Garuda leases 17 aircraft to transport pilgrims

Garuda leases 17 aircraft to transport pilgrims

JAKARTA (JP): National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will
operate two of its own aircraft and lease 17 planes from seven
foreign airlines to transport Indonesian haj pilgrims to Saudi
Arabia this year.

The Ministry of Transportation said here on Saturday that
Garuda will lease two Boeing-747s from Qantas Airlines of
Australia, three Boeing-747s from Air New Zealand, two B-747s
from Singapore Airlines, one B-747 from Air France, one B-747
from Phoenix Airways, four MD-11s and two DC-10s from World
Airways of the U.S. and one MD-11 and one DC-10 from Finnair of
Finland.

The 17 aircraft were selected from 25 planes offered in a
tender made by Garuda during the last few years, the ministry
said.

The ministry did not reveal the costs for leasing the
aircraft.

The 19 aircraft are expected to transport over 157,000 haj
pilgrims from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia and vice versa in this
pilgrimage season beginning in the middle of this month.

Last year, Garuda leased 15 jets to transport 110,000 haj
pilgrims.

The ministry said haj pilgrims will leave Indonesia from four
airports, including Halim Perdanakusumah in Jakarta (193
flights), Juanda in Surabaya, East Java (82 flights), Hasanuddin
in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi (47), and Polonia in Medan, North
Sumatra (27).

The government-organized haj pilgrimage will cost some Rp 6.9
million (US$3,221) per person this season, up from last year's Rp
6.5 million.

Private companies also organize pilgrimage trips at a cost of
between $6,000 and $8,000 per person. (fhp)