Batavia to add new Airbuses

Batavia to add new Airbuses

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Low-fare carrier Batavia Air said on Thursday it would lease
three new Airbus A319 next year to strengthen its fleet.

"One will be delivered in January to serve flights to Guang
Zhou (China) and another will come in February to serve flights
from Surabaya to Kuala Lumpur," PT Metro Batavia vice president
for marketing Sjamsi Yunus said.

He said the remaining aircraft would arrive in November and
the company had not yet decided on which route it would operate.

"The new planes will allow us to keep up with other airlines,
especially in serving regional routes," the company's managing
director, Alice Tansari, said.

She said that with the three new Airbuses, the company would
be able to save up to 10 percent on its fuel costs and 43 percent
on maintenance.

"Although the lease price is twice as high than for our older
planes, with the efficiency (of the new aircraft) our operational
costs will be lower," Alice said, without providing details on
the lease prices.

The monthly lease for a newer generation Boeing 737-200 ranges
from US$200,000 to $250,000. However, most airlines in the
country opt for older generation planes with a monthly lease of
$80,000, though the fuel and maintenance costs are higher.

Airbus regional representative Anthony Phillips said earlier a
new Airbus A320 leased for $300,000 a month, while a used A320
was $200,000.

Batavia Air started in 2002 with four planes and currently
operates 24 domestic routes with 21 aircraft, 16 of which are
older generation Boeing 737-200s.

In addition to the new Airbuses, the company will add another
five Boeing 737-300 to its fleet next year as it expands its
domestic routes.

"We have already obtained licenses for 66 domestic routes, but
we are only using 60 percent of the licenses," Sjamsi said.

The company said it would begin flying to Palu, Ujung Pandang,
Balikpapan and Batam next year.

"We will gradually rejuvenate our fleet. Next year we will
start by grounding two of the older Boeings," Sjamsi explained.

As of November, the airline has carried three million
passengers in 2005 and is targeting five million passengers in
2006.

The Ministry of Transportation estimates there will be a total
of 29 million domestic air passengers this year.

National flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia and low-fare airline
Lion Air are the largest airlines in the country, with a 40
percent share and 30 percent share of domestic flights,
respectively.