Flights full as storm fears unfounded<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A storm forecast by the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG)
\nhas failed to deter holidaymakers from the beaches of Yogyakarta,
\nBali and Lombok, and just as well, as the warning has been
\ndeclared a false alarm.
\n Flight bookings and hotel reservations prior to the Chinese New
\nYear and Islamic New Year holidays remain high, industry
\nrepresentatives said.
\n "Media reports of a possible storm along Yogyakarta's south
\ncoast have had no influence on reservations for our flights this
\nweekend," Adam Air public relations and promotions officer Dyah
\nPuspawardhani, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
She added that Adam Air had been putting people wanting to
\ntravel to Bali on a waiting list, particularly economy class
\npassengers.<\/p>\n
"So far, we haven't received any cancellations for the holiday
\nperiod," she said.<\/p>\n
As reported earlier, the BMG's Yogyakarta and East Java
\noffices warned last week that a storm would soon strike the
\nregion, heading for Java's southern coastal areas between Feb. 8
\nand Feb. 13.<\/p>\n
The BMG offices had said the storm was currently in Australian
\nwaters and was expected to move toward Indonesia.<\/p>\n
However, the forecast was later dismissed by the head of
\nforecasting and services at BMG's central office Achmad Zakir,
\nwho said on Monday that the storm would not hit Indonesia as it
\nhad naturally moved away from the equator line.<\/p>\n
General manager\/corporate secretary of state-owned Merpati
\nNusantara, Jaka Pujiyono, said his airlines had actually received
\nmore reservations for the holiday period since the warning was
\nissued.<\/p>\n
"Our load factor has increased by 5 percent this week from an
\naverage of 75 percent in previous weeks," he said.<\/p>\n
Hotel reservations have not dropped due to the warning either.<\/p>\n
"Reservations for Yogyakarta, Bali and Lombok through our
\ntravel agent have not been influenced," said Agus, a reservation
\nofficer at Puri Tour Travel Agent.<\/p>\n
Sales and marketing manager of Panorama Management Company,
\nTom McIfle, said reports on the possible storm did not affect
\nflight reservations booked through his travel agent, as most
\nclients had reserved seats on flights to their hometowns --
\nmostly Medan, Palembang, Pontianak and Surabaya.<\/p>\n
He added reservations for international flights to Singapore,
\nHong Kong, Malaysia, China and Australia remained stable, at
\nabout 20 percent of the agency's total reservations.<\/p>\n
Lanny Pohan, who works for an insurance company, said she had
\nignored the forecast and planned to travel to Bali this week.<\/p>\n
"Of course, I listen to the news," she told the Post. "But it
\n(false alarms) often happens in Indonesia." (004)<\/p>",
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