Air India to add Jakarta-Mumbai flights

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

India's national flag carrier, Air India, plans to increase its flights on the Jakarta-Mumbai route, but also to terminate other services.

Air India Manager for Indonesia Ranjana N. Adsul said on Monday that beginning July 10 the airline would serve the Jakarta-Mumbai route three times a week -- on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays.

The airline currently serves three destinations from Jakarta -- Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, all via Singapore.

Adsul said the airline would add another flight on the Jakarta-Mumbai route on Fridays, starting on Aug. 19.

From its hub in Mumbai, the airline connects cities in India with the European, Middle Eastern and African countries, as well as the United States.

"Our reason for serving only the Jakarta-Mumbai route is because Mumbai is one of the busiest cities in India. It is a major commercial center," said Adsul, adding that her company saw great potential for growth in commercial relations between Indonesia and India in the future.

Two-way trade between India and Indonesia stood at US$3 billion in 2004, a significant increase from the previous year's $2.4 billion.

Adsul explained that with more Indian investors coming to Indonesia, her company expected its business to increase by between 20 percent and 25 percent this year.

The company was also targeting an 80 percent increase in the number of passengers flying to India to 45,000 this year from around 25,000 last year.

The Air India board has approved a plan to increase the size of the airline's fleet by 74 aircraft in addition to its existing fleet of 21 aircraft, which include Boeing 777-200 ERs, 747-400s, 747-400 Combis and Airbus 310s.

The plan, which is expected to be fully completed by 2012, is based on an annualized capacity growth of 12 percent over the period.

Adsul said that Air India expected a significant increase in the number of Indians visiting Indonesia following the extension of the visa-on-arrival policy to India. (001)