Lion flies to Vietnam amid rising trade

Lion flies to Vietnam amid rising trade

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Local budget airline Lion Air has launched its first flight to
Vietnam, optimistic that the direct route from Jakarta would be
lucrative given the strengthening business ties between the two
countries.

Lion's MD-82 aircraft flies to Ho Chi Minh City four times a
week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Lion charges
US$334 for a return ticket, excluding airport tax and insurance.

Each flight will carry 152 passengers who will have to transit
in Changi Airport, Singapore without changing aircraft.

Public relations manager of the airline Hasyim Irsal Alhabsi
said during the launch of the flight over the weekend that
passengers from Vietnam and Indonesia alike would benefit from
having a low cost carrier flying to regional destinations.

"Lion Air has pioneered cheap domestic flights in Indonesia
and now we are expanding the opportunity to fly abroad," he told
reporters.

He said that the direct flight would benefit from the visa-
free agreement signed in June by President Megawati Soekarnoputri
and Vietnam's President Tran Duc Luong.

The Jakarta-Ho Chi Minh City route is now being served seven
days a week by Indonesian airlines as the country's flag carrier
Garuda Indonesia has also launched flights three days a week on
the route.

The last flight by an Indonesian airlines to Vietnam was made
six years ago prior to the economic crisis.

A Vietnamese tourism agency said the number of Indonesian
visitors to Vietnam had increased significantly since visas had
been waived for Indonesian travelers on Dec. 4. Vietnam is
expected to receive between 40,000 to 50,000 visitors from
Indonesia next year, of whom 17,500 are expected to travel by
air.

Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Ayub Muchsin said that the
opening of the direct flight was timely.

"The direct flight will benefit from intensifying trade
between Indonesia and Vietnam," he said.

He said that one indication of the strengthening trade ties
was the number of Vietnamese requesting business visas at the
Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi. "There are about 1,200 people per
month," he said.

The ambassador said that the trade volume between the two
countries had also grown over the years. "As of September 2003,
it stood at $751 million, an increase from $697 million over the
same period last year," he said.

He expected that the figure would reach $1 billion in 2004.
"If this trend is persistent, we would see a thriving market for
the two countries' airlines," he said.

In return for the freedom that has been granted to Garuda and
Lion to fly to Vietnam, the Directorate General of Air
Transportation at the Ministry of Communication has also given
the freedom to Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines to fly to
Jakarta and Denpasar, Bali.

Despite the fact that the airlines fly the same route, Ayub
was convinced that both Lion Air and Garuda would win an equal
number of passengers from the route. "I believe that there will
be healthy competition between the two airlines," he said.

Lion provides seats mostly for economy class, while Garuda is
targeting the middle to upper market.

Upbeat over the growing need for budget flights in the region,
Lion also plans to open new routes to Perth, Bangkok, Taipei,
Seoul, Hong Kong, Chennai and Guang Zhou.