Rupiah Tumbles, Airline Industry Suffers
VIVAnews - The decline in the rupiah exchange rate affects the national airline industry. For the next few years, domestic routes are expected to be reduced to below 10 percent.
“This condition is different from the past three to four years, which reaches 15 percent,” said President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Emisyah Satar, in a meeting of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) at Jimbaran, Bali, Thursday, 20 Nov.
The weakening of the rupiah currency induces fear in the national airline industry. “We have no choice, the cost of renting airplanes uses the dollar currency. Not only that, (but also) several operational costs such as maintenance and spare parts,” he said.
Meanwhile for international routes, the figure is negative since spending power decreases. Emir said that they will be looking for closer destinations, just like Australians will choose to come to Bali instead of going to further destinations.
For next year, at least the airline industry will be somewhat saved by the elections, where people would travel a lot.
AAPA General Director, Andrew Herdman said that safety in the airline industry has increased. “From about 25 million flights in the world during 2008, there were only 16 accidents, whereby 2 were incidents,” said Andrew.
Meanwhile, Director of Research and Development, Department of Communications, Deni Siahaan, explained that several Indonesian airlines can start putting new airplanes into operation in phases. “New airplanes make passengers feel safer and more comfortable,” he said.
Reported by: Wima Saraswati/Bali
Translated by: Ramona Sofianne Dewi
