Garuda reopens Mataram route

Garuda reopens Mataram route

JAKARTA (JP): National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will
reopen its flight services connecting Surabaya in East Java and
Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara starting Oct. 31, an airline
executive said on Monday.

The head of Garuda representative office in Mataram, Didik
Triatmojo, said the reopening of the route was in order to meet
an increasing demand, mostly from businesspeople and tourism
institutions such as the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant
Association (PHRI) and Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel
Agencies (ASITA).

"The potential load factor for the flight is up to 80 percent
because many of the passengers are tourists who want to go to
Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara province," he said.

He told Antara that Garuda flew the Surabaya-Mataram route for
three months in 1995. He did not explain why the airline
terminated the service in December 1995.

The return flights, using Boeing 747 aircraft, will fly
between Surabaya and Mataram once a day. (cst)