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)