Batavia Air to serve Jeddah, add int’l routes

JAKARTA: Private airline Batavia Air is set to launch Jakarta-Jeddah-Riyadh service starting on May 23, and expects flights to be 80 percent full.

“We started accepting reservations today. We’re optimistic about reaching our target,” Batavia spokesman Eddy Haryanto said at a presentation Monday. For the new route, Batavia would use two Airbus A330-200s, each with 302 seats.

The airline had leased the wide-body aircraft in 2009 but the Saudi Arabian aviation authority had issued flight permits only last week. Batavia would serve Jeddah daily, and fly to Riyadh on Mondays and Wednesdays, he said.

The airline also planned to start services to Bangkok, Dhaka, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo later in 2010, Eddy said. “We are still processing permits for the new routes,” he added.

The Seoul and Tokyo routes would use the Airbus 330-200, while Batavia would fly the 200-passenger, narrow-body Airbus A321 to Bangkok, Dhaka and Hong Kong.

Batavia’s fleet of 39 aircraft currently serves 39 domestic airports, as well as international destinations Guangzhou, Kuching and Singapore. — JP