Koh Samui - Penang With Firefly - Booking Online

[Samui Coconut]

Well, having solved the booking problem I turned up at the airport in Penang yesterday at 9:30 am, nobody at the desk. I loitered until someone came along and sat behidn the desk, he checked my confirmed and paid ticket, spoke to someone on the phone, then told me the flight was not going today and directed me to the ticketing counter. Went there, the guy told me no flight today, no flight tomorrow, maybe on Thursday and I should come back then. MAYBE! I'm not sitting in Penang waiting to see if firefly decide to go or not. So I asked for a refund (takes up to 3 months, apparently) and had to fly to bkk with airasia then back to Samui.

If you are lucky enough to get there on a day that they fly I'm sure it's an easy solution, but if you are on a fixed timescale (e.g. you need to leave Samui that day for visa reasons) then getting to the airport and being told to come back a few days later might be an issue.

Can confirm this statement as screen in USM yesterday read :"Cancelled".

Very unreliable service and I doubt that they stay in business for long.

[girlx]

ayahh... has anyone else flown with them successfully?

[Cinders]

My boss flew to Penang with them yesterday. No problem.

[revboy]

there has been some news that FireFly will expand to Subang Airport (Malaysia's previous international hub before KLIA [KUL]).

i am hoping this will happen so i don't need to deliberately make a trip to Penang just to find my way to Koh Samui.

[susquosh]

ayahh... has anyone else flown with them successfully?

Just got back after making the return journey to Penang.Both flights left on time and arrived early.

Highly recommend as both a means to make a visa run and another useful destination from Samui.

[susquosh]

there has been some news that FireFly will expand to Subang Airport (Malaysia's previous international hub before KLIA [KUL]).

i am hoping this will happen so i don't need to deliberately make a trip to Penang just to find my way to Koh Samui.

You can travel from KL Subang to Samui by Berjaya Air.They fly on Thursday and Sunday.

[girlx]

i flew Samui-Penang with Firefly today with no probs. crappy plane but all else went smoothly. i agree, it's a good deal for a visa run. also for anyone coming to Penang, if you can afford a little higher end hotel, stay at the Evergreen Laurel on Gurney Drive. my room has free wifi so I can work (and thus justify the cost). it also has good cable tv, a bathtub with really hot water, a good mini bar, a great health center with steamrooms, saunas, jacuzzis, exercise machines, and 2 pools, one with a bar... also the concierge is ridiculously nice and is taking care of my visa for me. it is also right next to loads of good food stalls, and a 10 minute walk from gurney plaza which is a modern shopping mall with lots of food and movie theaters, etc. i can't say i miss georgetown too much.

[PaulAllen]

i flew Samui-Penang with Firefly today with no probs. crappy plane but all else went smoothly. i agree, it's a good deal for a visa run. also for anyone coming to Penang, if you can afford a little higher end hotel, stay at the Evergreen Laurel on Gurney Drive. my room has free wifi so I can work (and thus justify the cost). it also has good cable tv, a bathtub with really hot water, a good mini bar, a great health center with steamrooms, saunas, jacuzzis, exercise machines, and 2 pools, one with a bar... also the concierge is ridiculously nice and is taking care of my visa for me. it is also right next to loads of good food stalls, and a 10 minute walk from gurney plaza which is a modern shopping mall with lots of food and movie theaters, etc. i can't say i miss georgetown too much.

How much per night? Also, I hear the Penang airport is far from where we have to go for visa stuff and that you have to pay quite a bit in taxi. Is this true?

[girlx]

it was around $45 a night, i booked through agoda.com. i would just give your passport to an agent to take care of the visa for you- it is only 20 RMs more and there are lots of agents who do it. ask at your hotel or go to NJ Books on Chulia St.

[Fred Sanford]

i flew Samui-Penang with Firefly today with no probs. crappy plane but all else went smoothly. i agree, it's a good deal for a visa run. also for anyone coming to Penang, if you can afford a little higher end hotel, stay at the Evergreen Laurel on Gurney Drive. my room has free wifi so I can work (and thus justify the cost). it also has good cable tv, a bathtub with really hot water, a good mini bar, a great health center with steamrooms, saunas, jacuzzis, exercise machines, and 2 pools, one with a bar... also the concierge is ridiculously nice and is taking care of my visa for me. it is also right next to loads of good food stalls, and a 10 minute walk from gurney plaza which is a modern shopping mall with lots of food and movie theaters, etc. i can't say i miss georgetown too much.

dont make the mistake of not staying in georgetown. there is zero going on outside of it. g'town is awesome

[girlx]

i just got back and had a great time outside georgetown

[SamuiJens]

That doesn't surprise me!

[Lite Beer]

dont make the mistake of not staying in georgetown. there is zero going on outside of it. g'town is awesome

You sure you do not mean AWFUL.

Edited June 7, 2007 by Lite Beer

[PaulAllen]

Is the airport in Penang a far ride from the hotel areas where you stay to do visa?

