RI grants SIA more seats to Bali

RI grants SIA more seats to Bali

JAKARTA: Indonesia has granted Singapore Airlines Ltd. and the city state's other full-service airlines permission to offer more seats to Jakarta and the resort island of Bali, while keeping a cap on low-fare carriers.

Singapore Air, Asia's largest airline by market value, will be allowed to raise its seat capacity by 15 percent on flights to the Indonesian capital and Denpasar in Bali, said Cucuk Suryo Suprojo, director-general in charge of air transportation at Indonesia's Transport Ministry, in a telephone interview on Tuesday in Jakarta.

The Indonesian government, which owns PT Garuda Indonesia, wants to protect the Jakarta-based airline from Malaysian Airline Systems Bhd, Singapore Airlines and Southeast Asia's 10 low-fare carriers, which are expanding in Asia. Garuda posted a first- quarter operating loss of Rp 139 billion rupiah (US$14.6 million), almost double its loss last year.

To help Garuda compete, the government limits the number of seats overseas airlines can sell on routes to Indonesian cities. The quotas, applied to individual cities, are negotiated between governments, Transport Minister Hatta Rajasa said on May 20.-- AP