Lufthansa eyes direct services to Jakarta

Lufthansa eyes direct services to Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Having increased the frequency of its European
services to Jakarta at the start of the year, Lufthansa is now
looking into the possibility of operating direct services to the
Indonesian capital, the vice president for Asia Pacific
operations, Manfred Reimer, said on Thursday.

"We're looking forward to the day when we will have a nonstop
flight between Indonesia and Europe," Reimer said during a
luncheon to introduce Lufthansa's new general manager for
Indonesia, Tobias Ernst.

The airline, he said, is monitoring the market situation. "As
soon as our analysis shows that it is profitable, we will fly
direct (to Jakarta)."

Lufthansa currently operates a daily Boeing 747 flight in and
out of Jakarta, with the flights stopping over in Singapore. With
its code-sharing agreement with Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa
effectively has 10 flights in and out of Jakarta each week.

Reimer took particular pride in the fact that Lufthansa kept
its Indonesia operation intact during the economic crisis from
1998 to 1999. The German airline has even switched to the bigger
Boeing 747 planes for its flights to Jakarta.

"We firmly believe not only in the potential, but also in the
development of Indonesia," he said.

"We are, and we have been, happy with Indonesia. We believe in
your country and your people. During the economic crisis, many
airlines left Indonesia. We stayed on because `a friend in need
is a friend indeed,'" he said.

Its Indonesian service is an important component of
Lufthansa's Asia-Pacific operation, which accounts for the second
largest source of revenue for the airline after its domestic
services.

Lufthansa, however, has no immediate plan to resume flights to
Denpasar, Bali, because the route only attracts tourists, who are
not sufficient to sustain a profitable operation, he said, adding
that any airline service must attract enough business travelers
to turn a profit.

Business travelers account for about 60 percent of Lufthansa's
Indonesian operation, the company's outgoing general manager for
Indonesia, Carlos Heinemann, said.

Reimer said the daily flights to Jakarta were a reflection of
the importance of Indonesia to the airline.

Indonesia provides about 5 percent of the airline's total
revenue from the Asia Pacific, he said.

This year, the Asia Pacific has outperformed all the other
regions where Lufthansa operates, with revenue growth of 26.5
percent in the first half of 2000 compared to the same period the
previous year, he said.

"People are still talking about the Asian crisis. (For us)
this is a thing of the past," he said.

He admitted, however, that the rapid revenue growth of the
Asia-Pacific operation came mostly from a windfall profit
resulting from a stronger Japanese yen and positive currency
developments.

Japan accounts for 50 percent of the airline's total Asia-
Pacific revenue, while India and China follow with about 14
percent each.

Lufthansa's new point man in Jakarta, Ernst, previously served
as the company's general manager in Vietnam. His predecessor
Heinemann ended his three-year term in Jakarta and is leaving the
airline industry to run an e-travel business in Miami, Florida.
(emb)