Bouraq to link Manila and Manado later this year

Bouraq to link Manila and Manado later this year

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and the Philippines have agreed to
appoint Bouraq Airlines, one of Indonesia's six scheduled air
carriers, to link Manila and Manado in North Sulawesi.

"The service will begin later this year and we will operate
either Boeing 737-200s or HS/BAE-748s three times weekly," the
company's vice president, Eddyono Salatun, told a press
conference here on Saturday.

He said that Indonesia and the Philippines previously
appointed Garuda Indonesia and Bouraq Airlines and Philippine
Airlines as designated air carriers to create a beneficial,
reciprocal air relationship between the two countries.

Bouraq, whose fleet comprises seven Boeing 737-200s, three
turbo-prop VC-840s, two Cassas and 15 turbo-prop HS/BAE-748s, has
served the route linking Davao in the southern Philippines and
Manado since March. Bouraq operates B-737s twice a week on that
route.

Director General of Tourism Andi Mappi Sammeng said that the
Manila-Manado service is expected to increase the number of
foreign tourists visiting North Sulawesi and other areas in the
eastern part of the country.

"The Bouraq flights can bring tourists from Japan, Hong Kong,
South Korea, Taiwan, Guam and the American West Coast, who are
visiting the Philippines, to Indonesia," he said.

Andi said Taiwan's Trans Asia Airlines will also fly to Manado
starting on Friday.

"The flight will link Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Manado.

The number of tourists visiting Indonesia during the first
five months of this year rose by 21.5 percent to more than 1.25
million people over the same period of last year. Of the total,
2,281 entered Indonesia through Manado.(icn)