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The new agreement, which replaces an outdated one from 1968 that limited commercial opportunities, eliminates restrictions on how often carriers may fly, the type of aircraft they may use, and the prices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.