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SINGAPORE: The skies are getting more crowded on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route.
Firefly, the discount carrier wholly-owned by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), has become the latest to ply the sector.
It is starting with three daily flights between the two points and will boost them up to four later this month.
About 1.3 million air passengers made their way between Singapore and Malaysia between January and May this year.
That's 20 per cent more than the same period a year ago, when the sector was still tightly controlled.
Siva Govindasamy, deputy Asia editor of Flight International, said: "There was a lot of latent potential for growth in that sector. The fact that it was protected for so long shows that SIA and MAS wanted to make money from that. And there's money to be made from those routes. So there is still some space to grow.
"But the issue right now could be that there are a lot of options available to fly to KL from Singapore and vice versa. Jetstar Asia, AirAsia, Tiger (Airway), all operating flights to KL. And Firefly is flying to Subang as well.
"There could be a point where people would say there are too many flights. I don't think we are there yet but there might be if we have more services."
Firefly is confident that it will see strong demand for seats. On average, it expects its planes to be between 70 and 75 per cent full.
Eddy Leong, managing director of Firefly, said: "We are seeing very strong forward booking. Our passengers are mainly businessmen, commuters, day trippers, people who are in a hurry. That's why we fly from Subang airport, which is 15 minutes, 20 minutes to KL city. That's a real competitive advantage for us."
And unlike the other carriers, Firefly is using a turbo-prop, which is known to be cost-efficient.
Firefly's Eddy Leong said: "The aircraft we're operating, it's very cost-efficient. Probably, Singapore hasn't seen a Turboprop in a long time. But it's a very effective aircraft for us because we operate in the city airports. It's very environmentally friendly, it's very quiet. So it's uniquely suitable for us."
Singapore will also be connected to four new Malaysian destinations by air through Firefly, including Ipoh, Trengganu, Malacca and Kuantan.
Firefly is offering an introductory all-inclusive, one-way fare at S$31 to any destination in Malaysia. But can such low prices be sustained?
Flight International's Siva Govindasamy said: "That's for the individual airlines to decide. Airlines decide, price their fares based on their business model. What's happened is that it's shown how low fares can go. If you have more competition, fares can come down."
Going forward, analysts say airlines may start exploring other locations in Malaysia, such as holiday destinations on the east coast.
- CNA/ir
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