Garuda reopens China route amid high demand

Garuda reopens China route amid high demand

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

National flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia reopened its Jakarta-
Guangzhou route on Tuesday in response to increasing passenger
and cargo demand from China, the company's head of communications
Pujobroto said.

The Jakarta-Medan-Guangzhou route was discontinued at the end
of March 1998 in the wake of the Asian economic crisis and the
company's internal difficulties, he said in a statement on
Tuesday.

The reopened route will be served without the Medan stopover
and flown twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, using DC-10
aircraft.

"We also plan to increase the flight frequency to three times
a week during the summer schedule from April to October,"
Pujobroto said.

He said that passenger traffic between Guangzhou and Jakarta
reached 40,037 passengers in 1999, or double that of the previous
year, with tourism accounting for the bulk of reasons for
visiting the country, at 46 percent, followed by business trips,
visiting family, seminars or conferences, religious or health
reasons.

Air cargo also showed a significant increase, with approximate
annual traffic at more than 2,254 tons per year, Pujobroto said,
adding that the majority of the cargo included live turtles,
perishable goods and marine products.

According to the Guangzhou Tourism Board, Chinese nationals
visiting Indonesia totaled 20,000 people last year, while those
visiting China from Indonesia totaled 220,000 people.

The airline also reopened on Dec. 9 its Denpasar-Taipei route,
which had been closed during the crisis.

The new flight will also stop in Manado, North Sulawesi, and
will be flown four times a week using DC-10 aircraft.

Passenger traffic to Indonesia from Taiwan increased by almost
50 percent last year, to 221,286 passengers from 150,430. The
number increased again this year to 236,776 passengers, and next
year it is expected to increase to 253,350 passengers.

Meanwhile, traffic to Taiwan from Indonesia also increased to
114,845 this year, from 107,332 in 2000 and 76,919 in 1999. Some
122,884 passengers are expected from Indonesia next year.