Flights between Jakarta and Beijing resume<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
China's flag carrier Air China resumed its Beijing-Jakarta
\nroute on Jan. 9 after dropping it in April 1998 due to a
\nfinancial crisis in the company and the security problems in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Garuda Indonesia announced that it would also re-
\nopen its Jakarta-Beijing route on Jan. 18. The airline stopped
\nserving the route in October 1997 due to the severe economic
\ncrisis in the country.<\/p>\n
Air China plans to fly twice a week from Jakarta and twice a
\nweek from Beijing to Jakarta. The flights, using Boeing 737\/700
\nplanes with a capacity of 128 passengers, will transit in Xiamen,
\nChina.<\/p>\n
\"Some 70 percent of Indonesians of Chinese descent living in
\nChina reside in Xianmen, so it's the right city to transit in,\"
\nsaid airline general manager Diao Hang on Monday.<\/p>\n
He also said that he could not estimate passenger figures
\nbecause Indonesia would hold general elections this year.<\/p>\n
\"I can't give any projection but it will take sales of at
\nleast 50 percent of the seats to keep the route running,\" Diao
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He added that the airline also planned to serve the Beijing-
\nDenpasar route since \"Denpasar is a popular tourist destination
\namong the Chinese people\".<\/p>\n
Garuda Indonesia plans to provide direct flights three times a
\nweek for the Jakarta-Beijing route, using its A-330 plane that
\nhas a capacity of 293 passengers.<\/p>\n
\"The decision was taken after seeing a 10 percent increase in
\nthe number of passengers going to China and back within the last
\nfive years,\" said the airline's communication head, Pujobroto.<\/p>\n
The growing level of trade between the two countries and the
\nciting of Indonesia as a tourist destination in March 2002 by the
\nChinese government were also factors that could boost the number
\nof travelers between the countries, said Pujobroto.<\/p>\n
He added that over 130,000 Indonesians went to China in the
\nlast three years, and predicted that the figure would rise to
\nsome 345,000 in 2004.<\/p>\n
\"We'll also increase the frequency of flights to Shanghai and
\nGuangzhou from three times to five times a week,\" added
\nPujobroto.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/flights-between-jakarta-and-beijing-resume-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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