[susquosh]

Is the airport in Penang a far ride from the hotel areas where you stay to do visa?

20-30 minutes.

[PaulAllen]

Is the airport in Penang a far ride from the hotel areas where you stay to do visa?

20-30 minutes.

And how much would/does that cost?

[susquosh]

Is the airport in Penang a far ride from the hotel areas where you stay to do visa?

20-30 minutes.

And how much would/does that cost?

I actually stayed at the Evergreen Laurel which is a bit further than Georgetown and the cost was MYR38.There is a taxi booth near the exit where you purchase a voucher for the cab.

[FashionistasSamui]

Hi all,

Just got in touch with Samui High Speed Group to ask for a Return-Ticket Samui/Penang with Fire Fly.

They are charging 6200 THB. On Fire Fly's Website one might book the Ticket by Creditcard and this will cost at least

nearly 5000 THB. I DO HAVE READ SEVERAL TIMES IN THIS FORUM THAT SOME GOT IT FOR 3800 THB! Where do I get it for that price? I have to reniew my Non Immigrant B Single Entry Visa and find it quite expensive as I have to go out on 24th, means I can return only by wednesday as I will get back my passport by tuesday midday, too late to catch their tuesday' s flight to Samui!So I have to add the Hotel - Charges for 3 nights and additional expenses for my living there. So it will cost me a minimum of 12.000 THB minimum to go by plane. Unfortunately, there seems to be no Bus-Run this weekend... I am used to go with Julie's Visarun in the past, but she has no reservations, except mine, of course it makes no sense, going with just 1 Person. Does anyone has an idea to make it for lower costs?

Thanks in advance!

M.

it is private but not restricted to BA only, there is a flight to KL by Berjaya Air imo overpriced at ~9000 THB for return ticket by a small and slow plane,

it's great to have an affordable international flight to Penang for visa runs

for ticketing - try Samui High Speed Group on Chaweng (in the soi in front of Central Samui)

they sell all airlines including AirAsia, 12Go etc, should have this flight too

most travel agents use the company - they're the biggest wholesale ticketing agent in Samui

tel 077 231102-4

I guess you mean PG....

[FashionistasSamui]

Hi all,

Just got in touch with Samui High Speed Group to ask for a Return-Ticket Samui/Penang with Fire Fly.

They are charging 6200 THB. On Fire Fly's Website one might book the Ticket by Creditcard and this will cost at least

nearly 5000 THB (NOT 3800 THB) . Where did you got it for that price?

M.

M.Hey Everyone,

I managed to make the booking in the end.

Fly out Saturday, have a night over in Penang, back to Samui on Sunday.

Return ticket 400MYR online (around 3800 Baht)

Definitely a bargain if you ask me. In my opinion the best way to do a visa run. I'd rather do this any day than endure the horrific organised visa run

Cinders.

[martaway]

just booking Samui/Penang for August and see the flights now leave 4.40pm

Does anyone know if it is possible to obtain a visa staying only 2 nights on Penang ?

i.e leave Mon 16.40 Samui return Penang 16.00 Wed ?

[martaway]

go careful booking on firefly website.

my booking was over charged

[danw]

just booking Samui/Penang for August and see the flights now leave 4.40pm

Does anyone know if it is possible to obtain a visa staying only 2 nights on Penang ?

i.e leave Mon 16.40 Samui return Pnang 16.00 Wed ?

I'm trying this this week, leaving on tuesday returning on thursday - will let you know if it worked out.

[danw]

Am back and legal for another 3 months :-) the whole thing went very smoothly

Checked in at 3pm Tuesday in Samui for the 4.40 flight, arrived in Penang at 7pm ish, 38 Ringit for a taxi to Hotel Mingood (chosen as it was cheapish and had free wifi in the room - fulfilled all expectations!). On arrival they asked if I was there to get a visa, and offered for 140 Ringit to sort it all out for me - the visa costs 110 Ringit anyway so I probably saved money on 4 taxis by letting them sort it all out, it also meant i could chill in the hotel using the broadband. Visa arrived back to me at 12pm (earlier than I would have been able to collect from the embassy in person) on Thursday, straight to the airport and back in Samui at 5pm Thursday - 52 hours in total.

So in total, pretty much dead on two days, and it cost 5000b for the flight, and about 3200 for hotel, visa and taxis. I'll use Firefly and Mingood again!

http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.p...-13580/reviews/

[gennady30]

Hi everybody,

I booked Samui-Penang ticket at www.fireflyz.com.my for THB2'209 one way as it was indicated on my PC screen. It supposed to be USD64.23. They credited my card immediately for USD642.34.

Isn't it a budget airline? A pretty expensive for a 1 hr flight :-(.

P.S. The FireFlyz staff did not seem to be very helpful and stop the transaction in time. I'm still trying to resolve the problem.

