THE Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA) is sanguine about Indonesia’s passenger traffic this year, projecting 10 to 15 per cent growth as the nation’s economy and infrastructure improves.
Speaking at a press conference in Jakarta on January 8, Arif Wibowo, chairman of INACA, who is also president and CEO of Garuda Indonesia, said: “There is better prospect for the airline industry in Indonesia this year compared to last year as the ASEAN Open Skies policy takes effect.
“First of all, the rupiah is expected to strengthen against the US dollar, and secondly, the fuel price drops and the domestic economic growth is expected to trigger more demand for air transportation.”
The ASEAN Open Skies initiative provides both challenges and opportunities for Indonesian carriers. On the one hand, competition will increase, but it also opens up opportunities for Indonesian airlines to fly to the many ASEAN cities, said Wibowo.
“The domestic routes remain the domain of the Indonesian carriers and the opportunity to grow the network, especially in eastern Indonesia, is big. Therefore, I suggest that we strengthen the domestic network, which is our backbone, in this era of airline liberalisation,” he added.
On the infrastructure front, Indonesia also plans to begin construction of 15 new airports and extend the runways of 30 existing airports this year.
“The (opening of the new) Labuan Bajo Airport (last month), the (development of airports in) Raja Ampat and Wamena, among others, will play an important role for Indonesian tourism,” said Wibowo.
Statistics show 74.4 million passengers were served by Indonesian airlines between January and November 2015, a 12 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2014.
