SUBANG, Aug 30- MASwings Sdn Bhd and Firefly, units under Malaysia Airlines (MAS), aim to increase their passengers by 30 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, this year.
MASwings Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Datuk Captain Mohd Nawawi Awang said the company aimed to record two million passengers this year from 1.54 million passengers last year.
He said its strategies included replacing three ageing DHC6-300 Twin Otter aircraft by end-2014 with six units of DHC6-400 aircraft.
Meanwhile, Firefly CEO Ignatius Ong said the airline targeted to achieve a 15 per cent growth in passengers this year from 1.7 million passengers last year.
Both Nawawi and Ong were speaking to reporters at the launch of Firefly and MASwings Cabin Crew Integration Programme, which aimed at strengthening the role of the group in advocating national integration in conjunction with National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations.
Ong said this colourful programme will feature 10 Firefly cabin crew from Peninsular Malaysia flying alongside MASwings crew on flights around Sabah and Sarawak and vice versa.
“This integration programme will be carried out for two weeks starting from today to Sept 16, 2013, and we intend to do this every year as part of celebrating National Day and Malaysia Day,” Ong said.
Ong said that this was not only a great branding exercise for both airlines but also it creates synergy amongst MAS group of airlines and strengthens a harmonious workforce.
“Through the programme, MASwings and Firefly will be able to support one another operationally in the future,” Ong added.
At present, MASwings and Firefly both have 130 cabin crews.
Firefly currently flies to domestic and regional destinations in Asean, with its network serving 24 routes within Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
MASwings operates in Sabah and Sarawak and plans to expand to Davao, Philippines and Sulawesi, Indonesia next year.
– BERNAMA
