Friday, December 28, 2012

Wings to fly 60 ATR-72s by 2015 to back short haul flights

Wings Air, the feeder airline of Indonesia’s largest low-cost carrier Lion Air, plans to operate 60 twin turboprop French-Italian Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72 fleet by the end of 2015 to support the airline’s short haul flight services.

Lion Air general affairs director Edward Sirait said the aircraft would consist of 20 ATR 72-500s and 40 ATR 72-600s with a price tag of US$20 million to $22 million each.

“With this addition, Wings will be able to increase its flight frequency, strengthen its network in Java and provide services in Kalimantan,” Edward said.

The company has already received 20 ATR 72-500s. The 20th plane arrived at the country’s main gateway, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, on Dec. 18 and it has recently entered into operation.

On Dec. 22, the first ATR 72-600 arrived in Jakarta from its factory in Toulouse, France, Edward said.

“Wings’ first [ATR 72-600] aircraft will be based in our hub in Surabaya [East Java], connecting the city to the popular tourist destinations of Denpasar [Bali] and Mataram [Lombok],” he said, adding that the firm would receive one to two aircraft every month over the next three years.

Currently, Wings Air operates 28 airplanes: 20 ATR 72-500s, six McDonell Douglas MD-80, and two Dash-8s. They fly to more than 15 remote destinations across the archipelago including Ende, East Nusa Tenggara; Fak Fak, West Papua; Gunung Sitoli, North Sumatra; Lhokseumawe, Aceh; Luwuk, Central Sulawesi; Matak, Riau Islands; and Melonguane, North Sulawesi.

Wings Air also connects regional first- and second-tier cities through routes such as Surabaya–Banyuwangi, Bandung–Bandar Lampung, and Pontianak–Putusibau.

“With the new aircraft and new routes, we hope we can better serve the customers. In addition, this is our commitment to providing air accessibility in Indonesian cities with short runways,” he said.

The 72-seat regional jet is able to land on runways as short as 1,200 meters, he said.

According data from the Transportation Ministry’s Air Transportation directorate general, almost 80 percent of the 233 airports in the country have runways between 800 meters and 1,800 meters long that can only accommodate smaller planes.

The ministry spokesman Bambang S. Ervan said the government had allocated Rp 2.95 trillion ($303.85 million) to improve small airports’ safety facilities, radar, terminals and runways throughout 2013.

“We always set aside a certain budget every year to maintain and improve small airports because air connectivity is very important to helping support the development of remote areas,” Bambang said.

Besides, for a vast archipelagic, disaster-prone country like Indonesia, airports are critical as they are often the only entry point for disaster mitigation efforts, he said.

“Thus, in several small airports, we create facilities that can accommodate military aircraft,” he said.

In addition, he said that the ministry had allocated Rp 290.84 billion in subsidies next year to support the operation of pioneer routes such as Sabu–Ende, Sabu–Waingapu, Merauke–Okaba, and Nabire–Timika.

The budget is sufficient to partially finance the airlines’ operating and fuel costs for the year. The ministry is set to tender the new routes early next year.

This year, six local airlines won the government tender to serve 132 pioneer routes across the country.

Ailing state-owned operator PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines (Merpati) was able to secure more than 40 routes from Toli-Toli in Central Sulawesi to Wamena in Papua, making the airline eligible for Rp 71 billion in government subsidies.

http://www2.thejakartapost.com

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