Indonesia's airlines enjoy boom times Trinidad Guardina 04.22.03 As BWIA, the financially-challenged national carrier, continues its struggle to survive with the help of a $117 million Government bailout, other airlines around the world are building new business models of aviation profit. Here are just two examples. The launch of Air Paradise International in February could not have come at a worse time.The Bali-based airline's maiden flight was delayed for three months after the October 12 terrorist attacks on the island in which 202 people died. When it finally took to the air February 16, it had to contend not only with a slump in travel to Bali, but also with the looming war in Iraq. "On top of that, we now have to deal with SARS," owner Kadek Wiranatha said, referring to severe acute respiratory syndrome, the contagious flu-like illness that has ravaged air travel throughout Southeast Asia. Still, Wiranatha is optimistic Air Paradise will prosper in the burgeoning aviation market in Indonesia, where air travel is the primary means of getting around the country's 13,000 islands scattered over an area the size of the United States. While many airlines worldwide are cutting back, coping with empty seats and mounting losses, Indonesia is seeing an unprecedented boom with packed planes and new domestic carriers vying for a place in the sky. By the end of 2002, there were 22 airlines in the country, up from five in 1998 when the Asian financial crisis devastated Indonesia's economy. At least four more are seeking approval to start flying this year, officials said. The 1998 crisis slashed passenger numbers by more than half, from 13.4 million in 1998 to 6.2 million the following year, said Santoso Eddie Wibowo, director of civil aviation at the Ministry of Transport. But since then, he said, ticket sales have steadily grown and are expected to surpass pre-crisis levels this year. A factor in the expansion is that entrepreneurs can get planes more cheaply now, said Srboljub Savic, a consultant who has studied the Indonesian airline industry. "It owes much to the post September 11 airline problems in the United States, which have idled a large number of passenger jets and made them available for leasing at rock-bottom rates," Savic said. Medium-range jets such as a Boeing 737-300 can be picked up for US$45,000 a month, compared to US$120,000 two years ago, Savic said. There are now about 200 medium and long-range jets in airline fleets in Indonesia, almost double the number four years ago. The typical startup airline has about half-a-dozen 737 or MD-82 jets in its fleet, Savic said. Other factors fueling the boom include airline deregulation and an overvalued currency - making it easier to pay fixed costs pegged in US dollars. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.pscutt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************