New terms on air ticketing to take effect

New terms on air ticketing to take effect

JAKARTA (JP): Measures will be taken against any domestic
airline violating last May's air ticketing agreement that will
finally take effect as of Nov. 1, an executive says.

The president of Sempati Air, Hasan M. Soedjono, told
reporters here yesterday that the agreement was originally
scheduled to take effect as of early July.

Six domestic airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Sempati Air, Merpati
Nusantara Airlines, Mandala Airlines, Dirgantara Air Service and
Bouraq Indonesia agreed in May to end a price war and set
allowable discount airfare levels available to travel agencies
and passengers.

Under the May agreement, discounts for travel agents will be
limited to a maximum of seven percent of published tariffs,
compared to discounts of up to 40 percent given to travel
agencies beforehand.

The agreement requires airlines to pay a fine of up to Rp 10
million (US$4,589) for each violation against the agreement.

According to Hasan, the implementation of the agreement was
postponed twice due to several reasons, including inconsistent
opinions among the air carriers.

He said that revenue from the fines will go to the Indonesian
Air Carriers Association (Inaca).

"We hope that the implementation of the agreement will
increase the profitability of domestic airlines," he added.

The six air carriers last year made a combined profit of Rp
1.8 trillion.(icn)