"We believed that Auckland airport has a dense traffic flow."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - State national air carrier PT Garuda Indonesia has signed an MoU with Auckland airport on Garuda`s commitment to make the airport the first destination to New Zealand.

"Garuda believed that the MoU is a good opportunity to increase flights to Auckland as a preliminary measure for a flight expansion from New Zealand to other cities in Asia and Europe through Jakarta and Bali," Garuda`s President Director Emirsyah Satar said.

Emirsyah Satar signed the MoU with head of Auckland airport Joan Withers in the presence of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan and New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser.

"We believed that Auckland airport has a dense traffic flow, and we therefore made the plan (MoU) while the New Zealand Prime Minister was on a visit to Jakarta," Emir said.

He added that the MoU would also help Garuda market the flights to New Zealand.

"So they have a full commitment, but the problem now is that we are still short of planes, but we had yet to decide to buy more planes," Emir said.

Emir believed that next year Indonesia will use Airbus A330s for the Indonesia-Auckland flight once per day.

Actually Air New Zealand planned to start flights to Bali twice a week in June 2012.

Aeronautical Commercial General Manager of Auckland airport Glenn Wedlock said on the occasion that the MoU is only a preliminary plan of investment and Auckland`s airport network development.

"The opening of the Air New Zealand flights on the Auckland-Denpasar route, will develop the market and tourism between the two countries.

Actually Garuda Indonesia has already cooperated withe Auckland airport on a Taste New Zealand program in Jakarta and Bali to introduce New Zealand products like wine and cheese to professional culinary businesses and Indonesian exporters in 2011.

According to data of New Zealand Tourism (TNZ), the number of Indonesian tourists to New Zealand up to February reached only 11,824, a 22.5 pct increase.

PM John Key said on the same occasion that one effective way of boosting economic ties would be increasing one`s knowlededge about the two countries, because very few New Zealanders knew about Indonesia, while Indonesia is one of its closest neighbors.

Gita Wirjawan said trade between New Zealand and Indonesia was still small, worth only 1.1 billion US dollars, with an Indonesian deficit of 100-200 million US dollars.

According to data of the New Zealand government, Indonesia is New Zealand`s 10 biggest export markets and the biggest in Southeast Asia, with New Zealand`s exports to Indonesia reaching only 870 million New Zeland dollars (Rp6.53 trillion) while New Zealand`s imports from Indonesia reached 704 million New Zealand dollars (Rp5.28 trillion).

The total bilateral trade between the two countries reached 1.52 billion New Zealand dollars (Rp11.4 trillion) in December 2011.

Food and beverages are New Zealand`s main export items to Indonesia (60.9 pct of the total exports) with a value of 521.3 million New Zealand dollars (Rp3.91 trillion) in 2011 including milk, cream, butter and cheese.

With regard to geothermal heat, cooperation between the two countries began in 1982 when New Zealand PM RObert Muldoon and President Soeharto opened the first geothermal energy project in Kamojang.
(T.D017/H-NG/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012