Mandala Airlines to Fly Again on April 5
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Mandala Airlines to Fly Again on April 5
Indonesian budget carrier Mandala Airlines said on Tuesday that it will return to the skies next week, more than a year after being grounded due to huge debts.
After completing a financial restructuring in which Singapore budget carrier Tiger Airways became a key investor, Mandala said it had scheduled its inaugural flight from Jakarta to the Indonesian city of Medan for April 5.
That will be followed by the first international flight, from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur, on May 4, Mandala said in a joint statement with Tiger.
Tickets sales for both flights began selling Tuesday.
Other routes are expected to be announced “shortly”, the statement said.
Tiger now owns 33.0 percent of the carrier, while Indonesian investment company Saratoga Group holds a majority 51.3 percent stake and the remaining 15.7 percent is owned by Mandala’s previous shareholders and creditors.
Mandala was grounded in January 2011 due to its enormous debt but was cleared to fly again by Indonesian authorities last month after completing its restructuring process.
The carrier, founded in 1969 and owned by the Indonesian military until 2006 when private investors took over, has said it will adopt Tiger Airways’ low-cost carrier model and will use new Airbus A320 aircraft in its fleet.
When it ceased operations in January 2011, Mandala said it owed creditors 800 billion rupiah ($87 million), citing the high cost of leasing aircraft as among the reasons for its huge debt.
The Jakarta Globe newspaper reported a month later that its debt had risen to 2.4 trillion rupiah as more claims were verified. The money was owed to 114 companies, 72,000 ticket holders and 350 travel agencies, the report said.
Air travel has grown sharply in recent years in Indonesia with the emergence of budget carriers as well as rising incomes as a result of steady economic growth.
Agence France-
After completing a financial restructuring in which Singapore budget carrier Tiger Airways became a key investor, Mandala said it had scheduled its inaugural flight from Jakarta to the Indonesian city of Medan for April 5.
That will be followed by the first international flight, from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur, on May 4, Mandala said in a joint statement with Tiger.
Tickets sales for both flights began selling Tuesday.
Other routes are expected to be announced “shortly”, the statement said.
Tiger now owns 33.0 percent of the carrier, while Indonesian investment company Saratoga Group holds a majority 51.3 percent stake and the remaining 15.7 percent is owned by Mandala’s previous shareholders and creditors.
Mandala was grounded in January 2011 due to its enormous debt but was cleared to fly again by Indonesian authorities last month after completing its restructuring process.
The carrier, founded in 1969 and owned by the Indonesian military until 2006 when private investors took over, has said it will adopt Tiger Airways’ low-cost carrier model and will use new Airbus A320 aircraft in its fleet.
When it ceased operations in January 2011, Mandala said it owed creditors 800 billion rupiah ($87 million), citing the high cost of leasing aircraft as among the reasons for its huge debt.
The Jakarta Globe newspaper reported a month later that its debt had risen to 2.4 trillion rupiah as more claims were verified. The money was owed to 114 companies, 72,000 ticket holders and 350 travel agencies, the report said.
Air travel has grown sharply in recent years in Indonesia with the emergence of budget carriers as well as rising incomes as a result of steady economic growth.
Agence France-
