Posted by azuan in :: All Posts ::, Brand Review, Featured Articles, Firefly Airline on 03 13th, 2010 | one response

It has been a few weeks since I last wrote about my favorite airlines, Firefly~!

This episode is just a quick update to share the exciting event coming to town this week. None other than the highly anticipated MATTA Fair! You must been living under a rock if you have not heard about MATTA Fair.

In a nutshell, it is the most awaited and anticipated travel fair of the year. This year the fair returns with loads of offers from hundred of exhibitors including Firefly Airlines. MATTA FAIR 2010 is being held at Putra World Trade Center (PWTC) Kuala Lumpur from 12th-14th of March 2010.

I was at MATTA Fair on Friday afternoon to check out some great deals for my mid-year holiday. As always, the exhibition halls were full with 2 things.

People.

And Great Deals.

If you are going to MATTA Fair, don’t forget to drop by at Firefly’s booth at PWTC’s Hall 3 (all domestic and ASEAN’s destinations packages), and Hall 2 (all international packages) as they have plenty of great offers in line with the fair.

(Models not included) – Photo from Firefly/James.

As 2010 is a world cup year and football fever is in the air (Go Brazil!), Firefly is adopting a fresh football theme in its MATTA Fair promo. Score as a winner with Firefly’s Penalty Kick teaser and One Touch Wheel of Fortune.

There are plenty of great Firefly Holiday deals being offered over the 3 days. Last December I made trip to Langkawi on Firefly Holidays and it’s definitely worth it! On top of these affordable Firefly Holiday packages, you can actually win cool prizes!

Someone was lucky enough to win a pair of new boots!

As a spin-off to the huge success of last year’s introduction of the simulator, Firefly will once again give the public a great opportunity to test their piloting skills. For this contest, the top 3 best piloting and landing participants will get a chance to win Malaysia Airlines’ tickets to Brisbane or Firefly tickets to any of our destinations.

Click here to check out how well I did on this simulator in last year’s MATTA Fair.

Firefly has also introduced “Oh Snap!” where you can have your photos taken with the simulator and the crew for a minimal fee. Something interesting for a camera-shy guy like me hehe

If taking photo with pilots and stewardesses is not your thing, there is always other ‘attractions’.

There is also exciting range of Firefly merchandise that you can purchase at the MATTA Fair. If you are a Firefly Facebook fan, print out the voucher and get 20% off for the merchandise. Personally I would recommend the ATR72-500 1:150 scale model and the brand new Firefly Jersey!

I would love to wear that cool jersey on my next FY Blog assignments

And to top it all, Firefly Mobile is also offering RM1 fare for all destinations which will be available on-site and must be purchased via Firefly’s newly introduced application- Firefly Mobile.

This is a very useful application as there are lots of travel agents during MATTA Fair that offer great ‘ground only holiday packages (exclude flight). It was so easy for me to go on my mobile to check Firefly flights availability and prices that can go along these ground only packages. Planning my own travel was never this easy!

If you are around Klang Valley, do drop by at PWTC for MATTA Fair. It’s worth the traffic jam, crazy car park hunting and crowd wrestling as the prices are definitely cheaper and it did opened my eyes to many great destinations I have never heard before.

It’s that time of the year where Firefly gets busy again at the MATTA travel fair.

 This year, Firefly’s introduction into KL MATTA Fair 2010 is all about scoring as a winner with its football theme in anticipation of the World Cup 2010. We are offering all our customers a chance to be a striker in our Penalty Kick teaser and One Touch Wheel of Fortune.

 Firefly Holiday is striking strong at MATTA Fair this year with the launch of our Domestic, ASEAN and International packages to all Firefly and Malaysia Airlines destinations.

 Our booths are at PWTC’s Hall 3 (all domestic and ASEAN’s destinations packages), and Hall 2 (all international packages).

 As a spin-off to the huge success of last year’s introduction of the simulator, Firefly will once again give the public a great opportunity to test their piloting skills. For this contest, the top 3 best piloting and landing participants will get a chance to win Malaysia Airlines’ tickets to Brisbane or Firefly tickets to any of our destinations.

Firefly Mobile is also offering RM1 fare for all destinations which will be available on-site and must be purchased via Firefly’s newly introduced application- Firefly Mobile. For more information about this, please visit http://www.fireflyz.com.my/mobile

As an additional sweetener, we are also offering MAXIS users with exclusive MAXIS holiday packages. Just show us your network operator on your mobile phone and you will get exclusive entitlement to these packages.

We are also repaying our loyal Facebook fans by offering them a chance to grab our merchandises which include Firefly’s LIMITED EDITION football jerseys; aircraft model; polo t-shirts; playing cards and many more @ a special rate of 20% discount. Want to know how? Join us as fans at http://www.facebook.com.my/firefly NOW!

KL MATTA Fair 2010
Date:                     12 – 14 March 2010
Time:                    10am – 9pm
Venue:                 Hall 3, PWTC, KL
Fees:                    RM3 per entry

 Come join us and get a chance to win more prizes such as Maxis-Blackberry mobile phones; Malaysia Airlines & Firefly tickets; Chronotech watches; Adidas merchandise; and hotel/spa/dinner vouchers worth more than RM500,000.

