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new player in the airline industry is set to start operations in March with routes connecting big cities in the archipelago and also serving international destinations such as Mumbai, India; Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Singapore.

Planning to start operation with two Airbus A320-200s and two Fokker 50s, privately owned Pacific Royal has won approval to fly 81 routes, 70 percent of which will be domestic.

“The process to obtain the Air Operator Certificate is already in its last phase and we are currently waiting for flight tests,” Pacific Royal CEO Samudra Sukardi said on Wednesday.

For domestic routes, Samudra said that the airline would use the Fokker 50s to link Surabaya, East Java; and Batam, Riau; to other cities across the cities such as Banyuwangi and Madiun, East Java; Pekanbaru and Natuna; Riau; and Jambi.

“The Fokkers will be used as feeders.”

Three additional Fokkers and two more Airbuses would arrive in May while the airline’s last aircraft, an Airbus A330, would arrive at the end of this year, Samudra added.

“For international routes, we will connect Jakarta to Bombay, Surabaya to Singapore and Surabaya to Hong Kong, among others,” Samudra said.

He also said that Pacific Royale would connect Bandung, West Java; to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

“We are intending to fly to more cities in China in the future because they are a great market,” he said.

Pacific Royale is owned by Gunarni Gunawan, with a 51 percent, and Indian investor Tarun Trika, with a 49 percent stake.

Total investment in the airline reached US$60 million; $40 million to purchase and lease 10 aircraft and the remainder for operational costs and fuel.

Separately, long-time player Mandala Airlines is expected to make a comeback and resume flight services in February after financial woes halted its operation in January 2011.

Transportation Ministry inspectors recently finished checking Mandala’s two aircraft at Singapore’s Changi International Airport and the airline’s AOC review process has entered its final stage.

The airline intends to operate 10 new Airbus A320s this year on its previous routes, such as Jakarta to Singapore, Jakarta to Balikpapan, and Balikpapan to Singapore.

However, Mandala, which currently has only two aircraft, previously said it would offered limited flight service after it resumed operation.

Saratoga Capital currently controls 51 percent of Mandala, Singapore-based Tiger Airways owns 33 percent and other creditors hold the remaining 16 percent through a debt-to-equity swap.

The airline industry in Indonesia will see strong growth this year due to the expansion plans of the existing operators, according to analysts.

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, for example, has recently announced it would broaden its network in Asia and soon introduce new routes, including Denpasar to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, beginning on April 27, and from Jakarta to Taipei, Taiwan, starting on May 19.

In October, the airline has also increased flight frequency on a number of routes, namely Denpasar to Sydney from six times to seven times a week, Denpasar to Seoul from five times to seven times a week, Jakarta to Melbourne from three times to four times a week, and Denpasar to Melbourne from four times to five times a week. (nfo)