Air France to add flight to Paris-Jakarta route

JAKARTA (JP): Air France says it will go ahead with its expansion plan to add another flight serving the Paris-Jakarta route this year, despite the country's economic slowdown.

The airline's regional general manager Christian Herpin said last week the new flight, an addition to the five existing flights, would start in the middle of this year during an expected peak in tourism.

"It will be an extension of another flight to Singapore," Herpin said at the airline's breaking of the fast gathering Thursday.

Air France serves the Paris-Jakarta route, with one stop in Singapore, five times a week.

Herpin said the additional flight was part of the airline's long-term plan.

"With 200 million people in the country, we would be crazy not to invest here," he said.

"Even with the crisis, it is part of our five-year strategy."

The financial crisis, which has seen the rupiah's value against the U.S. dollar drop over 75 percent since July, has drastically reduced the country's outgoing travelers.

Last year, tourism suffered multiple blows mainly from reports of social unrest and from choking smog which blanketed several parts of the country caused by severe forest fires.

In March, the People's Consultative Assembly will meet to elect a new president, and before then, tourism is likely to be sluggish.

Fears over social unrest caused by the economic crisis and by political tensions surrounding the next presidency have already prompted a large number of foreign tourists to cancel their plans.

Herpin said the airline's load factor had dropped to 55 percent from the normal 85 percent.

But he said incoming visitors would likely rise in the second half of this year because of cheaper travel in Indonesia.

"I am sure things will pick up again after the presidential election in March," Herpin said.

In Indonesia, Air France recorded a 20 percent increase in sales for passenger and cargo services. The airline also agreed last year on an aircraft maintenance project deal with national carrier Garuda Indonesia, he said.

"We are aiming for a 3 percent growth in the market share of Europe-Jakarta flights within three years," Herpin said. He said the airline already had a 7 percent share of the total Europe- Jakarta traffic. (das)