Increasing Garuda Flight Frequencies, Indonesia Lobbying Japan

TOKYO, KOMPAS.com - The Ministry of Transportation has sent a letter to the Japanese government, asking for increased flight frequencies for flag carrier Garuda Indonesia for the Jakarta - Tokyo route from seven to 13 flights a week, a diplomat said.
     
"The Indonesian Embassy here also continues to lobby the Japanese government so that it would comply with the Garuda request. For Indonesia it is quite reasonable to ask for additional flight frequencies owing to the fact that the Japan-Indonesia flights have developed positively," Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Jusuf Anwar said here on Tuesday.
     
The ambassador made the remarks in connection with a plan by Garuda Indonesia to Increase its flight frequencies for the Jakarta - Tokyo route beginning on August 1, 2009.  So far, Garuda Indonesia’s flight from Jakarta to Tokyo has to transit in Denpasar so that the flight time lasts longer or about six hours.
     
Flights from Osaka ( five times a week) and Nagoya (three times a week) to Denpasar, Bali, are served directly. According to Faik Fahmi, Garuda Indonesia area manager for Japan, South Korea, China, the United States and Canada, businesses have demanded a non-stop and direct flight between Tokyo and Jakarta.
     
"The demand for such a flight is understandable because a non stop Jakarta - Tokyo direct flight will only take four hours. For businessmen, saving two hours is something very significant," Faik Fahmi said.
      
So far, Garuda serves the Jakarta-Denpasar-Tokyo route with Boeing 747 aircraft. If Garuda’s request for increased flight frequencies to six times is complied with, it will use wide bodied airplanes, namely type A330. Based on that considerations, Garuda Indonesia contacted the Japanese aviation authorities to ask for a license to increase its flights.
      
"We also coordinated with the Indonesian embassy in Tokyo in its capacity as Indonesia’s official representative in Japan in order to accelerate the process to obtain an additional flight frequency license," Faik said.