Domestic air passenger numbers rise 24.19 percent

Domestic air passenger numbers rise 24.19 percent

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The number of airline passengers on domestic flights surged
24.19 percent to 7.67 million passengers between January and
September this year compared to the same period last year,
signaling a revival of the country's airline industry.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said that the highest
volume of traffic for domestic passengers was generated by
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, which saw an
increase of about 35 percent in domestic passengers between
January and September 2001.

Indonesian Air Carriers Association (Inaca) chairman Wahyu
Hidayat admitted over the weekend that he was amazed at the
increase.

"I don't understand myself why it (domestic air travel)
surged. We are not out of the (economic) crisis, yet people are
opting to travel by air," he told The Jakarta Post.

Wahyu said that the entrance of new airlines into the domestic
market over the last couple of years and tight price competition
between airlines could be one reason for the increase.

He said that customers now had a wider range of airlines to
choose from and a choice in airline ticket pricing.

"For example, a return flight to Medan (North Sumatra)
recently fell to as low as Rp 699,000 (about US$66.6) compared to
Garuda's price to the same destination of more than Rp 1
million," Wahyu said, referring to the national flag carrier,
Garuda Indonesia.

The government's decision to liberalize its policy on
privately-owned airlines over recent years, has resulted in the
entrance of seven new airlines, in addition to the five already
in existence.

The new airlines are PT Dirgantara Air Service (DAS), PT Air
Mark Indonesia, PT Air Wagon International (Awair), PT Bayu
Indonesia Air, PT Lion Airlines, PT Jatayu Air, and PT Star Air.

They join the already established PT Garuda Indonesia, PT
Merpati Nusantara, PT Mandala Airlines, PT Bouraq Indonesia, and
PT Pelita Air Service.

Decentralization might be another reason for the increase,
Wahyu said, with the center of business and the circulation of
money no longer focused on Jakarta.

"The growth centers are shifting to the provinces, so
everybody's starting to move to the provinces (for business)," he
said.

Wahyu said that the terrorist attacks on the United States,
which had dampened Americans' appetites for traveling by air, had
not had the same effect on Indonesians.

"The attacks have had no impact on domestic travelers. Most
importantly, the price of tickets has not gone up," he said.

Domestic passengers will likely increase further as the nation
braces for the annual exodus for the religious holidays later
this month.

Director General of Air Transportation Soenaryo Yosopratomo
had earlier said that domestic traffic would likely increase by
20 percent.

In contrast, the number of passengers on international flights
between January and September 2001 dropped 0.18 percent to 3.34
million passengers due to continued security uncertainties in the
country and the fallout from the U.S. terrorist attacks.

International passengers passing through the capital dropped
by 4.04 percent to only 1.7 million people compared to the
January to September period last year.