Mandala tickets back on sale after suspension

JAKARTA. Mandala Airlines’ flight tickets were back on sale on Tuesday at 12 p.m., more than a year after being suspended, due to financial woes.

The airline, whose Rp 2.45 trillion (US$286.65 million) debt was covered by Indonesian investment firm Saratoga Group and Singapore’s low-cost carrier Tiger Airways, will be back in the sky on April 5 with an inaugural flight from Jakarta to Medan, costing Rp 329,000.

International services will begin on May 4 from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur with ticket prices of Rp 519,000 minus fuel surcharge, Tiger Airways announced in a statement submitted to the Singapore Stock Exchange. “Other routes to be announced shortly,” the statement reads.

Under the new management, Mandala Airlines will run 10 new Airbus A320 aircraft, which will arrive gradually through to the end of this year. Two of the airline’s aircraft are hangared at terminal three at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Shares in Tiger Airways rose following the announcement, to close up 1.97 percent at 0.775 Singaporean dollars.

Mandala Airlines was considered the country’s leading domestic airline during the 1990s, having begun operations in 1969 auspices of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

The company faced financial difficulties following the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis. The impact of the crisis lasted until 2006, when Jakarta-based aviation company Cardig International bought 51 percent of Mandala’s shares.

In January 2011, Mandala announced that it would temporarily be halting operations after revealing Rp 2.45 trillion in debts due to high leasing costs, resulting in 11 leased planes being returned.

As reported on Monday, Mandala has conducted a financial restructuring process in accordance with Indonesian law after the airlines were suspended last year.

As a result of the restructuring process, which was completed in February, Indonesia’s leading investment firm, Saratoga Group, holds a 51.3 percent stake, while Singapore-based Tiger Airways holds 33 percent.

After being suspended for more than a year, Mandala’s Air Operators Certificate (AOC) was reactivated last week following a four-month AOC review process conducted by the Transportation Ministry. (The Jakarta Post)