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Firefly suspend flights to Singapore

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How the Malaysia-Singapore tiff is hurting Firefly

 

http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/how-malaysiasingapore-tiff-hurting-firefly

In that report is mentioned that Izham is exploring options to re-establish flights between Subang and Singapore "be it to Seletar or Changi".

Could that hint to FY getting regional jets in order to circumvent the prop ban @ Changi ?

I understand regulations @ Subang would have to be changed as well ...

Maybe that would only be a last resort if all other talks with Singapore fail. :glare:

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CAAM should have approved it and the longer term issues over height etc could have been discussed it over the coming months or years.

 

Looks like the CAAM/govt has shot itself in the foot

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KUALA LUMPUR: An official announcement will be made soon to decide whether Firefly will resume its services to Singapore, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

"The official announcement will be made soon.

"We are still finalising the details. We hope they can resume their services soon," he told reporters at the official launch of Xtra20 KTM discount card here Sunday (March 31).

It was reported earlier that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said Firefly had suspended all its flights to Singapore as it had yet to receive approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to operate at Seletar Airport.

A CAAS spokesman said it had informed the Malaysian Transport Ministry and Firefly back in 2014 of the relocation of turboprop flights from Changi Airport to Seletar Airport, and the airline had agreed to relocate.

Firely, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, said its services would resume once the relevant authorities sorted out regulatory issues regarding its move to Seletar.

On a separate matter, Loke gave his commitment that the government was willing to amend current laws to allow people with special disabilities (OKU) to apply for Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licences so that they could register for and provide e-hailing services.

"There are some issues with OKU drivers. They need to understand that current regulations do not allow them to apply for PSV license.

"But I have given my commitment to the OKU community, as well as e-hailing companies, that the government will amend the regulations to enable them to provide their services.

"My message to the OKU community is that we support their right to be e-hailing drivers so they can work and get an income, so there is no issue of not allowing them.

"That will be sorted out soon," he said.

On the KTM card, he said the government had allocated a total of RM34mil for the Xtra20 discount card aimed at giving an additional 20% discount for Malaysians who use the cashless transaction system at commuter stations.

"We target that there will be a 20% increase in commuters this year, which is about 90,000 users daily to 108,000.

"This will be followed by another 20% in 2020 to achieve the target of 130,000 people daily," he said.

Loke said following a review of KTM ticket costs in the Klang Valley of between 11 sen to 15 sen per km in 2016 by the previous government, the number of users dropped from 50 million a year to 41 million users in 2017.

"In 2017, it continued to dip to 37 million users a year and dropped down to 32 million users annually last year," he said.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/03/31/loke-firefly-to-resume-singapore-flights-once-regulatory-issues-sorted/#4jUdwUxLw1d2QpvL.99

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Malaysia, Singapore end airspace dispute, allow Firefly to use Seletar

 

KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 The Firefly airline may now fly from Singapores Seletar airport after Malaysia and the republic struck an agreement to end the airspace dispute between both countries.

 

Transport Minister Anthony Loke and his Singapore counterpart, Khaw Boon Wan, issued a joint statement today saying the agreement was also enforced just before midnight yesterday.

 

More:

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/04/06/malaysia-singapore-end-airspace-dispute-allow-firefly-to-use-seletar/1740414

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Thanks for the update.

 

But ...

I don´t think this can be a long term solution since that means no ILS at all.

Firefly and possible other potential airlines certainly want a high level of reliabilty for their OPS.

So, another solution needs to be found.

It should be possible to install just a single direction ILS that approaches from the opposite direction.

 

So, I don´t see an issue aside from an approach over limited housing areas in Singapore - or is there a hill obstructing approach from that side ?

Edited by Juergen Witte

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Visibility below 5km is a no go for approach very much like how Mulu flights by maswings. Departure sequence that requires a steep turn is very performance demanding an event of single engine occurring dun think the ATR could perform. So a payload restriction will likely be enforce. Not sure if fares will hike with this.

Edited by jahur

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Im wondering if Malindo will start flying there as well?

I believe they have applied for slots and are awaiting approval from the relevant authorities.

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Paid a visit to Seletar recently - road access to the airport is good although the signposting to the airport is lacking.

 

The airport is small (apron looks like it has room for 3 aircraft) but should be OK for 2 or 3 flights per hour.

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Sorry, what does the "per" in Per/KM and Per Min mean

I guess it is an unfortunate or incorrect using of the term "per".

 

I´d expect they meant to show the distance between the airport and destination in the city in either actual road distance or time wise (distance per km and distance in hours/minutes) ...

Edited by Juergen Witte

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Flights to seletar has been consistently cancelled due to haze. Now wondering if its actually in the best interest of both countries to have an ILS installed to reduce the minimums and rvr. Construction equipment on pasir gudang is harzadous though. Tough Steep glideslope approach seems to be the only answer which is already implemented.

Edited by jahur

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Flights to seletar has been consistently cancelled due to haze. Now wondering if its actually in the best interest of both countries to have an ILS installed to reduce the minimums and rvr. Construction equipment on pasir gudang is harzadous though. Tough Steep glideslope approach seems to be the only answer which is already implemented.

Although true , after discussing with peers; it may bust stabilisation criteria(for safety) for the operators if a steep glideslope were to be introduced. Its up to Malaysian and Singaporean aviation authority as well as the operators to have a middle ground to have this sorted.

Edited by haansel

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My personal opinion is that Singapore has made an error in ending turboprop ops in Changi. Even the busiest airports like Heathrow allows turboprops. I think Firefly will find it very difficult to return to its Changi heydays while operating flights to Seletar.

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My personal opinion is that Singapore has made an error in ending turboprop ops in Changi. Even the busiest airports like Heathrow allows turboprops. I think Firefly will find it very difficult to return to its Changi heydays while operating flights to Seletar.

 

maybe not. usually it will hurt the airliner more than the airport itself. by taking away the turboprops, they able to substitute the empty slots by turbojet ops (except business jet), in which in theoretically brings in more passenger volume given the same flight frequency. hence the revenue towards the airport ops. I mean this is how i see it.

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I believe that Singapore Changi can get away with it because they do not have any domestic flights.

 

But they should also think about whether it is actually good for the long term as the airline industry is cyclical. It is not always big jets that bring profits.

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I believe that Singapore Changi can get away with it because they do not have any domestic flights.

 

But they should also think about whether it is actually good for the long term as the airline industry is cyclical. It is not always big jets that bring profits.

I quite like XSP, its simple, quick to navigate and a little quicker to get to my place in SG. Whilst SZB is closer to my apartment in KL the extra flight time means that that the overall journey time isn't much quicker.

 

Major dislike is the lack of ground AC on the ATR 72.

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But they should also think about whether it is actually good for the long term as the airline industry is cyclical. It is not always big jets that bring profits.

Because airlines like SQ scramble to downgrade their CGK flights from 773s to AT72/Q400s in a downturn?

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