Japans's ANA applies for service to Indonesia

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's All Nippon Airways Ltd. (ANA) said yesterday it had applied to the transport ministry to begin a service to Indonesia.

ANA said it was planning a twice-weekly service between Narita, Jakarta and Denpasar, using a 213-seat Boeing 767-300 aircraft in a two class configuration, from Oct. 30.

Indonesia's arrivals from Japan totaled 486,000 in 1995, ANA said, with more than 160,000 Japanese arrivals in Denpasar alone.

Arrivals from Japan made up 11.2 percent of Indonesia's total 4.3 million visitors in 1995, it said.

ANA said it expected to carry 27,000 passengers in the first year of operation with an average load factor of 55 percent, as well as carrying 1, 500 tons of cargo in the same period.

Kazuhisa Shin, ANA's senior director for network and management said he was extremely pleased to be able to add Indonesia to ANA's network.

"Indonesia, with a population of 190 million is the largest participant in ASEAN. Its economic relations with Japan are strong and the popularity of its resorts makes Indonesia a popular destination for Japanese outbound travel," he said in a statement. "The route is an important part of our overall Asian network strategy."

ANA is currently celebrating is 10th anniversary of scheduled international services, In fiscal year ending March 31, this year, ANA expanded its international capacity by 31 percent and plans to add an additional 18 percent in the current fiscal year.

The Japanese airline said it began Friday a code-sharing arrangement with Air Canada between Osaka's Kansai airport and Vancouver.

Later this year it plans to start Kansai services to Bombay, Frankfurt and Milan, and add Delhi via Bangkok from Tokyo.