Firefly will continue to use its turboprop aircraft to operate short-haul services from Subang and Penang, while its jets will be taken over by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and redeployed into MAS’ operations by Dec 4 for its short-haul premium full-service offering.

Firefly began offering jet services for connectivity to Sabah and Sarawak from the peninsula in November last year but the plan had been shelved after MAS entered into a share swap with rival AirAsia in August this year.

“The takeover of jet services is an important part of MAS group’s business realignment exercise and is prompted by the need to address network and fleet restructuring plans for short-haul jet services,” MAS Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement.

The takeover also address the issue of continuing heavy losses incurred by the Firefly jet operations.–The Star