Govt raises domestic airfares by 4 percent

JAKARTA (JP): The government has raised domestic economy airfares by up to 4 percent due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the rupiah, a ministerial decree showed yesterday.

Based on a decree signed on Oct. 4 by Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, the new airfares, which were not previously announced by the government, were effected on Oct. 8.

Indonesian National Air Carriers Association Chairman Soelarto Hadisumarto told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the airfare increases are appropriate because they are consistent with a decree signed by Minister Haryanto last April, which stated that domestic airfares would be adjusted automatically every six months in line with the fluctuations of the dollar against the rupiah.

In April, the government raised transportation fares, including airfares, based on the considerations of inflation, changes in foreign exchange rates, salary increases of employees of transportation companies, increments in vehicle maintenance costs and higher prices of fuel, vehicles, spare parts and electricity.

According to the Oct. 4 decree, the airfares for jets are set at Rp 285 (12 US cents) per passenger per kilometer for a distance of below 600 kilometers (up 3.63 percent), Rp 278 for a distance between 601 kilometers and 750 kilometers (up 3.34 percent), Rp 270 for a distance between 751 and 900 kilometers (up 3.05 percent), Rp 263 for between 901 and 1,050 kilometers (up 2.73 percent) and Rp 260 for over 1,050 kilometers (up 4 percent).

The new airfares for non-jets are set at Rp 398 (US$0.168) per passenger per kilometer for a distance below 150 kilometers (up 3.1 percent), Rp 389 for between 151 kilometers and 225 kilometers (up 3.18 percent), Rp 380 for between 226 and 300 kilometers (up 3.26 percent), Rp 370 for between 301 and 375 kilometers (up 2.77 percent) and Rp 356 for a distance of over 375 kilometers (up 1.71 percent).

The new fares are based on a conversion rate of Rp 2,372 to US$1.

The U.S. dollar was traded yesterday at a range of between Rp 2,319 and Rp 2,367, as compared to Rp 2,313 to Rp 2,357 on April 3.

Soelarto also said yesterday that six domestic airlines are expected on Nov. 9 to sign an accord on endorsable ticketing arrangements with an aim of improving services and reducing competition.

The six airlines -- Mandala Airlines, Sempati Air, Garuda Indonesia, Merpati Nusantara, Bouraq Indonesia and Dirgantara Air Service -- agreed in November 1995 to start issuing endorsable tickets for domestic flights this year in order to prevent price wars on airfares.

The implementation of the agreement, however, has been delayed several times due to problems in technical details, including the validity of endorsable tickets, baggage handling, insurance, accounting systems, documentation and billing. (icn)