THE Association of Ticketing Companies in Indonesia (ASTINDO) has expressed regrets over the bankruptcy of Batavia Air (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 31, 2012) and urged the Ministry of Transportation to develop a policy that will protect airline ticketing companies.
ASTINDO board member, Pauline Suharno, said: “The court’s decision to declare the airline bankrupt is another disaster for ASTINDO members. (It is regrettable) that ticketing companies have to bear the burden of (yet another airline default).”
The now-defunct Adam Air went bankrupt in 2008, while Mandala Airlines faced debt problems in 2011 before being taken over by Tiger Airways and Saratoga Group.
“We are demanding Batavia Air to return our deposits as they belong to ticketing companies and are not part of the airline’s assets.”
Suharno explained that non-IATA airlines required ticketing companies to pay a deposit before tickets could be issued. In her opinion, such arrangements meant that airline companies were operating with funds belonging to ticketing companies.
“Therefore, we are renewing our plea to the Ministry of Transportation to issue a regulation on escrow accounts, so that whenever an airline default happens, (airline ticketing companies) can take their money back,” she added.
ASTINDO and Raya Insurance recently developed an insurance scheme to protect members from loss caused by airline defaults such as the Batavia Air incident.
“This is our way to protect our business, but we also need a strong government law to protect (middlemen like) us,” she said.
