RI, U.S., sign deal on air services
RI, U.S., sign deal on air services
Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Tony Hotland, Denpasar/Jakarta
Indonesia and the United States signed on Monday an open-skies
aviation agreement between both countries, which removes all
restrictions on air services to, from and beyond each other's
territory.
The new agreement, which replaces an outdated one from 1968
that limited commercial opportunities, eliminates restrictions on
how often carriers may fly, the type of aircraft they may use,
and the prices they may charge.
"At present, only (national flag-carrier) Garuda has expressed
its readiness to fly to the U.S. Garuda may now operate flights
to over 40 international airports there," said minister of
communications ad interim Soenarno after signing the agreement.
Soenarno signed the pact with U.S. Transportation Secretary
Norman Y. Mineta. The signing was held prior to the opening of
the fourth transportation ministerial meeting of the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization, which runs from July 26
through July 29 in Bali.
The signing is the second by Mineta during his current trip to
Asia, following the signing of a similar agreement with China in
Beijing last Saturday.
"Our experience shows that open-air agreements result in not
only an increased number of passengers and businesses, but also
better and more competitive services at lower prices," Mineta
said.
Soenarno added that Continental Airlines Inc., the fifth-
largest U.S. carrier, would soon add routes to Indonesia, and
Northwest Airline Corp., the fourth-largest, might work in
cooperation with Garuda for a new route to Indonesia.
Currently, the only U.S. carrier that flies to Indonesia is
Continental Airlines Inc., which flies to Bali.
Garuda Indonesia spokesman Pujobroto affirmed that the carrier
planned to resume flying to the U.S., but no specific dates nor
destinations had been determined yet.
"We stopped flying to the U.S. in 1996 because the route was a
really long one and was not that profitable for us," he told The
Jakarta Post.
The route was from Jakarta to Los Angeles via Denpasar, Biak,
and Honolulu.
Pujobroto also said that Garuda needed to obtain licenses from
countries used as transit points before resuming flights to the
U.S.
Soenarno added that he would also discuss with his counterpart
the matter of enabling Indonesians to obtain more easily visas to
go to the U.S..
Also on Monday, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency provided
three grants totaling US$1.1 million for Indonesia to build an
aviation infrastructure that was capable of handling the
anticipated growth likely to result from the agreement.
"The grants shall be used for air traffic control systems and
equipment to help safely manage Indonesia's airspace above the
Natuna Islands, to improve the Indonesian airline industry's
passenger reservation system through the Airline Computer
Reservation System Regulation project and to fund security and
safety assessments at four Indonesian airports," Mineta said.
"This is a challenge for our flight operators because it takes
a high standard of security and safety to enter and operate in an
area like the U.S.," said Soenarno, adding that 26 international
airports here were ready to be served by U.S. carriers.