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)