Letter to Editor
IT’S official. Firefly has joined the prestigious ranks of airlines that don’t seem to give a hoot about their passengers.
Congratulations—you’re now operating at the proud service standards of some of the worst domestic airlines in the United States: the kind who cancel flights without batting an eyelid, overbook flights like it’s a sport, and treat passengers’ time and plans as minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of airline “efficiency”.
On Sunday (April 27), my colleague and I thought we were making a smart, practical decision by choosing Firefly for a short hop from Subang to Penang—a 12:45pm flight, quick and easy.
But little did we know, Firefly had other plans. We turned up early at Subang Airport only to be told, with all the urgency of someone announcing that the cafeteria was out of sandwiches, that there was no flight. None until 8:35pm.
Not delayed by an hour or two—but shoved a full nine hours later into the day and that our seats had been slotted for the 9.05pm flight!
Because clearly, in Firefly’s world, passengers have nothing better to do than loiter at airports and wait for whenever it’s convenient for the airline to function again.
And what of the sacred duty to inform passengers of such “minor” changes?
Ah, Firefly had sent an email. To just one of us. At 6:30pm the evening before. An email, mind you—because expecting people to check emails on a Saturday night is apparently normal behaviour now.
After all, who doesn’t spend their weekends refreshing work inboxes with bated breath, desperate for news from airlines?
When we asked why no SMS notification was sent—both of us had provided our mobile numbers during booking—we were treated to a masterclass in absurdity: “We don’t send SMS because phone numbers might not be updated.”
Brilliant. Truly brilliant. Because obviously, email addresses are always perfectly accurate, but phone numbers—those mysterious, elusive things—are apparently beyond the reach of 21st-century technology.
And if you did want the revolutionary service of being notified via your mobile, you should have magically known to tick an obscure box during booking and pay an extra RM2.50.
Because yes, in 2025, basic communication from an airline is now an à la carte service you have to pay for—like extra peanuts or an aisle seat.
Let’s call this out for what it is: Firefly doesn’t respect passengers enough to treat basic communication as a right, not a privilege.
Instead, they’ve taken a page out of the playbook of certain American budget airlines—where flights disappear off schedules like magician’s tricks, passengers are bumped at the last minute, and customer service hotlines are manned by robots with the empathy of a brick wall.
How sad that Malaysia’s airlines, once a point of pride, are now hurtling toward that same abyss of mediocrity.
In what sane universe is it reasonable to cancel an entire half-day’s worth of flights and assume that a single Saturday night email covers all obligations?
Where is the recognition that passengers have work, commitments, families — lives that do not orbit around the chaotic whims of an airline’s operational mismanagement?
When asked about refunds, we were told to basically fend for ourselves — go find another airline (good luck), head to KLIA (have fun fighting traffic), and maybe, if the stars align, find a seat elsewhere. Firefly’s message was clear: “Not our problem.”
This isn’t just terrible service. This is institutionalised negligence, airbrushed with empty apologies.
Firefly seems to have forgotten that flying people isn’t just about taking off and landing—it’s about trust. And trust, once broken, is not easily rebuilt with RM2.50 apologies and half-hearted emails.
Passengers aren’t asking for the moon. We’re asking for basic respect. Clear communication. Accountability. A sincere understanding that behind every ticket is a real person with real consequences when airlines mess up.
Until Firefly (and others like it) fix their attitude, they may as well change their tagline to: “Firefly—Where Your Plans Come to Die.” – April 28, 2025
Prof Mohd Said Bani is a Focus Malaysia viewer.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image: Facebook/Firefly
