Sigma Alliance to cooperate with Silk Air

Sigma Alliance to cooperate with Silk Air

JAKARTA (JP): A newly formed alliance of domestic airlines --
Sigma Alliance -- said that it was looking into the possibility
of cooperating with Silk Air, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines,
to complement its network in the country and abroad.

Mandala Airlines president Gunawan Koswara said on Thursday
that there was no need for the alliance to physically expand
abroad, rather it would "synergize" with foreign airlines to
provide services.

"We will look into the possibility with Silk Air, we'll see
what happens, but that interest must be expressed," he said on
the sidelines of a ceremony launching the Sigma Alliance.

He did not provide details.

Sigma Alliance comprises four domestic airlines, namely
Mandala Airlines, Pelita Air Service, Bouraq Airlines and
Dirgantara Air Service (DAS).

The alliance was initiated by Mandala and Pelita in May to
cope with mounting competition from other domestic airlines.

For the benefit of passengers, Gunawan said that it will give
greater choice of flights, schedules and destinations, as an
alliance meant that passengers on one airline could change or
utilize other airlines in the partnership to reach their
destination.

"We are currently working on a reservation system which would
be able to serve multiple destination tickets," he said,
explaining that the airlines complement each others' routes.

DAS provides short length flights to remote cities in
Kalimantan, while Pelita flies to Jakarta, Makassar-South
Sulawesi, Sorong-Irian Jaya, Yogyakarta, Pontianak-West
Kalimantan, Pangkal Pinang-South Sumatra, Jambi, Surabaya-East
Java and Kendari-Southeast Sulawesi.

Mandala flies to 16 major cities in Indonesia, while Bouraq
flies Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar-Bali, Manado-North Sulawesi,
Balikpapan-East Kalimantan, Banjarmasin-South Kalimantan and
Batam-Riau.

"So now, passengers from a remote town in Kalimantan could get
a DAS flight to a major city and connecting flights to Jakarta by
either Mandala, Pelita, or Bouraq with only one reservation
procedure," Gunawan said.

He said that the alliance would be very careful so as not to
create an unfair business atmosphere by not restricting their
passengers choice of flights and by ensuring that prices were
still competitive.

"To that aim we have decided to use a clearing bank to settle
the differences in our ticket prices," Pelita's president
Soeratman said, without elaborating.(tnt)