“[The route opening] is already in the finalization stage. It will [start operating] around July. We’ve already received [flight] slots in India, Malaysia and Australia,” said Batik Air president director Achmad Luthfie.

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“The economies in both countries keep growing. Moreover, these two countries have the biggest populations in the world. In India, there are about 200 million people who are in the upper-middle class group who have traveled overseas. This is where the market potential lies,” he added.

Currently, Batik Air has 37 planes, but by the end of this year, the airline plans to have 41. The total number of flights that Batik Air has on a daily basis has reached 209 with the airline’s on-time performance at 95 percent.

Batik Air's decision to open a new flight route is in line with the Tourism Ministry's focus on its National Coordination Meeting: Air Connectivity. To achieve the target of 15 million international tourists, the meeting concluded that air connectivity must be increased.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said, "Without air connectivity, the digital aspects of tourism and the implementation of homestays will not be successful. It's a way to get international tourists to come to our country."

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Yahya also mentioned that the ministry facilitating new routes and making traffic rights avail, which also come with incentive programs, are supported by all airlines. The program is believed to motivate airlines to open new routes, add seats, or flight frequency in the effort to increase the number of tourists to Indonesia.

"We believe that if everything relating to connectivity can happen, then the Tourism Ministry's international tourist target of 15 million in 2017 and 20 million in 2019 will be achieved. The aviation industry is the biggest gate [into our country], 75 percent, compared to other gates," he added. (asw)