Garuda Indonesia will introduce special packages
Garuda Indonesia will introduce special packages
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, will introduce special packages to various international destinations in order to compete better in the global airline industry.
As an initial step, the carrier introduced yesterday their Garuda Hong Kong Package, a special tour package to Hong Kong offering travel insurance for the passengers.
The package includes an economy class round trip ticket to Hong Kong, three days and two nights of accommodation, breakfast, a city tour, bus transportation, a 10 kilogram excess baggage allowance, a souvenir, a traveling bag, tour guidance and a cash coupon for duty free shopping. It is between US$30 to $70 cheaper than similar packages offered by its competitors, according to Garuda's general manager for Jakarta, Iwan H. Susilo
"This is a fight not just a gimmick. We will introduce other packages soon," he said, adding that Garuda currently links Jakarta and Hong Kong 13 times per week.
Iwan said that Garuda ran a Hong Kong travel package before, but it didn't attract customers.
"We have evaluated it and now offer tours proposed by the Hong Kong Travel Association. Travelers will also get travel insurance," he said.
Leading
He said that Garuda has been the leading airline for the Jakarta to Hong Kong route in the last few years, with a stable load factor.
"Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines are the other major carriers which also offer very attractive packages," he said.
According to Iwan, the scheme doesn't violate ticket pricing arrangements introduced by the International Air Transport Association.
"We are offering packages, not cutting ticket prices," he said.
Garuda, which cooperates with the Hong Kong Travel Association and the Central Asia insurance firm, sells the packages for between $689 and $1,126 to Hong Kong and between $686 and $1,227 to Kowloon, depending on the months and hotels.
A senior manager at the Hong Kong Travel Association, Susan Tang, said that the number of Indonesians visiting Hong Kong increased in the last couple of years.
"Last year, Hong Kong received 9.33 million international visitors, up 4.4 percent from 8.93 million in the previous year. The number of Indonesian visitors reached 176,014 in 1994, up one percent from 174,346 in 1993," she said, adding that numbers of visitors from Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia slightly decreased.
She said that the Hong Kong association is optimistic that they will realize a three to five percent increase in the number of tourist arrivals this year. (icn)