BA upbeat on new services despite monetary crisis<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): British Airways is set to boost its services in
\nIndonesia and is upbeat that the country's economic problems will
\nnot hamper its expansion plan.<\/p>\n
The airline's marketing manager for Indonesia Maureen Budiman
\nsaid the monetary crisis and the haze problem, which had been
\naffecting the country, would only be temporary.<\/p>\n
She said the buying power of Indonesia's middle-class would
\ncontinue to increase despite the monetary problem, which had
\nslashed the value of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar by about
\n35 percent since the crisis began in early July.<\/p>\n
To cater to Indonesians' growing buying power, British Airways
\nwill increase its services connecting Jakarta and London through
\nKuala Lumpur to seven times a week in October 1998.<\/p>\n
British Airways currently serves the Jakarta-London route five
\ntimes a week, except on Monday and Friday.<\/p>\n
\"We are looking forward to serving the daily Jakarta-London
\nroute through Kuala Lumpur in October next year,\" Maureen said
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
She said the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of
\nTourism, Post and Telecommunications had approved the plan and
\nBritish Airways was now waiting for the go-ahead from Indonesian
\nflag carrier Garuda Indonesia and the British government.<\/p>\n
She said the British government and Garuda Indonesia had yet
\nto discuss compensation for Garuda for the additional services by
\nBritish Airways.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia should receive
\ncompensation for the new services by British Airways. They are
\ndiscussing the case now,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Maureen said the depreciation of currencies across Southeast
\nAsian had little impact on the British airline's business.<\/p>\n
\"We only felt the rupiah's depreciation against the American
\ndollar earlier this month,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said business between July and October was normal.<\/p>\n
\"This week has really been lousy for business,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said the average load factor for the Jakarta-London route
\nwas 70 percent on normal business days. She declined to mention
\nthe rate on lousy days.<\/p>\n
Thick haze, which has covered most parts of the region and has
\ncaused a drop in tourism, also did not adversely affect the
\nairline's business in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta hasn't felt the impact of the thick haze -- unlike
\nKuala Lumpur. So the Jakarta-London route is not affected by the
\nhaze at all,\" she said.<\/p>\n
British Airways operates 356-seat Boeing 747-400 aircraft
\nalong the Jakarta-London route.<\/p>\n
Maureen said the seat configuration consisted of 13 first-
\nclass seats, 56 business-class seats and the remaining for
\neconomy class.<\/p>\n
She said the British airline had allocated some Rp 24 trillion
\n(US$7 billion) in new investment to improve its services,
\naircraft, facilities and training for the next three years.<\/p>\n
The new investment would cover the purchase of 43 new
\naircraft, including 29 Boeing 747-400s, nine 777s and five 757s.<\/p>\n
\"This will give the airline a huge fleet of 67 Boeing 747-400s
\nin a fleet of over 300 aircraft,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Currently, British Airways operates 308 aircraft serving 90
\ncountries worldwide and has major alliances with Qantas Airways
\nand American Airlines. (aly)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ba-upbeat-on-new-services-despite-monetary-crisis-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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