KK-Jakarta twice-weekly direct flight relaunched
KOTA KINABALU: The twice-weekly direct flight service between Kota Kinabalu and Jakarta operated by Batik Air was relaunched yesterday.
The route which was inaugurated on Dec 20, 2017 is scheduled on Wednesday and Sunday, with departures from Jakarta via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 1am local time and arriving in Kota Kinabalu at 5am local time on a three-hour journey on board flight ID 7169.
The returning flight from Kota Kinabalu will take off at 6am local time and arrive in Jakarta at 7.55am local time using flight ID 7168. Kota Kinabalu is one-hour ahead of Jakarta.
“The Kota Kinabalu-Jakarta route was launched by Batik Air after AirAsia ceased its operation in Jan 2017, but many people are still unaware of the services provided by Batik Air. They boarded other airlines before transiting to Jakarta which is time consuming and not economical,” said Consul General of Indonesia in Kota Kinabalu, Krishna Djelani during the relaunching ceremony at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here yesterday.
“The direct flights will play a key part in boosting the economy of both sides particularly in trade, investment and tourism as it will reduce our travelling time and cost saving,” said Krishna.
“It will also connect the people and the business community,” he added.
Over time, he believes the airfares could be made affordable when more people are using the direct flights between Kota Kinabalu and Jakarta when the passengers load factor becomes encouraging.
“We are also hoping to promote Kota Kinabalu as a tourism hub for the Chinese tourists to visit Manado in North Sulawesi which is a popular spot for its beautiful beaches and scuba diving activities. We can create a duel package for the benefit of both sides,” said Krishna, adding that the proposal is expect to be launched in July this year.
He said the aspiration to explore the beauty of Manado was highlighted by Indonesia Ambassador to Malaysia Rusdi Kirana during the 3nd Indonesia Investment Forum on April 18 this year in Kuala Lumpur.
He said Rusdi also held a discussion to foster the tourism sector between Sabah and Indonesia with Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun during his working visit to Kota Kinabalu in Sept 2017.
Besides that, Krishna disclosed they are also mulling with the plan to introduce the direct flights between Kota Kinabalu and Balikpapan, Kalimantan to provide a nearer alternative for passengers to transit to other destinations in Indonesia especially its eastern part.
“Balikpapan which is a two-hour flight from Kota Kinabalu has the second largest international airport in Indonesia after Jakarta which is now congested,” he said.
Its consul for economy, Hendro Retno Wulan said they are working closely with the Sabah Tourism Board to promote the Kota Kinabalu-Jakarta sector via the social media to raise public awareness and improve the passengers load.
“We encourage the people here to support the flights because when the demand is good the airline could offer affordable airfares,” she said.
Malindo Air regional manager (Sabah-Sarawak) Wilfred Wong revealed: “To date, they are enjoying about 70-80 per cent of the passengers load between the Jakarta and Kota Kinabalu route. We hope this route will not only stimulate the movement of passengers but also the economic growth from tourism and other logistics.”
“We are also happy to accommodate the needs of customers for business travel, tourism promotion, family vacation, medical treatment and pursuing education through this route,” said Wilfred.
He said the Lion Air Group is also opening new routes from Indonesia to Malaysia such as its Wings Air flying from Pontianak to Kuching and Miri, while Malindo Air is servicing Banda Aceh to Penang and Medan to Ipoh.
Source: New Sabah Times
