Firefly will be the fourth no-frills carrier to fly the lucrative route from the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, adding competition to rivals AirAsia, Jetstar and Tiger Airways in a market hit by the global economic slump.

It will start three daily flights from July 1 from Subang airport near Kuala Lumpur to Singapore for an all-inclusive one-way fare from RM88 (S$35). It will increase the frequency to four times daily from July 12.

Firefly will have an advantage in terms of location over its rivals, which operates from the main Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Subang airport is only 25 kilometres from the city, less than half the time it takes to travel to the main airport, which is 60km away.

Later in July, Firefly will also fly to Singapore from the Malaysian cities of Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu and Kuantan. Flights from the historical state of Malacca will start in September.

The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore air route - Asia's fourth-busiest - was controlled by the two countries' state-run carriers for over three decades. Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia and Singapore-based Jetstar and Tiger Airways were allowed to operate the route from February 2008 as part of air services liberalisation.

Launched in April 2007, Firefly currently flies to several Malaysian cities, the Thai resort islands of Phuket and Koh Samui and to Banda Aceh, Medan and Pekanbaru in Indonesia. -- AP