Flight bookings on the rise ahead of holidays

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

With just two weeks to go until the Idul Fitri holiday, city travel agencies say they have been booking more seats on domestic flights for customers since the start of the fasting month.

"Many customers booked tickets early in Ramadhan for fear that, if they waited, they wouldn't make it home for Idul Fitri," Andri, a staff member of a travel agency on Jl. Bintaro Utama told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Agusta, a supervisor of a new airline's branch office on Jl. Bintaro Utama also said bookings had increased since the first day of Ramadhan.

"We have seen a rapid increase in bookings, but have not yet calculated total sales," he said, adding that the airline's ticket sales only rose by 15 percent during the fasting month last year.

Both believed ticket sales would double this year because more people are opting to fly rather than take a train or bus back to their hometowns.

Several customers who came to book flights home were seen patiently waiting for service.

"If I don't book return tickets for my family now, I am afraid that all flights will be fully booked and it will be too late to make other arrangements," said Siti Fajriah, 39, who was booking five tickets to Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

Siti is among some 1.8 million people estimated by the Ministry of Transportation to be planning to travel home by plane before or during the Idul Fitri holiday. This is a 35 percent increase from last year.

"That's the highest increase as compared to the rise for other transportation means," Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa said during a meeting on Wednesday.

Overall, he continued, the number of people traveling back home this year would increase by 6.69 percent at 16.9 million.