Oh Firefly, what an adorable name for an airline! What started out as a regional point-to-point low-cost carrier based in Penang is now nothing less than a full-fledged regional airline. A subsidiary of the Malaysia Airlines Group, Firefly operates a fleet of ATR 72-500s and Boeing 737-800s in a single-class layout between points in Malaysia and its neighbouring countries.

Booking Firefly

This trip was relatively last minute, and I only booked my flight two weeks before departure. Regardless, the fares were still more than reasonable. Firefly has three fare structures — Saver, Basic, and Flex. I ended up settling for a Basic fare for a 30% premium. This included an extra 10 kg checked bag allowance over the saver fare, as well as standard seat selection, and a one-time flight change. I paid MYR 140 (~ USD 31, GBP 25) for this one-way flight — a steal if you ask me!

Check-in

I arrived at Subang SkyPark about two hours before the departure of my flight. This was frankly plenty, especially considering the small size of the airport. While Subang has originally served as Kuala Lumpur’s main airport until it outgrew its surroundings. After being replaced with KLIA in 1998, the airport continued operations chiefly as a domestic gateway to smaller cities within Peninsular Malaysia.

Having made my way inside, I quickly found the check-in counters, which were located in a sterile area past an initial security check. Within it, Firefly manages three general counters, which are open to any passenger regardless of flight. Despite the short line, the process was quite slow — taking me about 15 minutes to reach the front of the line. There weren’t any self-service check-in kiosks either nor any bag drops.

Though time-consuming, the check-in process itself was straightforward, and soon enough I had my boarding pass in hand. Having exited the check-in area, I walked past the terminal’s public mall-like shopping and dining concourse down a narrow corridor towards the security check.

Boarding

Considering the size of the public dining and shopping area, I was certain the departure gates would look quite barren, akin to Narita Airport Terminal 3. Colour me surprised when I found various shops and kiosks inside. This was certainly appreciated, considering that our flight had been retimed to depart 25 minutes later. I mean there are worse ways to kill time than munching on Famous Amos’ cookies. 😉

Despite showing a boarding time of 18.50, the boarding call came 11 minutes later — inviting a mini frenzy of passengers eager to fly. While appearing like a free-for-all, boarding was separated into two phases based on row number. As I was seated away from the main door, I managed to get on board sooner… meaning empty cabin pictures! WooHoo!

As expected from a small airport like the SkyPark, the planes are parked very close to the terminal. Likewise, passengers walk straight to the aircraft when boarding and disembarking. Considering the nice weather, I was more than happy with this arrangement! After all, it’s always a special feeling to walk up to your aircraft!

Firefly ATR 72-500 Cabin

Look, I’ve flown my fair share of turboprop flights; so believe me when I say that they’re rarely a glamorous affair. While this was no different, I was certainly impressed when I saw the brightly lit modern cabin — especially in a 13-year-old aircraft! For one, the textured two-toned maroon and black leather seats reminded me a lot of a Qantas jet!

The single-class cabin is configured in a 2-2 layout, as standard on many commercial turboprops. There are 72 seats spread between 18 rows, which lends to the aircraft’s moniker, ATR 72. On Firefly the four rows on the rear are marketed as preferred seats. While they don’t offer extra space, the seats are closest to the exit and placed away from the loud engines.

Legroom likewise is surprisingly good at a pitch of 30′; standing at 5’11 (180 cm), I have about two inches (five centimetres) of space between my knees and the seatback. Not excellent in the grand scheme of things but more than enough for a short flight like this.

I was seated in 3A, located towards the front of the plane. Yet thanks to the way ATRs are configured, these ‘front-row’ seats are best thought of as being in the last few rows. In any case, these seats are superior to those around the middle, where you’ll feel the continuous vibration of the loud turboprop engines.

Finally, I’ll add that the cabin is equipped with overhead air vents and reading lights, the former being especially useful in case you feel rather stuffy inflight.

Departure from Subang

As the comparatively massive AirAsia jet settled in its parking spot, we started our quick pushback. And by quick, I mean quick. Within five minutes we had taxied past the terminal all the way to the airport perimeter and joined Runway 33.

We were airborne by 19.23, cruising slowly through the beautiful sunset permeating the Klang Valley into the cover of night.

Refreshment Service

Hold up, didn’t you say this is a low-cost carrier? What’s this talk about refreshment? Well, that’s how I felt when our friendly flight attendant rolled a snack cart up the aisle 10 minutes after takeoff. Fully expecting this to be a buy-on-board thing, I was surprised to be passed a bottle of water.

Better yet, I was then offered both a pack of salted peanuts and a serving of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies. As if the cookies weren’t good enough, the peanuts are the Firefly-branded version of Malaysia Airlines’ legendary kacang masin. If you’re not familiar, the crunchy and fragrant kacang masin are the epitome of inflight peanuts! I have to hand it out to Firefly, these snacks are S-Tier!

In fairness, buy-on-board snacks and hot meals are also offered by Firefly, on top of these basic refreshments. However, this is only applicable on longer jet flights, unlike this one.

Landing in Alor Setar

About 50 minutes after takeoff, the captain took to the intercom to announce the details of our arrival. In particular, he expected a rather bumpy ride thanks to the monsoon rain drenching the province. At the same time, the seatbelt signs were turned on, signalling the cabin crew to prepare the cabin for landing.

As announced, we soon started fighting the rain and wind as we slowly descended towards flood-hit Alor Setar. Thankfully, the rain had mostly cleared up as we neared the Kedah capital, although the wind still meant a choppy approach. We touched down at Sultan Abdul Halim Airport at 20.25, with a rather bumpy landing on Runway 04.

We soon disembarked down the airstairs to a lonely apron at the city’s small but functional airport. I thanked the crew as I bid farewell to the nimble little plane. Welcome to Alor Setar!

Verdict

All in all, I had a very pleasant first flight with Firefly. I frankly came with low expectations, considering how miserable its parent airline can be sometimes. Yet, I was blown out of the water. Complimentary cookies and peanuts? Free checked bags? Modern cabins? Sign me up! For one, this is as nice if not better than some American legacy carriers. As far as Malaysian low-cost carriers go, this has to come on top. So much for AirAsia claiming to be the world’s best low-cost carrier (yikes).