That is why I had once highlighted the need for one other competitor. Some people said (the government should subsidize the price of) avtur fuel in regions. If the regions are keen on doing so, then they have to look for partners that are willing to
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan drew attention to the fact that Indonesia's domestic flight tickets are priced the sixth lowest worldwide.

"Take a look at Garuda Indonesia's flight tickets. They are the fourth- or sixth-lowest in the world. Hence, they are among the cheapest ones. However, this is not conducive for the company. That is also the government's shortcoming," he stated at an Eid-al-Fitr get-together at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) building here on Tuesday.

He opined that one of the areas that the government had faltered was to allow the price of aviation turbine (avtur) fuels to rise or also exceed the Mid Oil Platts Singapore (MOPS) reference price.

"That is why I had once highlighted the need for one other competitor. Some people said (the government should subsidize the price of) avtur fuel in regions. If the regions are keen on doing so, then they have to look for partners that are willing to subsidize the price of avtur fuel. Why is it that Singapore can sell avtur 20 percent lower than us," he pointed out.

The other factor behind the hike in the flight ticket price is inefficiency on the part of Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air that dominate the domestic aviation industry, he emphasized.

The inefficiency is related to the purchase of aircraft that is not in tune with its requirements and efficiency endeavor, he remarked.

"However, Garuda is improving its fleet and so is Lion Air ," he added.

Translator: Ade irma Junida, Suharto
Editor: Bambang Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019