KUCHING: Firefly will begin flying three new routes to Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Johor Baru next month as it resumes jet services from its Penang hub.

       The airline's chief executive Philip See said the new services would commence on April 11 with seven weekly flights to Kuching, 14 weekly flights to Kota Kinabalu and 21 weekly flights to Johor Baru.

       "Our inaugural jet flight took off from Penang to Johor Baru in May last year but this was temporarily suspended due to the movement control order imposed by the government.

       "Now we are happy to announce that our jet services will operate again with expanded routes to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu," he told a media session here on Friday (March 4).

       See said this was the right time to introduce the new services as the country was now opening up in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

       For the Kuching sector, he said the airline hoped to expand the frequency once the Sarawak disaster management committee increases the number of flights to the state.

       "We are starting with once daily flights to Kuching but we hope to increase it to twice daily soon," he said.

       He also said Firefly was looking at other destinations in Sarawak and planned to expand its routes beyond Kuching in future.

       On the jet services, See said Firefly offered 189 single-class economy seats on the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

       "Our focus is to offer great fares, flexibility and choice to passengers. With our value service concept, passengers can choose to add on benefits such as insurance, checked baggage and meals to the basic fare.

       "They can also choose one of our fare bundles with various upgrades according to their preference," he said.

       Tickets can be booked through Firefly's mobile app and website as well as on Malaysia Airlines' website through a code share arrangement.