Extra flights not used by foreign airlines<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Several international airlines including EVA
\nAir, Emirates Airlines and Singapore Airlines (SIA) denied on
\nFriday that they have asked the government for permission to
\nboost flight frequency from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
EVA Air's assistant manager for the passenger section Diana
\nMawarsari said the airline didn't need extra flights to meet the
\nrise in outbound passengers.<\/p>\n
\"We can still take more passengers without extra flights as
\nour load factor is still about 64 percent,\" she told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
She said EVA Air opened only one extra flight during last
\nyear's May riots when a great number of both Indonesians and
\nforeigners fled the country to avoid being trapped in the unrest
\nwhich led to the downfall of former president Soeharto on May 21
\nafter 32 years of rule.<\/p>\n
EVA Air flies seven times a week from Jakarta to Taipei and
\nfive times a week from Surabaya via Denpasar to Taipei.
\n At least 48 foreign airlines operating in Indonesia have asked
\nfor the government's approval to increase their flights to
\nanticipate a possible surge in outbound passengers in the coming
\nmonths, a senior aviation official has said.<\/p>\n
Director General for Aviation of the Ministry of
\nCommunications Soenaryo Yosopratomo said on Thursday at least 48
\nforeign airlines had asked for government approval to boost their
\nIndonesian flights.<\/p>\n
\"On average, they asked permission to expand their flights by
\n40 percent above their regular frequencies,\" he was quoted by
\nBisnis Indonesia as saying. But he added none of them had used
\nthe extra flights and the volume of outbound passengers was still
\nwithin the normal level.<\/p>\n
The official did not say the reasons why the airlines sought
\nextra flights. But tour operators said that booking for overseas
\ntrips were on the increase as many people wanted to avoid
\npossible unrest ahead, during and after the general election in
\nJune.<\/p>\n
He said the aviation industry considered the recent increase
\nin outbound traffic of up to 30 percent at the Jakarta Soekarno
\nHatta International Airport as normal.<\/p>\n
Analysts have warned that the rivalry among the 48 political
\nparties contesting the election could spark a further unrest.<\/p>\n
Emirates Airlines sales manager Ilonka Leiwakabessy echoed
\nMawarsari's explanation, saying more passengers could still be
\nserved with the existing flights.<\/p>\n
Emirates Airlines, which flies three times a week to serve
\nreturn flights from Dubai, Colombo, Singapore and Jakarta, has an
\naverage load factor of 70 percent, she said.<\/p>\n
While SIA's general manager for Indonesia, Alfreds Vijendran,
\nsaid the airlines' existing flights were still able to
\naccommodate the surge in demand.<\/p>\n
\"We expect the load factor to continue going up to about 70
\npercent for May from 65 percent recorded for April,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"This figure (70 percent), however, is still not good compared
\nto at least 80 percent we usually booked before the economic
\ncrisis began,\" he added.<\/p>\n
SIA flies seven times a day from Jakarta to Singapore, nine
\ntimes a week from Surabaya to Singapore and three times a day
\nfrom Denpasar to Singapore.<\/p>\n
The only foreign airline that has declared its flight
\nexpansion was Japan Air Lines (JAL).<\/p>\n
In mid-April, JAL doubled its weekly flights to 14 times from
\na previous seven to connect Jakarta and Surabaya to destination
\ncities in Tokyo, Osaka and Narita.<\/p>\n
JAL's sales manager for Indonesia Shuichi Sakamoto said the
\nincrease was to meet the high outbound demand during school
\nholidays of May and June, and not to accommodate the forecasted
\nmass exodus of Indonesians who might flee the country to avoid
\npossible riots.<\/p>\n
According to Soenaryo, the government would use the Halim
\nPerdanakusuma airport in East Jakarta, which currently serves
\nonly presidential, governmental and chartered flights, as an
\nemergency gateway for necessary evacuation. (cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/extra-flights-not-used-by-foreign-airlines-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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