Indonesian Muhammad Fikri, 28, studying in the Netherlands, bought round-trip tickets from a

low-cost airline for his solo trip to Italy this month.

Fikri, who worked in a social business institution in akarta last year, was an a!id backpacker
e"ploring #sia on low-cost carriers.
$I don%t ha!e a huge budget, but I do ha!e some money spare to tra!el abroad,& he said.
Many middle-class Indonesians are using their disposable income for tra!el and Fikri is one of
them.
'he 'ransportation Ministry pro(ected that the total figure of air tra!elers in the country will be as
much or higher than )** million this year, )) percent up from 2*)+%s estimated ,+.-. million.
'o comply with the towering demand, budget airlines /itilink, 0ion #ir and #ir#sia ha!e all set
increase plans for this and the coming years.
'he budget airline unit of national flag carrier 1aruda Indonesia, /itilink, will recei!e eight #irbus
#+2*s sometime between une and 2ecember this year to make-up international routes.
'he carrier currently operates 22 aircraft, last month with a flight from 3urabaya, 4ast a!a, to
ohor 5ahru, Malaysia, it has made its international-route debut.
/itilink /46 #rif 7ibowo said the carrier would also offer other international flights connecting
3urabaya to 8uala 0umpur, Malaysia, early this month and 3ingapore in May, as well as 9ong
8ong, 'aiwan and :erth, #ustralia, in the coming months.
It aims to almost double its aircraft to -* units by 2*)- and augment its scheduled domestic and
international routes from 28 to +; this year.
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'he country%s largest low-cost airline, 0ion #ir, will focus on adding se!eral domestic routes this
year.
$'here are still many domestic routes that we ha!en%t co!ered yet,& said 0ion 1roup corporate
secretary #de 3iman(untak.
'he 0ion 1roup functions low-cost carriers 0ion #ir and 7ings #ir, full-ser!ice carrier 5atik #ir,
and the low-cost carrier combined !entures Malindo #ir and 'hai 0ion #ir in Malaysia and
'hailand, correspondingly.
'he group transported +. million passengers, or around ?* percent of the country%s total air
tra!elers last year, according to the /enter for #!iation @/#:#A. 6f the +. million passengers,
+- million took domestic flights, /#:# estimated.
0ion #ir, which ser!es +. domestic and international destinations with its ,- aircraft, is slated to
open new local routes connecting 5alikpapan, 4ast 8alimantan, to 3ulawesi cities, like
Makassar, :alu and Manado, #de said.
/urrently, the carrier now flies abroad to, among others, eddah in 3audi #rabiaB 3ingaporeB
and 8uala 0umpur and :enang in Malaysia.
#de said that this year, the group only e"pected 5atik #ir, which was launched last May, to start
flying to 3ingapore in No!ember at the earliest.
'he long-term plan to add hundreds of aircraft, he said, would still go ahead. 'he 0ion 1roup
has ordered at least -;* aircraft worth C3D?. billion from #irbus and 5oeing, with deli!ery up to
2*28.
Indonesia #ir#sia @I##A, an affiliate of the Malaysia-based #ir#sia 1roup, will focus on
international routes this year together with the group, said I## spokeswoman #udrey
:rograstama.
$7e are !ery strong in international flights. 'he number of air tra!elers across 3outheast #sia
increased up by 2* percent in recent years,& she said.