TEMPO.CO, Denpasar - Starting today, June 1, Citilink airline is serving flight routes to Denpasar-Dili, Timor Leste, using Airbus A320-200 aircraft with the capacity of 150 seats to replace the old Boeing 737-500.
Niaga Citilink Director Hans Nugroho say the replacing of the armadas are done because of the growth in the number of passengers. “Since operating in September 2015, the number of passengers continue to show an increasing trend,” said Hans.
This is a full-service route, so the aircraft that is supposed to carry 180 passengers will only carry 150, including 20 first-class seats and the rest are coach. For promotion and marketing efforts, Citilink cooperates with Air Timor, the only airline operating in the country.
Air Timor CEO Abessy Bento is confident that those 150 seats will be filled as the market is very convincing, including travelers who are intrigued to visit Timor Leste after vacationing in Bali. Many residents of Timor Leste have family relationship or had studied in Bali.
The number of passengers for this route averages 12,000 people per month served by three operators. The aircraft occupancy rate averages 70 percent, but could reach 90 percent during the peak season between December-January. “We open cooperation opportunity with Citilink to serve the new routes, even until Australia,” said Abessy.
ROFIQI HASAN
