Star Air set to commence flights by the end of May
JAKARTA (JP): Privately-owned local airline PT Star Air will commence flights from Jakarta to Surabaya in East Java, Makassar in South Sulawesi, and Medan in North Sumatra, by the end of May.
Star Air president Ale Sugiarto told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the airline was expecting its two Boeing 737-200 planes to arrive in mid-May, and that, following an aircraft assessment by the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication, the airline would be ready to service customers.
"We will operate three flights a day to Surabaya and one flight a day to Medan and Makassar," he said, adding that the aircraft were built in 1981.
Star Air, established in May last year, is a joint venture between PT Dwipusaka Abadi, which owns 75 percent, and PT Habitat Saga Perkasa, which has a 25 percent holding. The company's total capital investment is valued at Rp 200 billion (about US$20 million).
Dwipusaka Abadi is a holding company of tour and travel agents Anta Tour, Vaya Tour, and Ramada Bintang Bali Hotel.
Ale said that he plans to operate flights to China and Hong Kong by the end of the year, which will provide essential foreign currency revenue.
"With the rupiah's value fluctuating like it is now, we need income in dollars to offset our operating expenses, 70 percent of which are in dollars," he explained.
Ale added that Star Air was also eying routes to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, the United States and Europe within the first five years of operation.
He said that, unlike other airlines that give big discounts to attract passengers, Star would instead compete on its quality of services.
"Of course, we will give a promotional discount rate for the first month of our operation, but it will not be so high," Ale said, adding that the discount may be in the range of 20 percent.
The market for new airlines to service domestic destinations was still wide open, he said, explaining that there were smaller routes across the country that were not yet being serviced.
"Eventually we will service those smaller routes to complement our main destinations," he said.
In the first five years, the company plans to lease two additional aircraft, a Boeing 737-400 and Boeing 767-200ER, with purchases planned in the second five years for another Boeing 767-200ER and a Boeing 747-400 for long hauls.
Ale said he does not see other airlines as his competitors, but rather his partners in creating a high quality airline industry in Indonesia.
"I think the more competition there is, the better it is for the industry. Then competition will be about high quality service, which will eventually benefit customers," he said
The government's decision last year to open the way for privately-owned airlines to operate scheduled flights has resulted in a stream of new local airlines vying for domestic and international routes.
Besides the four existing airlines -- PT Garuda Indonesia, PT Merpati Nusantara, PT Mandala Airlines, and PT Bouraq Indonesia -- at least six other airlines are currently in operational.
These include PT Dirgantara Air Services, PT Bayu Indonesia Air, PT Awair Internasional, PT Lion Mentari Airlines, PT Pelita Air Service, and PT Airmark Indonesia. (tnt)