AdamAir to buy 20 A320 over 5 years
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After receiving its license to fly to Singapore, locally owned airline AdamAir is now laying out an aggressive expansion plan, which includes a purchase of up to 20 Airbus A320 planes over the next five years.
"We opted for Airbus because of several of its energy-saving features and more spacious cabins. Currently, we are finalizing the deal now and the purchase will be made over several phases for the next five years," said AdamAir chief communication officer Dave F. Laksono on Monday.
An A320 has a seating capacity of 100 to 220 passengers (depending how the airline chooses to configure it), while a Boeing 737-200 can carry up to 219 passengers.
According to the Airbus regional communications representative Anthony Phillips, a new A320 would cost between $55 million and $65 million.
Currently, the airline flies domestically as well as regionally with 18 leased Boeing 737 aircraft.
In 2003, the airline was operating with just two aircraft.
"We are expanding aggressively because the regional market is promising," Dave said, adding that over the next five years the airline would want to have a fleet of around 60 aircraft.
Having secured a license to fly to Singapore earlier this month, the airline, which had its maiden flight in December 2003, plans to fly to other cities in the region.
"We are revising our business plan to keep it up-to-date with the market. With the license we received from Singapore, it will be easier to expand the regional routes," said Dave.
Claiming to be the first "boutique airline" and not a budget carrier, AdamAir received its license to fly three times a day from Jakarta to Singapore. By the middle of 2006, it plans to also fly to Singapore from Medan and Surabaya.
According to a Malaysian newspaper, Singapore declined Awair's permit request because of its budget carrier status.
"AdamAir got the license in a fair deal. We are simply aiming at a niche market by still providing in-flight services that are not as costly as premium airlines," he said.
After Singapore, AdamAir will open routes to Chinese cities by the end of 2006.
"We are currently trying to also get licenses to fly to India, Thailand and Malaysia," Dave added.