RIAU provincial government-owned airline Riau Air, which launched thrice-weekly commercial services between capital city Pekanbaru and Malacca last weekend, is aiming to connect cities within the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) as it grows its fleet.
Riau governor Rusli Zainal was quoted by the media as saying: “We are planning to add at least 10 more aircraft by the end of this year to enable (Riau Air) to serve not only domestic routes but also intra-regional city routes.”
The airline currently has one leased Boeing 737-500 124-seat aircraft which plies the Pekanbaru-Malacca, Pekanbaru-Tanjung Pinang and Tanjung Pinang-Natuna routes.
Pekanbaru-Malacca used to be served on a charter basis with the Fokker 50, and the airline is targeting a 70 per cent load factor in the first year with this new commercial service.
Riau Air president director Teguh Triyanto told TTG Asia e-Daily: “We would like to position Riau Air as a bridge between cities in the IMT-GT area. We are considering Subang and Ipoh as our next destinations in Malaysia, and a number of cities in Thailand.”
Grand Anoa Tours and Travel Pekanbaru tour manager Samsul Basar said: “I think the potential inbound market from Malacca is the meeting and incentive market as Pekanbaru has the facilities, apart from business and golf.”
