Privately owned Sriwijaya Air is expanding its flight services to Papua
in a bid to tap into growing flight demand in eastern Indonesia, an
executive said on Tuesday.
Senior corporate communications manager Agus Soedjono said that starting Dec. 22, the airline would increase the frequency of its Jakarta–Jayapura, Jakarta–Biak and Jakarta–Manokwari routes.
The airline would provide three flights per day for the Jakarta–Jayapura route, which currently flies once a day.
For the Jakarta–Biak and Jakarta–Manokwari services, Sriwijaya would increase flight frequency to seven and 10 flights per week, respectively.
Today, the airline flies to Biak and Manokwari three and seven times a week, respectively.
“The Eastern Indonesia [aviation] market is growing and is promising because demand has increased since when we first launched our services to Papua in May [2012],” Agus said.
“With the additional flights we are providing, we are not just accommodating people traveling to and from Papua, but we are also helping the regional economy in Papua grow.”
He said that the delivery of 17 units of Boeing B737-800 Next Generation (NG) and B737-500 aircraft, which started in September this year, have enabled the firm to gradually increase flights on their existing routes.
In addition, the new aircraft were used to phase out the carrier’s aging B737-200s, he said.
“We have phased out all of our B737-200 aircraft. So, by the end of this year, we are going to operate 38 new aircraft,” he said.
Next year, Sriwijaya also plans to launch a subsidiary that will operate a full service airline, Nam Air, using Brazilian-made aircraft Embraer E190 jets.
The firm is currently processing Nam Air’s flight permit (SIUAU) at the Transportation Ministry’s air transportation directorate general.
Moreover, he said that Sriwijaya has committed to provide 11,100 extra seats during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays to anticipate a surging demand from travelers.
The extra seats on several routes include Jakarta–Denpasar, Jakarta–Singapore, Makassar–Tarakan and Semarang–Pontianak.
“ The [extra] seats are available for 20 days, from Dec. 17, 2012 to Jan. 5, 2013,” he said.
As the airline is providing additional seats for Makassar–Tarakan and Semarang–Pontianak routes, he said that the firm planned to open direct flights in the near future for both routes. Currently, the airline connects Makassar and Tarakan via Balikpapan, and Semarang and Pontianak via Jakarta.
He said that the company would be ready to add more seats if demand increased during the peak season.
Earlier, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and the country’s largest low-cost airline, Lion Air,
announced that they would also provide extra seats this month.
Garuda and Lion plan to provide 11,000 and 30,000 additional seats, respectively, from Dec. 22, 2012 to Jan. 10, 2013.
Senior corporate communications manager Agus Soedjono said that starting Dec. 22, the airline would increase the frequency of its Jakarta–Jayapura, Jakarta–Biak and Jakarta–Manokwari routes.
The airline would provide three flights per day for the Jakarta–Jayapura route, which currently flies once a day.
For the Jakarta–Biak and Jakarta–Manokwari services, Sriwijaya would increase flight frequency to seven and 10 flights per week, respectively.
Today, the airline flies to Biak and Manokwari three and seven times a week, respectively.
“The Eastern Indonesia [aviation] market is growing and is promising because demand has increased since when we first launched our services to Papua in May [2012],” Agus said.
“With the additional flights we are providing, we are not just accommodating people traveling to and from Papua, but we are also helping the regional economy in Papua grow.”
He said that the delivery of 17 units of Boeing B737-800 Next Generation (NG) and B737-500 aircraft, which started in September this year, have enabled the firm to gradually increase flights on their existing routes.
In addition, the new aircraft were used to phase out the carrier’s aging B737-200s, he said.
“We have phased out all of our B737-200 aircraft. So, by the end of this year, we are going to operate 38 new aircraft,” he said.
Next year, Sriwijaya also plans to launch a subsidiary that will operate a full service airline, Nam Air, using Brazilian-made aircraft Embraer E190 jets.
The firm is currently processing Nam Air’s flight permit (SIUAU) at the Transportation Ministry’s air transportation directorate general.
Moreover, he said that Sriwijaya has committed to provide 11,100 extra seats during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays to anticipate a surging demand from travelers.
The extra seats on several routes include Jakarta–Denpasar, Jakarta–Singapore, Makassar–Tarakan and Semarang–Pontianak.
“ The [extra] seats are available for 20 days, from Dec. 17, 2012 to Jan. 5, 2013,” he said.
As the airline is providing additional seats for Makassar–Tarakan and Semarang–Pontianak routes, he said that the firm planned to open direct flights in the near future for both routes. Currently, the airline connects Makassar and Tarakan via Balikpapan, and Semarang and Pontianak via Jakarta.
He said that the company would be ready to add more seats if demand increased during the peak season.
Earlier, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and the country’s largest low-cost airline, Lion Air,
announced that they would also provide extra seats this month.
Garuda and Lion plan to provide 11,000 and 30,000 additional seats, respectively, from Dec. 22, 2012 to Jan. 10, 2013.
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