Citilink Optimistic To Achieve Aviation Market Share At Jenderal Soedirman Purbalingga Airport Bandara

ANTARA/Citilink Airline is optimistic that it will gain market share for flights at Jenderal Besar Soedirman Airport, Purbalingga Regency, Central Java.

PURBALINGGA - Citilink is optimistic that it will gain market share for flights at Jenderal Besar Soedirman Airport, Purbalingga Regency, Central Java. The airport will operate commercially on June 3.

Director of Operations Citilink Erlangga Sakti said the optimism was based on the public's interest in using flight services to and from Purbalingga.

"We operate the ATR-72 500 aircraft, it has a capacity of about 70 seats. Just because we carry out health protocols, we only provide 60 seats, while 10 seats are for restriction if there are infected passengers," he said, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, 1 June

Of the 60 seating capacity provided, he said, tickets that have been sold for flights on June 3, 2021 have averaged 40 seats.

In this case, said Erlangga, Citilink temporarily only serves flights on Thursdays and Saturdays, each with the Juanda Airport route from Surabaya to JB Sudirman Airport to Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta, then back to Purbalingga and then to Surabaya.

"Incidentally, we have made intensive preparations, in collaboration with Angkasa Pura II, Airnav, Airbase, and local stakeholders," continued Erlangga.

He admitted that he saw the public interest in Purbalingga was very good so that people in the Banyumas Raya area could be moved to use flight services through JB Sudirman Airport, so that in the future Citilink could serve every day.

Asked about the possibility of Citilink opening another route at JB Sudirman Airport, he admitted that he had spoken with PT Angkasa Pura II (Persero) President Director Muhammad Awaluddin to explore the Purbalingga-Semarang flight route.

"Now with the opening of the route twice a week to Jakarta, residents here after the pandemic ends can use it for transit, for example abroad. From here to Halim, from Halim to Cengkareng, Cengkareng abroad," said Erlangga.

Regarding the price of airline tickets, Erlangga said that coincidentally, the Garuda Indonesia subsidiary is an airline that applies a low cost carrier (LCC) and is limited by an upper limit fare and a lower limit fare.

Meanwhile, President Director of PT Angkasa Pura II (Persero) Muhammad Awaluddin said the potential of JB Sudirman as a new airport would be an added value and then become an airport point as well as the point of origin and destination for flights, especially air transportation.

"If we look at the response and public interest, we hope and of course support from regional heads in Central Java Province, we will continue to improve this. Indeed, at the initial stage we need socialization and education," he said.

Regarding the public's interest, he said that the passenger occupancy rate at the initial stage which reached 70 percent was quite good.

In this case, he said, the ATR-72 500 aircraft which has a maximum capacity of 72 seats (for Citilink which serves flights in Purbalingga only 70 seats, ed.), according to health protocol standards there must be an empty seat.

"So if we look at the ratio of used capacity of 70 percent, it is already very good. Moreover, this is an early stage," he said.

In the final stage of the simulation, a flight test was conducted by Citilink using the ATR-72 500 aircraft from Juanda Airport Surabaya to JB Sudirman Airport and vice versa.