Northwest planes to serve Jakarta via Osaka in July
Northwest planes to serve Jakarta via Osaka in July
GENEVA (JP): Northwest Airlines will become the first new
American airline to enter Indonesia in five years when it flies
into Jakarta in July.
Northwest's senior manager, Susan G. Franson, said here that
the airline would serve the Seattle-Jakarta route via Osaka,
Japan three times a week.
"Northwest will operate either Boeing B 747-40 or B 747-200
aircraft to fly the Indonesian route," Franson told The Jakarta
Post during the European Incentive and Business Travel and
Meeting Exhibition. The exhibition ended on Thursday.
Jakarta will be the fourth Southeast Asian city served by
Northwest. The airline already flies to Manila, Bangkok and
Singapore she said, adding that Northwest will serve Indonesia in
partnership with Dutch KLM.
Northwest, with a total fleet of 380 aircraft, is the fourth
largest airline in the United States. Other U.S. airlines include
Delta Airlines, American Airlines, Continental, United Airlines
and U.S. Air.
The defunct PanAm airline ended its Jakarta service nearly
five years ago. The route has remained vacant since.
National flag carried Garuda Indonesia currently links Jakarta
and Los Angeles via Honolulu five times a week.
Ritz-Carlton, which also took part in the three-day travel
exhibition, unveiled its plan to open a hotel in Bali.
Suzette Devau, an executive of the hotel chain, said the five-
star Indonesian hotel, located in Jimbaran, southern Bali, would
open in December.
The four-story property -- the fourth hotel operated by Ritz-
Carlton in Asia after Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore -- is owned
by businessman Rudy Suliawan. Rudy is currently developing
Kempinski hotel in Jakarta.
Devau said that Ritz-Carlton, a hotel chain based in Atlanta,
U.S., expects to manage another hotel in Jakarta next year.
The exhibition, which hosted over 50 nations, was also
attended by the Directorate General of Tourism. Other Indonesian
participants included the Jakarta Convention Center, the Jakarta
Convention Bureau, Sahid Hotels, Hyatt Resort Bali, Pacto Convex,
Sheraton Resorts Bali, the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board and
Garuda Indonesia.
The Indonesian participants expressed their satisfaction with
the result of their promotional drive even though no concrete
deals were signed.
They booked a total of 2,238 appointments during the three-day
event.
"I'm satisfied with what we gained from this year's event. The
exhibition is still the best for sales promotion, but we have to
prepare better if we plan to participate in next year's event,"
Indra Sukirno of the Jakarta Convention Bureau said.
Other Indonesian participants also admitted they were not
fully prepared, especially in the display of their products.
The Indonesian booths were no match for the colorful foreign
booths.
Exhibition chairman Ray Bloom said this year's event was
bigger than ever, with the number of visitors reaching over
6,475. (icn)