Eastern Airlines to open direct flight to Jakarta

Eastern Airlines to open direct flight to Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): China Eastern Airlines of China plans to link
Beijing and Jakarta directly as the market in Indonesia is
considerably prospective, the company's general manager, Yuan
Dong Fa said.

"We are greatly interested (to open the direct flight) and we
think the market in Indonesia is potentially big," Yuan told
Antara news agency in Singapore yesterday.

He said many Indonesians traveling by China Eastern to the
China mainland boarded in Singapore, but the number of passengers
from Indonesia had increased significantly in recent years.

"This development is the result of improved relationships
between Indonesia and China," Yuan said, adding his company would
offer special packages at more competitive prices to attract more
passengers from Indonesia.

But he said there was still a minor barrier in selling the
tour packages in Indonesia. "Indonesian travelers need several
weeks to arrange a visa to enter China."

There are currently two Chinese air carriers serving
Indonesia. China Southern links Jakarta and Guangzhou twice a
week with Boeing B757s, while Air China serves the Jakarta-
Beijing route via Xiamen twice a week with B767s.

The national airlines Garuda flies from Jakarta to Guangzhou
twice a week, one of which flies on to Beijing. (icn)