Garuda closes its Manado-Taipei route

Garuda closes its Manado-Taipei route

Jongker Rumthe, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

National flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia announced it was
halting flights between the North Sulawesi capital Manado and
Taiwan because of the sharp drop in passenger loads over the past
six months.

The head of Garuda's branch office in Manado, Koko Ritongga,
said on Monday Garuda closed its Manado-Taipei route on April 12,
the second time the airline had halted the route since opening it
in December 2001.

"The (route's) prospects are no longer promising," Koko said.

Garuda, he said, had incurred a total loss of US$700,000 on
the route since October 2001, when it was reopened following an
eight-month suspension.

"The drop in passenger load has worsened since SARS struck
Taiwan last March," he added.

Taiwan is one of several countries in Asia affected by Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.

But Ritongga said the prospect's for the route were bleak even
before the SARS outbreak.

Garuda opened the Manado-Taipei route in December 2001 and
after only four months found that it was not profitable, closing
it in March 2002.

In October last year, however, the North Sulawesi government
asked that the route be reopened, promising to shoulder some of
Garuda's operational costs.

According to Ritongga, the province promised to quote the
airline a number of costs like fiscal payments, landing fees and
fuel costs in rupiah rather than US dollars. But, he said, the
promise had not been kept.

Over the last six months a total of 2,500 passengers flew
from Manado to Taipei aboard Garuda, said Gito, the head of
Garuda's ticket office in Manado. He said the number was 2,600
passengers from Taipei to Manado.

Meanwhile, an official with Singapore's Silk Air said that
airline's passenger load on its Manado route had also fallen
since SARS hit Singapore last month.

The passenger load had fallen by between 40 percent and 50
percent, said Silk Air's customer service manager in Manado,
Devi.

She said the airline would maintain its Manado-Singapore
route, though the flight frequency would be reduced to twice a
week from three times a week.

Silk Air would review its flight schedule next June, she said.