Indonesian airlines reduced air fares for some local routes by as much as 60% starting last week in response to a backlash over a surge in ticket prices during the peak holiday season.
Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air and AirAsia Indonesia are among the carriers which cut prices from Friday, the Indonesian National Air Carrier Association said in a statement on Sunday. Ticket prices on the Jakarta-Denpasar, Jakarta-Yogyakarta and Jakarta-Surabaya routes were slashed between 20% and 60%, I Gusti Ngurah Askhara Danadiputra, chairman of the association, told reporters in Jakarta.
The airlines are planning to drop fares for more routes following a commitment by state-owned airport operators, air navigation agency and PT Pertamina, which supplies jet fuel, to lower logistics and navigation costs, the association said. The price cuts may make air travel affordable to more Indonesians and contribute to the nation’s economic and infrastructure growth, it said.
The association, which also comprises cargo carriers and chartered operators, won’t compromise on flight and passenger safety with the reduction in fares, Danadiputra, who is also the president-director of Garuda, said. A Lion Air jet plunged into the Java Sea last year, killing all 189 on board, in the nation’s worst aviation disaster in two decades.