Garuda reduces flights on Jakarta-Yogya route

Garuda reduces flights on Jakarta-Yogya route

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned Garuda Indonesia airlines will
reduce its number of daily flights between Jakarta and Yogyakarta
from seven to six starting next week.

"The decision was taken as part of the company's efforts to
cope with the crisis, which has reduced the number of our
passengers on the route," Pudjobroto, a company media-relations
official, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

The monetary crisis, which has seen a 70 percent fall in the
rupiah's value against the U.S. dollar since July, has
drastically reduced the number of travelers in the country and
forced domestic airlines to reduce flights or suspend service on
several routes.

Pudjobroto said Garuda temporarily suspended its Jakarta-Seoul
route last month which had five flights per week.

The company also has temporarily stopped service to Singapore
and Malaysia from North Sumatran capital of Medan.

Sempati Air, the country's largest private airline, has also
suffered a severe loss of business during the crisis.

Sempati will suspend flights to six domestic destinations --
Ambon, Maluku, Denpasar, Bali, Jayapura, Irian Jaya, Manado in
North Sulawesi; Surakarta in Central Java; and Timika, Irian Jaya
-- starting next week due a drop in its number of passengers.

It also will temporarily suspend service to Singapore.

Sempati stopped service on several domestic routes last
September.

The routes include Ampenan, West Nusa Tenggara; Bandung, West
Java; Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan; Dili, East Timor; Kendari,
Southeast Sulawesi; Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara; Padang, West
Sumatra; Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan; Semarang, Central
Java; and Tarakan, East Kalimantan.

Sempati said the crisis has severely affected its business
because it paid 80 percent of its flight costs in dollars and its
load factor has decreased. (jsk)