Why Do Airfares in Indonesia Soar and Domestics Flight is More Expensive Than Internationals?
Jakarta: Indonesia's perennial problem of expensive airfares is especially acute for domestically routes in the world's largest archipelago. Travelers have found it as frustrating as policy makers.
The tough geography of the country also makes flying in Indonesia expensive, which is a key reason why air travel between its islands cost much more than anywhere else on earth. As the world's biggest archipelago, with more than 17K islands which oversee a vast land area, air cargo infrastructure has been an important issue for Indonesia to operate (Yusfida,2022). Many airports are not able to be sustained during the pandemic with financial assistance through their governments (Yusfida, 2022).
Such is the case of limited domestic competition. While low-cost carriers (LCCs) such as Lion Air and AirAsia operate in the market, it is controlled by Garuda Indonesia which has a stake of 54% on total demand(Bowen, 2019). Airlines have been able to keep prices high with few alternatives for travelers, lack of competition (Bowen, 2019).
One of the topics that has long been raised is poor quality air travel in Indonesia, indicated by frequent delays and cancellations as well as unfriendly customer service (Fananiar et al., 2020). These points can help to lead in higher costs, where some airlines spend more on improving travel experiences (Fananiar et al., 2020).
Moreover, the regulatory framework in Indonesia was reported to be a possible obstacle for enhancing and developing air transportation. There is a great appetite for government policies and regulations to decrease the cost of air travel, which needs well-planned measures aimed at keeping creating competition and efficiency in sectors (Yusfida, 2022).
To sum it up, the expensive airfares in Indonesia., especially for domestic flights is a serious matter that has many problems to solve. These challenges are addressed with a multifaceted approach that includes investments in infrastructure, fostering competition and an enabling regulatory environment system to encourage the growth and development of air transport (Bowen, 2019; Yusfida, 2022; Fananiar et al., 2020; Ganatra et al., 2021).
References
Bowen, J T. (2019, January 1). Lions and Tigers: LCCs in Southeast Asia. Elsevier BV, 161-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-811393-6.00008-3
Fananiar, A., Widjaja, F N., & Tedjakusuma, A P. (2020, January 1). The Effect of AIRQUAL on Customer Satisfaction and Word of Mouth at Garuda Indonesia Airline. https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.200127.055
Ganatra, V., Sinha, R., Chawla, P A., Yi, T C., Kee, D M H., Fei, N M., Leng, L S., Hui, F H., Sentosa, R G., Sin, L G., Gupta, A., & Pandey, R. (2021, February 20). A Case Study on Key Success Factors of Garuda Indonesia Airlines. , 4(1), 82-96. https://doi.org/10.32535/ijthap.v4i1.1024
Yusfida, I. (2022, March 7). Critical Success Factor for Labuhan Bajo Airport Public-Private Partnership Investment Pilot Project. , 7(1), 8-8. https://doi.org/10.51557/pt_jiit.v7i1.1095
