Qatar Airways to open more flights, new Bali route

JAKARTA. Gulf carrier Qatar Airways is planning to increase its flight frequency to Jakarta from Doha to 21 flights per week before the year-end and will add a new direct route from Doha to Bali in July.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post on Monday, Qatar country manager for Indonesia Chan Cheong Eu said the airline was looking to add three more flights to the Doha-Jakarta route in November from its current 18 flights a week.

The carrier added four extra flights connecting the two country’s capitals just last week, making it a total of seven new flights serving the route this year.

The route, which the airline serves with a combination of Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 aircraft, offers 5,835 seats each way per week.

Qatar is looking to make the most of the rising number of Indonesians travelling overseas, Chan explained, with many travelers hoping to fly to the Middle East for pilgrimage.

“We have seen non-stop growth for the last two years. When I first arrived here three years ago, we only had one flight a day. Now we are going to see 21 a week by the end of this year,” Eu said.

For Qatar Airways, he said, Indonesia was a very important market and was the carrier’s top priority after China.

The carrier experienced up to 30 percent passenger growth for its Indonesian flights last year, this figure is expected to be retained this year amid a projected slowdown in the country’s tourism industry during an election year.

“We have the corporate segment, we have government [officials] traveling, pilgrimages [to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Jerusalem Israel]. A lot travel with us,” Eu said.

“But haj and umrah [minor pilgrimage] are only one component. There is the leisure market [where] the travel ability of Indonesians has gone up quite a lot.”

He said Qatar Airways was confident it could entice Indonesian travelers especially now that the airline had moved to its multi-billion airport, which is located about 16 kilometers from Qatar’s capital and connects flights to 140 key destinations.

Moreover, Eu said, the airline opened about 10 to 12 new destinations every year, which would give travelers more options.

Qatar Airways is also looking to establish a new daily flight to Bali starting on July 21. The flight will serve 1,820 seats one way per week.

It will be the first Gulf carrier to fly directly from its country of origin to Bali.

Eu said that Bali’s market was doing very well for the carrier, as more and more Europeans came to the island every year through Doha.

Qatar’s flight to Bali is currently served through Singapore, where it faces stiff competition from other airlines transiting in the city state, as well as from local carrier Singapore Airlines, to connect the flight to the island of paradise, forcing it to go ahead with the long-haul trip.

When asked about future plans to establish new routes to other Indonesian cities, Eu said the carrier eyed several cities — particularly Medan in North Sumatra and Surabaya in East Java — but the long administrative procedure and airport conditions were major obstacles, so it decided to focus on the Jakarta and Bali routes for the time being.

“We are actually interested in some cities, but sometimes it is hard to get the permits,” he said, adding that the airline had to take turns with other carriers to negotiate with the Transportation Ministry to obtain the necessary permits.

“Also, airports in Indonesia are very full. We can’t fly in anymore, especially in Surabaya it is very packed.” (Anggi M. Lubis)