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AIRASIA airline opens a new flight route from West Java Kertajati International Airport to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia.
According to the Head of Government Relations of Indonesia AirAsia, Eddy Krismeidi Sumawilaga, said AirAsia airlines serve flights on this route using an Airbus A320 type aircraft with a capacity of 180 seats. The Kuala Lumpur to Kertajati flight carried 64 passengers, and 125 passengers on the return route from Kertajati to Kuala Lumpur.
“Our target is to have over 80 percent occupancy, around 150 of the 180-seat capacity,” said Eddy at Kertajati Airport, West Java, Wednesday (17/5).
The Kertajati-Kuala Lumpur route is available two days a week, namely on Wednesday and Sunday. Eddy said that his party saw great potential at Kertajati Airport to enter the Malaysian market.
“We see that the potential around Kertajati is promising. Internationally this is a new destination to explore because there are areas such as Majalengka, Kuninga, Indramayu, Cirebon, these are new destinations, especially Malaysian markets,” he explained.
Currently, AirAsia airlines in Indonesia serve 28 flight routes to 6 countries, namely Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, and will follow Vietnam. Flight frequency on AirAsia’s international routes reaches 365 flights per week.
Meanwhile for domestic, AirAsia serves 15 flight routes with a frequency of 136 flights per week. The Ministry of Transportation plans to move jet and propeller flights from Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung to Kertajati.
Eddy sees this as a great opportunity, considering the impressive flight achievements at Bandung’s Husein Sastranegara Airport in 2019.
“Looking at West Java, Bandung in 2019 was ranked 5th for airports with the most international passengers in Indonesia. That is quite significant. Hopefully (flights from) Bandung, if moved to Kertajati, the pattern (performance) will be the same,” he remarked.
Kertajati Airport was once an airport in suspended animation due to a lack of visitors. One of the problems is the unsupportive accommodation infrastructure around the airport. But that is different from now, where the Cileunyi-Sumedang-Dawuan (Cisumdawu) Toll Road is targeted to be fully operational in early June, plus hotels have started to be built in the airport area.
Main Director of Malaysia AirAsia, Riad Asmat is optimistic that the demand for Kertajati-Kuala Lumpur flights will continue to rise. It is not impossible that his party will add flight routes and frequencies in Kertajati.
“Now the frequency is twice a week, Wednesday and Sunday. But God willing, if we look at demand performance, God willing, we will add it. But we will pay attention to this in terms of daily and weekly demand. The potential is indeed there, we really believe Kertajati will become an important airport center and will meet our expectations,” he concluded. [sources/photo special]
