Garuda resumes flights to Timika and Fukuoka
By Damar Harsanto
TIMIKA, Irian Jaya (JP): National flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia announced on Wednesday the resumption of flights from Jakarta to the mining town of Timika in Irian Jaya, and from Denpasar, Bali, to the Japanese town of Fukuoka.
Meanwhile, the airline suspended its service to Cairns, Australia, as of last week.
"We've decided to redirect our Cairns flight to Timika instead, as Timika is considered more promising in the near future," Garuda's vice president of marketing, planning and development Marco Umbas said after Wednesday's ceremony marking the resumption of the Timika service. Also present at the ceremony was Irian Jaya governor Jaap Solossa.
Garuda's Fukuoka service also recommenced on Wednesday.
Flights to Timika were halted in 1990 as part of the company's efficiency program.
Marco said that, starting Wednesday, Garuda flew a 134-seat Boeing 737-400 from Jakarta to Timika via Denpasar three times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Previously, Garuda has served two towns in Indonesia's easternmost province, Biak and Jayapura.
Timika, located in the Mimika regency, is the closest town to a giant copper and gold mine owned by PT Freeport Indonesia.
The company is targeting potential passengers among Freeport employees and the company's subcontractors. It also plans to transport cargo to support Freeport's operations, including mining machinery and spare parts.
"We are targeting around 13,500 employees (of Freeport and its subcontractors) and their relatives as customers," Marco said, adding that Garuda had optimistically projected that passenger and cargo rates to and from the mining town would grow by 8 percent and 13 percent respectively per annum.
In the first year of resumed operations, the company has targeted a 70 percent load factor, he said.
Aside from mining cargo, Garuda also expects to transport Timika's aquaculture products, including tuna and shrimps, Marco said.
With regard to the Fukuoka service, Marco said, Garuda decided to restart flights from Denpasar to the city in view of the potential market in the town.
"We shall fly directly from Denpasar to Fukuoka and vice versa every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday using the A-330 aircraft with 293 seats," Marco said.
The resumption of flights to Fukuoka would bring the airline's Japanese destinations to four, Marco said.
Garuda now flies to Tokyo daily and to Osaka and Nagoya four times a week.
Garuda halted its services to 17 international destinations, including Fukuoka, Seoul, Taipei, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, Zurich and Saigon, late in 1997 as part of the retrenchment program implemented to cope with the economic crisis.
Last year, the company also resumed its international flights to Seoul.
Garuda director of commerce Bachrul Hakim said earlier, the resumption of the flights to the 17 destinations had become a top priority for the airline.
He said that, aside from Seoul and Fukuoka, the company was also studying the possibility of resuming its international flights to several destinations in China.
Marco said the airline was now reviewing all of its services to create a strong route structure in domestic and international markets.
Flights to some destinations might be suspended or reduced, while flights to other destinations might be opened or boosted to create a strong route structure, he said.
Next year, after consolidating its route structure, Marco said, the company would commence its expansion projects.
Garuda, which was an unprofitable state enterprise for years, has achieved some success recently, following the government's efforts to revamp its management.
The airline's punctuality over the first half of 2001 rose to 93.5 percent in May from 89 percent in January. This improvement is above the International Air Transport Association's standard of 85 percent, Marco said.
Garuda operates 44 aircraft, comprising 26 Boeing 737s, seven Boeing 747s, six A-330s and five DC-10s. (03)