Airlines to introduce new airfares on Monday

Airlines to introduce new airfares on Monday

JAKARTA (JP): Garuda Indonesia, Merpati Nusantara, Bouraq and Mandala airlines have announced that they will introduce the new airfares on Monday, April 8.

Sempati Air's spokesman told The Jakarta Post yesterday the airline would discuss the new fares on Monday.

New economy airfares have been set in line with the domestic land, sea and air transportation hikes of between 9.2 and 66.7 percent, which the government announced on Wednesday would go into effect as of Thursday.

Under Decree No. 20/1996, dated April 3, 1996, and signed by Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, airfare increases have been categorized under jet and non-jet fares.

The increases range between Rp 250 (US$0.11) per passenger per kilometer for a distance over 1,500 kilometers for jets and Rp 386 ($0.108) per passenger per kilometer for a distance over up to 150 kilometers for other aircraft.

The airfare hikes will be calculated automatically every six months in line with the fluctuation of the rupiah against the dollar.

Economy-class airfares were set in 1993 and have not been increased since. The airfare hikes announced on Wednesday range between 14 percent and 23 percent.

Airport bus

The government also announced that the bus fare from Jakarta to Soekarno-Hatta airport has been raised from Rp 3,000 to Rp 4,000 per passenger.

Meanwhile, land transportation operators, mostly buses, have started charging passengers the new fares. As there were not new charge meters immediately available, some taxies yesterday charged passengers for additional fees, while some cabs did not.

The state-owned railway service, Perumka, will introduce the new fares tomorrow, its spokeswoman, Nenny Siti Hasanah, the Post in Bandung yesterday. An official announcement on the matter will be made today, she said. (icn)