Garuda cuts domestic, international flights
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned airline Garuda Indonesia has cut the frequency of its domestic and international flights 26 percent and 30 percent respectively as a response to lower ticket sales due to the economic crisis.
Garuda spokesman Pujo Broto said yesterday the airline had reduced its domestic flights to 28 from 38 daily and its international flights to 28 from 40 a week.
The reductions started last month.
"The retrenchment was made to cope with the sharp drop in passengers in both domestic and international routes," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said the affected domestic routes included flights from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, Solo, Semarang, Surabaya, Palembang and Jayapura in Irian Jaya.
The airline has reduced the frequency of its flights between Jakarta and Yogyakarta from seven to six a day, Jakarta and Solo from four to three per day, Jakarta and Semarang from four to three per day, Jakarta and Surabaya from 14 to eight per day, Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, from three to twice a day and Jakarta and Jayapura from seven to four a day.
"The temporary cutback will be in effect from Feb. 16 to March 28," Pujo said, adding that Garuda would make further adjustments to its flight frequencies based on future market conditions.
The measure also has affected international routes, including flights between Jakarta and Seoul, Jakarta and Hong Kong, Jakarta and Singapore and Jakarta and Taipei.
Pujo said Garuda reduced the flight frequency on the Jakarta- Hong Kong route from seven to four a week, while the Jakarta- Taipei route was reduced from five to three a week and the Jakarta-Singapore route from 28 to 21 a week.
"The cut in international flights will be in effect for a month until March 28," he said.
Garuda even temporarily halted all flights linking Jakarta and Seoul, South Korea, from January.
"Garuda will serve that route again when the market recovers," Pujo said without giving further details.
He said Garuda had not cut any flights from Jakarta to European countries as demand from the continent remained bullish.
The secretary-general of the Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA), Benny Rungkat, said the country's airlines would likely collapse by April this year if the government did not intervene and help them face the crippling effects of the monetary crisis.
"The conditions now are very difficult ... the government must intervene soon," Antara quoted him as saying.
He said most Indonesian airlines needed a stable rupiah exchange rate and to have their debts rescheduled.
The Indonesian rupiah was trading at 8,900 against the U.S. dollar yesterday, having lost about 70 percent of its value from 2,450 against the dollar last July.
He said the rupiah's devaluation against the American greenback had swollen government and corporate foreign debt levels, including those of airlines.
Benny said most Indonesian airlines were also having difficulty meeting their aircraft leasing obligations which totaled an estimated US$35 million per month for about 70 planes.
He said Garuda Indonesia and private airlines like Sempati and Bouraq had already begun laying off workers.
Benny said the association was also calling on the government to mediate with lessors and arrange for a grace period or a "soft moratorium" on debt payments until the rupiah stabilized. (aly)