Five Agents Suspected Of Monopolizing Garuda Tickets For Umrah

Chairman of BPP Hipmi, Mardani H. Maming. (Photo: Twitter @mardani_maming)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (BPP Hipmi) Mardani H. Maming suspects that there is a suspicion of a monopoly on Garuda ticket sales for the Umrah pilgrimage. According to him, there are five agents who play in the monopoly.

For this reason, he asked the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) to investigate the alleged monopoly and cartel sales of Garuda Indonesia aircraft tickets.

"We ask KPPU to immediately intervene and investigate this allegation. How come the people who want to worship Garuda flight tickets are monopolized by these five agents. As a result, ticket prices have become expensive. Because small travelers are obliged to buy from the five agents above. We ask KPPU to reveal the allegations. There are games internally at Garuda and these five agents, "Maming said in his statement, Friday, December 27.

Maming explained that the five agents he meant were Kanomas Arci Wisata, Smart Umrah, Nur Arima Awali (NRA), Aero Hajj, and Wahana Travel. The reason is, according to Maming, agents or wholesellers have blocked Garuda Indonesia Airlines tickets for the Umrah route.

He said reservations and ticket purchases had to go through the five agents above. "As a result of this alleged cartel, a number of Umrah travelers have suffered losses. The margin is getting smaller because consumers have to buy tickets in stages. We suspect that there are strong indications of a ticket cartel for the middle east airlines (MEA) or Umrah routes, ”said Maming.

In addition, said Maming, this allegation made the ticket sales or agency business competition unhealthy. According to Maming, this violates Law (UU) number 5 of 1999 concerning the prohibition of monopolistic practices and unfair business competition.

"For example, Article 17 paragraph 1 concerning monopoly states that business actors are prohibited from exercising control over the production and or marketing of goods and or services which may result in monopolistic practices and / or unfair business competition," said Maming.

Maming said, in contrast to Garuda, other airline tickets are sold freely to the market and are not concentrated on a certain number of agents. "So that other airline tickets can easily be found in markets or other platforms," said Maming.

This practice, he said, is not only detrimental to other agent competitors but also consumers. Therefore, Hipmi urged KPPU to investigate this kind of practice.