Cheap Airlines Increasingly Needed

Low-cost or cheap flights are part of commercial strategies for airlines that are looking to provide an opportunity for consumers to choose comprehensive services or services that are truly needed. Their existence gives consumers more opportunities to travel by airplane.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

A banner ad for the Citilink low-cost carrier adorns a wall on Saturday (24/11/2018) at Terminal 1, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. Low-cost carriers have helped boost the number of air passengers on both domestic and foreign flights.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Low-cost or cheap flights are part of commercial strategies for airlines that are looking to provide an opportunity for consumers to choose comprehensive services or services that are truly needed. The existence of low-cost flights gives consumers more opportunities to travel by airplane.

In 2013, there were 3.05 billion airplane passengers in the world. The number increased to 3.98 billion in 2017. In Indonesia, there were 208.04 million airplane passengers in 2017, a jump from 169.24 million in 2013. The data, calculated by Kompas on Sunday (25/11/2018), looked at airplane passengers from both the domestic and international markets, as compiled by the technical executive unit of  PT Angkasa Pura I, PT Angkasa Pura II and the Air Transportation Business Entity.

Flights can be low-cost because they provide what is really needed by consumers when traveling by plane. Meanwhile, other things that are complementary, such as food and beverages, are not provided. However, hungry passengers on airplanes can still buy food at separate fees.

Blankets, entertainment options in passenger seats and luggage weight for each passenger can also be reduced or eliminated from the fees that must be paid by passengers. This affects the ticket prices. Passengers who want to carry more luggage can pay more, as can passengers who want to have blankets throughout the flight.

An airplane passenger, Angela Claudia, 22, a Jakarta resident, chose a cheap deal for a 1 to 2 hour flight. “It is not a problem to get no food despite the hunger. It is also not a problem when the seat is narrow,” Claudia said.

During peak season, Claudia said she even tolerated delays in flight departures. For Claudia, the limited facilities on the flights are reasonable given the low prices being offered.

Passenger of low-cost flights also take advantage of what is offered by airlines, such as ordering food in when booking tickets. Usually, airlines gives discounts during the booking process.

Eldi Soraya, 24, from Bandung, West Java, also tolerates the limited availability of facilities on low-cost flights. As a customer of cheap flights, Eldi prioritizes flight safety and security.

Based on Law No. 1/2009 on flights, the government only regulates the service group of the Scheduled Commercial Air Transportation Business Entity. The law mentions that the middle service group and the minimum standard service group are Low-Cost Scheduled Commercial Air Transportation Business Entities.

As disclosed by the director general of air transportation at the Transportation Ministry, Polana B. Pramesti, safety and security standards apply mandatorily for each service group. This is in accordance with the civil aviation safety and security standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

No compromise

With reference to this rule, there is no compromise in terms of flight safety and security.

Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) Soerjanto Tjahjono said there was no relationship between low ticket prices and flight accidents. "Everything is the same in the eyes of the KNKT. When conducting an investigation, we do not see whether the airline\'s plane is cheap or not. What is important to us is that the aircraft follows the rules that have been prepared and approved by the government. Accidents can happen to anyone," said Soerjanto.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi also underlined it was not true that flights were cheap because low-cost airline providers sacrificed aircraft maintenance budgets. "We strictly maintain flight safety. We always do aircraft maintenance audits, both for full-service flights and LCCs (low-cost carriers). There is no connection between low ticket prices and flight safety," he said.

According to a ticket sales website in the network, flights from Soekarno-Hatta airport (Tangerang, Banten) to Hong Kong on Dec. 12 are Rp 3.9 million per person for complete services. The facilities the passengers get on the direct flights for five hours include 30 kilograms of luggage, food and entertainment options on the plane. Meanwhile, cheap flight tickets were Rp 1.4 million per person for an eight hour flight with one transit – without luggage, food and entertainment.

Chairman of the executive board of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation Tulus Abadi urged regulators and flight operators to continuously tighten supervision of airlines. By conducting this, according to Tulus, the airlines do not have room to "play around" with maintenance costs. "Aviation safety and security must still be the main thing," said Tulus.

Separately, managing director of Lion Air Group Daniel Putut said that the low-cost flights were the future flights. “Many people want to travel and many regions want to be opened. With LCCs, all can be solved. That is why we enter the LCC services,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dendy Kurniawan, CEO of AirAsia Indonesia Group, said that the flight industry applied strict regulations and procedures to guarantee the safety standards. The regulations and procedures refer to international standards. “For example, for the maintenance of the airplanes and other aspects of airworthiness, there is nothing that can be compromised in connection with the safety factors in flights,” Dendy said.

Current trends have resulted in the growth in low-cost airlines. President director of Aviatory Indonesia Ziva Narendra predicted that low-cost airlines would control 45 percent of the world\'s aviation market share.

"The principle adopted by low-cost airlines is to optimize the costs. However, the essential costs regarding the security and safety of the passengers should not be trimmed," he said.

(ARN/JUD)