Garuda suspends Europe service<\/p>\n
Asip A. Hasani, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
The country's flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia will temporarily
\nsuspend its service from the tourist island of Bali to Frankfurt
\nand London due to a sharp decline in the number of passengers
\nusing the service, according to a company executive.<\/p>\n
Garuda vice president for market planning and development
\nMarco Umbas said on Monday that the airline would close the route
\nfor five months starting Feb. 5 until June this year.<\/p>\n
He admitted that currently the company could no longer sustain
\nthe service as passenger volume was too low.<\/p>\n
\"We can't maintain a business which causes financial loses.
\nThe flights are no longer profitable as the income from the
\nflights can't cover direct operating costs,\" Marco told reporters
\non the sidelines of the 2002 Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum (ATF) in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
He said, however, that Garuda would resume the flights
\nin early July as it was expected that more European tourists
\nwould wish to fly to Bali at that time.<\/p>\n
He explained that flights to Europe were no longer profitable
\nfollowing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Marco said that Garuda was planning to raise its
\nflight frequency on the more promising China route.<\/p>\n
Although Bali is the most popular tourist destination in
\nIndonesia, it has also borne the brunt of the Sept. 11 attacks as
\nmany potential visitors avoid traveling to Muslim countries.<\/p>\n
Only 1.3 million foreigners visited Bali in 2001, a 3 percent
\ndecline on 2000 figures, according to the Bali Tourism Office.<\/p>\n
Arrivals from the U.S. and Europe showed the largest declines.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, head of the country's tourism and cultural board
\nSetyanto P. Santoso said that the government would discuss
\nfurther the possibility of providing a subsidy for Garuda in
\norder to maintain the service to Frankfurt and London.<\/p>\n
Setyanto, however, said that prior to granting the subsidy,
\nthe government would first audit the management of Garuda.<\/p>\n
The decision to suspend the service to two major European
\ncities has also sparked criticism from travel agencies as Garuda
\nis seen as an important air carrier for transporting European
\ntourists to Indonesia.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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