Ansett suspends daily flight to Jakarta, KL

Ansett suspends daily flight to Jakarta, KL

SYDNEY, Australia (AP): Australian airline Ansett Holdings Ltd. said yesterday it will suspend its daily service to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur from May 31 as a result of "considerable losses" on the route.

"The decision has been heavily influenced by the worsening economic conditions created by the Asian currency crisis and an over-supply of capacity in the region," Ansett said in a statement.

The announcement comes as latest government figures show the Asian crisis is continuing to damage Australia's tourism industry, with big decreases in tourist numbers from Indonesia and Malaysia as well as Thailand and South Korea.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Tuesday that tourist numbers from Indonesia in the nine months to the end of March, 1998, fell 23 percent compared to the corresponding period the previous year.

Tourist numbers from Malaysia fell by five percent in the same period.

Even larger falls came from South Korea, 38 percent and Thailand, 46 percent, in the same period, the bureau said.

Tourism Council of Australia managing director Bruce Baird said the Asian crisis has cost the Australian tourist industry US$260 million (A$410 million) in the first three months of 1998.

Ansett said the suspension of its service will lead to redundancies for 27 flight attendants and a total of 63 ground staff in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The airline said it plans to continue to travel to its other Asian destinations: Hong Kong, Osaka, Shanghai and Taipei.

In January, Ansett canceled its service to South Korea as travel to Australia by Asian tourists plummeted in the wake of the Asian economic crisis.

In addition, as travel to Bali by Australian tourists climbed, spurred by the weakness of Indonesia's rupiah, Ansett in March added two new flights to Denpasar from Australia.