Thank you.

Posted by azuan in :: All Posts ::, Brand Review, Featured Articles, Firefly Airline on 12 12th, 2009 | one response

Sailing with world class professionals on board the Foundation 36 (F36) yacht, being up-close and personal experiencing the pros at work on an actual race flight, getting soaking wet in the midst of the race thanks to the monsoon rain, chill out with the pro right after a match race.

These are just some of the ‘once in a lifetime’ journey that I experienced last week in the Monsoon Cup 2009! Thanks to Firefly Airlines, I am still literally on cloud nine about the whole “Hot Seat” experience in Pulau Duyong Terengganu.

Its all begin a couple of weeks back when I was chosen as one of the 4 winners for the Firefly Airlines Monsoon Cup Hot Seat Contest. Being the contest winner, I had the privilege to be flown to Monsoon Cup to experience being part of the race on the Hot Seat, a special spot for an observer on board the F36 yacht during the race flight.

It would be impossible to capture the whole experience in words and photos but here are some snapshots of the experience of a lifetime!

December 3rd 2009- Thursday

An early morning Firefly flight on board 9M-FYA, ATR72-500. A smooth flight despite the overcast clouds and rainy weather.

Spent some time doing last minute revision on Monsoon Cup, thanks to this info card from the seat pocket.

As expected it was raining that morning in Terengganu, a usual sight in Monsoon Season.

Monsoon Cup is obviously a big thing in Terengganu. Locals are talking about it and almost everywhere, you can see something on Monsoon Cup, including this baggage carrousel.

and buntings throughout Kuala Terengganu. I find “Pakat Gi Ramai-ramai” wordings rather cute!

After a short drive I find myself at the Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa in Pulau Duyong, the venue of Monsoon Cup.

The home of the tenth and final event on the World Match Racing Tour.

Sights of a world-class sailing event!

Being able to witness live such a grand event with millions of people watching at home from all over the world made me very proud of Malaysia. It was definitely a great platform to promote images of Terengganu and Malaysia to the whole world not to forget the local brand names such as Firefly whose brandings can be seen throughout the venue. Well done!

It was a round-robin competition day with many race flights from morning till the evening. It was interesting to see the close one-on-one races including those involving Taring Pelangi our sole Malaysian representative.

While it was entertaining just watching the race live, I was there for a mission. To be on the HOT SEAT and part of the race!

A brief explanation of what’s The Hot Seat all about!

Meet Linda, one of the person in-charge of the Hot Seat. We had a big laugh that morning as she could not believe my weight! Since Hot Seat is part of an actual race, our weight were taken into consideration to ensure fair race to both parties. I blamed it on the muffins I took that morning on board Firefly!

I was so heavy that the other boat has to take all three of this mineral water to match my weight!

I was randomly assigned to the Minoprio team on the Firefly F36 boat! Cameras were not allowed so no close-up photos during the race.

I was glad that I did not take my camera along as most of the time I had to fully concentrate on the race. While I factually have no function being on the Hot Seat, I still have to follow the instructions of the skipper.

The skipper, Adam Minoprio is a friendly yet very professional guy. Before our race flight started, we had a short chat with the rest of the crew and I told them a bit about my blogging assignments and Firefly Airlines and they only have good words about the airline!

The guys were super serious during the race and I was shifting side from one side to another throughout the race. In those 20 minutes at least 10 times we were switching sides to give the optimum balance to the boat. The tension and anxiety were super high with skippers from both teams giving instructions and coming out with the best strategy.

Halfway through the race, the monsoon hit us and we were drenched by the sudden downpour. The race went on and Minoprio won that particular flight after a great strategy that brought them ahead of the competitor at the last stretch of the course. Minoprio ultimately went on to win Monsoon Cup!

It was one heck of an experience witnessing the guys maneuvering the boat, strategizing to win the race. The guys are sharp and both psychologically and physically strong and not to mention have the look and appearance to die for. They were so fit that throughout the 30 minutes in the boat, I was the most ‘out-of-shaped’ guy and look like a pink panda on the Hot Seat in between the good looking guys!

Being on the Hot Seat alone was enough to make the trip worthwhile. As the contest winner, I also had the opportunity to access the Firefly hospitality lounge and enjoy the race at the comfort of the lounge. A great view of the race with free flow of food and beverages!

Monsoon Cup is not just about the race. It’s also a week long carnival at the race venue and around Kuala Terengganu. Throughout the race days, thousands of locals enjoyed the carnival. Local games, mini zoo, trishaw ride, mini concert, flight simulator, batik demonstration are some of the activities held at the race venue!

Being one of the main sponsors, Firefly had its presence felt by everyone.

Never in my life would I imagine myself on a racing boat in an actual race in Monsoon Cup. Through Firefly Airlines, I had this money-can’t-buy experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

All I can say is just that being pampered as the contest winner in such a nice way means a lot more than just “thank you” can say! Nevertheless thank you from the bottom of my heart.