Henry

Edited July 14, 2007 by gennady30

[martaway]

Hi everybody,

I booked Samui-Penang ticket at www.fireflyz.com.my for THB2'209 one way as it was indicated on my PC screen. It supposed to be USD64.23. They credited my card immediately for USD642.34.

Isn't it a budget airline? A pretty expensive for a 1 hr flight :-(.

P.S. The FireFlyz staff did not seem to be very helpful and stop the transaction in time. I'm still trying to resolve the problem.

Henry

i had the same experience.2 flights booked cost = 7300 baht.my account debited 73000 baht.

after several snotty emails and phone calls i have received a full refund.

go careful booking,as i said in earlier posting

[danw]

Stop Press..... maybe not as succesful and simple as I thought - exactly the same issue happened here, I called to check my c/c balance and lo and behold, it was about 650 quid over - the only logical explanation is that their ecommerce platform is f&^%&d and that it always charges in ringit.. ouch. Glad I didnt choose zimbabwean currency. The ecommerce platform is screwed on the currency, which is very annoying as they must know about it, and as an ecommerce developer, I know it should be very simple to fix.

I had read the post about the overcharge, and was very careful through the whole procedure that it was in baht, however the final charge went through as ringit.

I called both Mastercard and Firefly today - wont be a problem sorting it out one way or another, but obviously inconvenient for everybody this has happened to. And probably going to involve a load of faxing back and forth.

The lady at Firefly was friendly enough, however quoted 14 days to sort it out and refund me. She actually said, and I quote 'this has happened with many customers'

So I amend my satisfaction - the flight was fast and great for a visa run, but I will never,ever use the online booking again, buy in cash from an agent!!!!

Hope everybody gets refunded quickly and successfully.

Edited July 17, 2007 by danw

[BigC]

firefly don't fly tell you why later

[BigC]

my fire fly story.

i have 2 passports becuase one of them was full so i had to get a new one from bangkok.

i booked my ticket no problem. they were happy to take my cash off me. got to the airport checked in my luggage. then through immergration conrtol before i got to the depearter lounge.

either the immeration did not know his job or he just wanted to give me a problem but he said i could fly becuase i had to go to natong and change the stamp from my old passport to my new passport.

the immergration office was closed and it was sunday.

went back to fire fly. they would not refund my ticket and they would not move my ticket to another date. i understand it wa not there fault but as a new comapmny they should look after there custmers becuase it was not my fault either.

i got the the immergation police the next day in Natong and they asked me " why you not take both passports to the airport" i told them that i did.

she told me there was no reason the officer should not have let me fly and to go back to the air port.

i could not afford another mistake.

the next flight out of samui was on a tueday. 1 day after my visa exp.

so i flow to bangkok that day then flow air aisa to penag.

cost me an arm and a leg and spent 15 000 baht for nothing.

i will carry on working on a refund becuase i do some serious writing.

i want to give them a chance to make good.

i know it wasn't there fault but " proffessional airlines" would refund the ticket due to a death at short notice or some other proper reason why it would be impossible to fly. i mean a death of a relitive. that would not be the airline fault but they would refund.

i hope i get my money back or the lid of the kettle will blow. talking about that my coffee is ready. laters

[marshall stanley]

FireFly is a discount subsidary of MAS and is based in Penang. They operate a daily flight from Penang to both Koh Samui and Phuket using Folker 44 seat overhead winged turboprop aircraft. The FireFly flight departs from Samui daily at 16:40 and has an easy check-in process at the old terminal (now International). The flight takes an hour and 20 minuts. Penang is one hour ahead from Thailand time.

When booking online beware of a Phishing website that will intercept you. Just wait it out and you will eventually get the "Real" FireFly website. Your browser will warn you of a certificate mismatch. Just keep looking at the screen until it goes away. Do not give your credit card details until it does go away.

I did the process online, printed out my itinerary, took that to the airport where they looked at my passport and gave me a boarding pass and zippo....off to Penang. My round trip airfare was:

THB 799. each way (raw air fare)

It totaled out with a lot of add-on taxes to THB 4,028. But you will get a slightly different air fare depending on how far out in time you book ahead. My friend booked 3 days ahead and paid THB 5,400. I booked two weeks in advance which allowed no changes. the lowest fare is a "Q" fare. The next higher fare is an "S" fare (wich allows a change).

Hope this is helpful to you all.

I manage the Baan Shadis Resort on Soi 5 in Mae Nam and have a travel and airline background.

If anyone needs help on this FireFly deal I will be happy to be of assistance. No charge for the first 5 minutes of help :-)

My office number is 077-247-647 (when I am in there)

Anyone needing a accommodations in Mae Nam, the resort prices are 1,500 per night, 5,500 per week, 15.000 per month.

The five villa's are large well kept quiet secluded and in a thick tropical garden - privacy rules.

Stan

[martaway]

firefly just rang with a change of flight times

penang to samui is now 14.55

would be interested to hear of what time people have been returned their passports from the consulate ?

also who was the agent

looks like the new times will be cutting it fine ?