|
After operating for six months in the country, United Arab
Emirates airline Etihad Airways is planning to increase its Jakarta to
Abu Dhabi flights to 12 a week by end 2007.
"Currently we have six flights (a week) from Indonesia to Abu-Dhabi. We
will increase it to eight in the beginning of 2007. By the end of 2007
we should have 12 flights to Abu-Dhabi from here," Kunto Aji, an Etihad
manager, said Thursday.
Kunto said that the market potential for flights to the United Arab
Emirates was high. Of the 4,536 of seats on planes available to the
city a week, around 90 percent were filled, Kunto told The Jakarta Post.
"Around 60 percent of our guests are Indonesian workers. We are also
hoping to increase the quota for holidaymakers to Arab countries,"
Kunto said.
Kunto said compared to competitors, Etihad could provide faster
connecting hours with its Arab flight networks, and an array of
luxurious on-board services.
"All of our customers, whether they on the first class, business or
economy, can enjoy Wi-Fi internet services on board.
The economy seats have their own television sets with touch-screen
operation module," Kunto said.
Price-wise, the airline offers is fairly competitive, he said.
One of the company's strategies to improve services was to recruit crew
from 80 nationalities, including Indonesia. "Today we are proud to
announce that we have 70 crew members from Indonesia."
Etihad has also announced a program with a domestic airline, Batavia
Air.
"For every return ticket bought in Indonesia for business class, we
call it the 'Pearl Class', the customer will get a bonus of one Batavia
Air ticket," Kunto said.
The bonus ticket applies to all Batavia Air routes in Indonesia and is
valid for purchases made between Oct. 9 and Dec. 9.
Batavia spokesman Anton Situmeang said the company would give Etihad's
customers priority on domestic flights as long as seats were still
available.
"The bonus ticket is also transferable. This means that anyone, not
only the original owner, can use it. This can be beneficial for
frequent travelers," he said.
Etihad Airways, the flag carrier for the United Arab Emirates, was
established in 2003 under a royal decree.
|
