free muffin!

09:05: Arrive in Singapore and breeze through the comfortable and efficient Budget Teminal Changi. Clear through immigration and customs within 20 minutes.

09:30: Board the free shuttle where you can shuttle conveniently between the terminal and Changi Airport Terminal 2 where you may access the MRT trains and public buses at Terminal 2 to connect to the city. Alternatively just get a taxi!

10:30: Take the MRT to Bugis Station. Visit the Arab Street or Kampong Glam area famous for its mosque, kampong style buildings and Zam Zam Murtabak! Have your brunch here. Try Murtabak, Briyani and Tulang!

12:30 : Make your way by MRT to Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station and take a 5-mins walk to National Museum of Singapore. Enjoy the beautiful collection of arts and history relevant to Singapore. A good place to chill out under the hot midday sun.

14:00 : Check-in to any hotel that suits your budget, take a nice shower and a short rest. There are many hotels available in Singapore. One of it being the Grand Mecure Hotel

15:00: Enjoy the nice views of Esplanade and Merlion Statue, two nice icons of Singapore.

16:00 Chill out at Singapore Flyer. Get into the 30-minute ride and enjoy the view of Singapore!

18:00 Time to do some shopping, famous for its cheap electronics, visit Sim Lim Square or Funan IT Mall. Make sure you visit various forums on the Internet prior to the visit to get the right price for you to bargain!

20:00 Enjoy the evening with a visit to Clarke Quay, enjoy the nice boat ride, dinner and unwind at any of the clubs for a great Saturday Night Fun!

23:00 Make your way to Little India and enjoy Mustafa Shopping Center. You can stay as long as you like as it’s a 24-hour shopping center and enjoy a variety of Indian food for supper!

Day 2

0900 – As early as possible, take the cable car to the Sentosa Island. It’s a nice way to reach Sentosa as you get to enjoy the thrill and view from up above

1000 – Beat the crowd and get yourself queue up for these 4D attractions:

1100 – Enjoy my personal favorite activity in Singapore – The Luge! Once is never enough!

12:00 Once you’re at Siloso Beach after the Luge ride, enjoy the beautiful and clean man-made beach. A good place to have lunch as well.

13:00 Take a walk around the beach area, discover the Southern most point of Asia and walked through this nice bridge to get a good view of Sentosa

14:00 Leave Sentoasa and head straight to Orhard Road. It goes without saying. Shop till you drop! Have late lunch at any of the shopping malls there.

18:00 Take a break from shopping and enjoy this delicious ice-cream wafer.

19:00 Leave Orchard Road and head towards Newton Food Centre, enjoy a variety of local food. I highly recommend TULANG!

20:00 Make your way to Changi Budget Terminal via taxi to catch your flight. Don’t worry about excess baggage as Firefly allows 20KG of free check-in bags. That’s more than enough for most people! Even if you exceed the limit, the charges are competitive so do not worry too much

21:00 Have your dinner at the Departure Hall of Budget Terminal. Lots of good choices

22:35: Leave Singapore with lots of fun, memories, photos and shopping bags! Ready for a trip back to work or to the clinic for MC the next day

******

Firefly is offering flight to Singapore via Subang started on July 1. Believe it or not, it’s only RM88 to Singapore for JULY ONLY! So, hurry up and grab those tickets now! Now you can spend your weekend shopping at the Great Singapore Sale 2009 affordably!