Jetstar Asia takes over Valuair operation in RI

JAKARTA. Singapore-based budget airline Jetstar Asia Airways took over all Valuair flights connecting Indonesia and Singapore starting Sunday, following the lifting of operating restrictions for Singaporean low-cost carriers (LCC) by the Indonesian government, which came into effect last year.

Jetstar Asia said in a written statement that it would continue operating up to 52 return flights between Singapore and Indonesia, with no changes to the current schedule. Flights operated under the Valuair “VF” flight code will now be operated under the Jetstar Asia “3K” code.

“It’s business as usual for our flights between Singapore and Indonesia,” Jetstar Asia CEO Barathan Pasupathi said in a written statement on Saturday.

“Operating under the one brand with one airline code will further streamline and simplify customer communications, particularly for our growing number of Indonesia passengers traveling with us through Singapore to one of the other 18 Jetstar Asia destinations,” he said.

Separately, the Transportation Ministry’s air transportation director, Djoko Murjatmodjo, said that last year, the government had signed a bilateral agreement with Singapore to allow LCCs from both countries to fly between the two countries.

“Our LCCs were not allowed to fly to and from Singapore, the same policy applied to Singaporean LCCs, which weren’t allowed to enter Jakarta or Denpasar [Bali],” Djoko told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Sunday.

“However, the two countries later realized the importance of having an open market. Therefore, the two countries agreed to lift the operating restrictions for LCCs,” he continued.

Jetstar Asia currently operates 18 Airbus A320 aircraft and plies routes from Singapore to Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya and Denpasar. When launched in 2004, Valuair was the first low-cost airline in Singapore, but was acquired the next year by Jetstar Asia.

The Transportation Ministry predicts that the number of air travelers in the country will hit more than 100 million this year, up 11 percent from 2013’s estimated 93.56 million, with about half of them being LCC passengers.

Amid tight competition between LCCs in the country, the government issued a ministerial regulation to limit the minimum airfare that budget airlines can charge.

The ministry said the regulation was aimed solely at ensuring flight safety standards were upheld by low-cost carriers. Airlines are therefore required to report to the ministry prior to offering promotional fares.

Under the new regulation, which comes into effect in November, the minimum fare that an LCC can charge for a Jakarta-Yogyakarta ticket is Rp 452,000 (US$37.40); the minimum price for Jakarta-Surabaya (East Java) is Rp 563,000 and for Jakarta-Medan (North Sumatra) Rp 899,950. (Nadya Natahadibrata)