Garuda closes its Manado-Taipei route<\/p>\n
Jongker Rumthe, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
National flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia announced it was
\nhalting flights between the North Sulawesi capital Manado and
\nTaiwan because of the sharp drop in passenger loads over the past
\nsix months.<\/p>\n
The head of Garuda's branch office in Manado, Koko Ritongga,
\nsaid on Monday Garuda closed its Manado-Taipei route on April 12,
\nthe second time the airline had halted the route since opening it
\nin December 2001.<\/p>\n
\"The (route's) prospects are no longer promising,\" Koko said.<\/p>\n
Garuda, he said, had incurred a total loss of US$700,000 on
\nthe route since October 2001, when it was reopened following an
\neight-month suspension.<\/p>\n
\"The drop in passenger load has worsened since SARS struck
\nTaiwan last March,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Taiwan is one of several countries in Asia affected by Severe
\nAcute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.<\/p>\n
But Ritongga said the prospect's for the route were bleak even
\nbefore the SARS outbreak.<\/p>\n
Garuda opened the Manado-Taipei route in December 2001 and
\nafter only four months found that it was not profitable, closing
\nit in March 2002.<\/p>\n
In October last year, however, the North Sulawesi government
\nasked that the route be reopened, promising to shoulder some of
\nGaruda's operational costs.<\/p>\n
According to Ritongga, the province promised to quote the
\nairline a number of costs like fiscal payments, landing fees and
\nfuel costs in rupiah rather than US dollars. But, he said, the
\npromise had not been kept.<\/p>\n
Over the last six months a total of 2,500 passengers flew
\nfrom Manado to Taipei aboard Garuda, said Gito, the head of
\nGaruda's ticket office in Manado. He said the number was 2,600
\npassengers from Taipei to Manado.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an official with Singapore's Silk Air said that
\nairline's passenger load on its Manado route had also fallen
\nsince SARS hit Singapore last month.<\/p>\n
The passenger load had fallen by between 40 percent and 50
\npercent, said Silk Air's customer service manager in Manado,
\nDevi.<\/p>\n
She said the airline would maintain its Manado-Singapore
\nroute, though the flight frequency would be reduced to twice a
\nweek from three times a week.<\/p>\n
Silk Air would review its flight schedule next June, she said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/garuda-closes-its-manado-taipei-route-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }