Star Air set to commence flights by the end of May<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Privately-owned local airline PT Star Air will
\ncommence flights from Jakarta to Surabaya in East Java, Makassar
\nin South Sulawesi, and Medan in North Sumatra, by the end of May.<\/p>\n
Star Air president Ale Sugiarto told The Jakarta Post on
\nThursday that the airline was expecting its two Boeing 737-200
\nplanes to arrive in mid-May, and that, following an aircraft
\nassessment by the Ministry of Transportation and
\nTelecommunication, the airline would be ready to service
\ncustomers.<\/p>\n
\"We will operate three flights a day to Surabaya and one
\nflight a day to Medan and Makassar,\" he said, adding that the
\naircraft were built in 1981.<\/p>\n
Star Air, established in May last year, is a joint venture
\nbetween PT Dwipusaka Abadi, which owns 75 percent, and PT Habitat
\nSaga Perkasa, which has a 25 percent holding. The company's total
\ncapital investment is valued at Rp 200 billion (about US$20
\nmillion).<\/p>\n
Dwipusaka Abadi is a holding company of tour and travel agents
\nAnta Tour, Vaya Tour, and Ramada Bintang Bali Hotel.<\/p>\n
Ale said that he plans to operate flights to China and Hong
\nKong by the end of the year, which will provide essential foreign
\ncurrency revenue.<\/p>\n
\"With the rupiah's value fluctuating like it is now, we need
\nincome in dollars to offset our operating expenses, 70 percent of
\nwhich are in dollars,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Ale added that Star Air was also eying routes to Kuala Lumpur,
\nBangkok, the United States and Europe within the first five years
\nof operation.<\/p>\n
He said that, unlike other airlines that give big discounts to
\nattract passengers, Star would instead compete on its quality of
\nservices.<\/p>\n
\"Of course, we will give a promotional discount rate for the
\nfirst month of our operation, but it will not be so high,\" Ale
\nsaid, adding that the discount may be in the range of 20 percent.<\/p>\n
The market for new airlines to service domestic destinations
\nwas still wide open, he said, explaining that there were smaller
\nroutes across the country that were not yet being serviced.<\/p>\n
\"Eventually we will service those smaller routes to complement
\nour main destinations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In the first five years, the company plans to lease two
\nadditional aircraft, a Boeing 737-400 and Boeing 767-200ER, with
\npurchases planned in the second five years for another Boeing
\n767-200ER and a Boeing 747-400 for long hauls.<\/p>\n
Ale said he does not see other airlines as his competitors,
\nbut rather his partners in creating a high quality airline
\nindustry in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"I think the more competition there is, the better it is for
\nthe industry. Then competition will be about high quality
\nservice, which will eventually benefit customers,\" he said<\/p>\n
The government's decision last year to open the way for
\nprivately-owned airlines to operate scheduled flights has
\nresulted in a stream of new local airlines vying for domestic and
\ninternational routes.<\/p>\n
Besides the four existing airlines -- PT Garuda Indonesia, PT
\nMerpati Nusantara, PT Mandala Airlines, and PT Bouraq Indonesia
\n-- at least six other airlines are currently in operational.<\/p>\n
These include PT Dirgantara Air Services, PT Bayu Indonesia
\nAir, PT Awair Internasional, PT Lion Mentari Airlines, PT Pelita
\nAir Service, and PT Airmark Indonesia. (tnt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/star-air-set-to-commence-flights-by-the-end-of-may-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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