Flights, sailings fully booked ahead of holidays

JAKARTA (JP): Preparations for year-end holidays are underway with airline and ship tickets hard to come by.

According to several travel agents, flights to major domestic and foreign destinations are fully booked, starting this week until Dec. 23.

Denpasar, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Medan, Balikpapan and Makassar are the most popular domestic destinations, and for overseas many Indonesians will be traveling to Singapore, Hongkong and Australia.

"Ship tickets have been sold out for the holidays, and there was no increase in price," Abubakar Goyim, head of communications at the Indonesian National Shipping Company (Pelni) told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Tuesday.

Pelni directly sold some 15 to 20 percent of tickets, while the rest were distributed to travel agents across the country.

A high demand for tickets has increased the presence of scalpers.

The usual economy fare for a ferry from Jakarta to Medan is Rp 172,000, but scalpers are said to be selling tickets as high as Rp 275,000.

Abubakar said Pelni would issue a strong sanction against anyone, either staff or travel agents, who violates the regulation.

"I suggest people not buy tickets from scalpers, and I hope that people will inform us when they come across them," Abubakar said.

In order to serve passengers better during the holidays, Pelni has added four ships to the Jakarta-Sulawesi, Surabaya-Kalimantan and Surabaya-Sulawesi routes, he said.

He said his office would ask for the Indonesian Navy's assistance in providing extra ships if necessary. But how many ships will be needed and the ship's routes have yet to be decided.

Separately, Garuda Indonesia vice president for corporate communications Pujobroto said the airline would increase the frequency of its regular flights, provide extra flights as well as operate larger aircraft for some busy destinations, such as Denpasar, Yogyakarta, Singapore and Australia.

When asked to comment on travel agents selling tickets at a higher cost, Pujobroto said Garuda would also issue a sanction against them.

"People can present the information, accompanied by valid proof, directly to Garuda," he said.

According to some travel agents in the capital, some airlines have also increased their fares during the peak season, such as Mandala and Bouraq Airlines.

While seats on airlines and ships have been fully booked, train tickets have not been sold yet.

Train tickets will be sold directly at the counter seven days before departure date, an official at Gambir railway station told the Post by telephone. (04)