Garuda Plants to Increase Flight Frequency on Semarang-Surabaya Route

Semarang, C Java (Antara) - Garuda Indonesia plans to increase the frequency of its flights from Semarang to Surabaya to cater to the rising number of air passengers, stated Garuda District Manager Flora Izza. "We are looking into the possibility of increasing the frequency of flights since our flight departure from Semarang to Surabaya at 12:40 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesian Time) is considered inappropriate by several passengers, particularly businessmen," he remarked here on Wednesday. He pointed out that many businessmen who have formed partnership with Garuda Indonesia want the departure time to be rescheduled in the morning, so that they can do business in Surabaya more effectively. "We are still evaluating the demand since we also have to adjust our service. It will take time to arrive at the result of the analysis," he added. According to Flora, the load factor of Garuda Indonesia's Semarang-Surabaya flight route currently reaches 80 percent. Garuda Indonesia serves 11 flights at Semarang's Ahmad Yani Airport every day, comprising nine flights to Jakarta and one flight each to Surabaya and Denpasar, respectively. Garuda Indonesia is still studying the possibility of opening new flight routes, he stated adding that the national flag carrier will continue to give priority to provincial capitals, one of them is the West Java provincial capital of Bandung. "As we all know, West Java is known for its industries, specially the creative industry," he pointed out. (*)