Welcome to the globalized world

Welcome to the globalized world

You will soon be able to get air tickets to Johor Baru from
Jakarta for just Rp 99,900. You may have to shell out Rp 149,999
to travel from Bandung to Kuala Lumpur.

Hold your breath. We can fly from Surabaya to Kuala Lumpur for
just Rp 299,999! (How come the fares all end with 999? Has a
pricing strategist from the Bata Shoe Co. moved into the airline
industry?)

It has been reported that Malaysian carrier Air Asia will be
offering these fares beginning in April 2004 (The Jakarta Post,
March 15). Local airlines are ready to compete with their foreign
rivals.

It is simply unbelievable that the fares can be so low.
Assuming that these are for one-way tickets, even then I wonder
if the Post has misquoted the fares? If an open-sky policy and
free and fierce competition can bring about ridiculously low
airfares, it is all the better for the common man and no one
should object to the era of globalization.

We can be pretty sure that such no-frills airlines will
abolish many of the existing requisites of air travel, such as
tickets, boarding passes, food and drinks, etc. For one thing,
you may not be allowed to carry any baggage -- check-in or hand
baggage. There will be no air hostesses to flash their plastic
smiles! Obviously, for these fares, the airlines can't be
expected to provide seats -- in other words, no seat belts will
be required.

For their personal safety, passengers will be cautioned to hug
and embrace one another tightly during the flight. Subject to the
availability of 100 percent subsidized aviation fuel from the
government, the flights may take off! If not, no refunds will be
granted.

Hopefully, these budget airlines will have trained pilots on
their flights, otherwise, the passengers will end up on "flights
into danger"!

D. CHANDRAMOULI
Jakarta