Indonesian start-up carrier Air Wagon International (AWAIR) is to lease three Boeing 737-400s and has returned one Airbus A310-300 to Singapore lessor Region Air.
The airline says it is considering 737 offers from lessors in Singapore among other countries, but adds that Airbus A320s could also be considered. The aircraft would serve smaller Indonesian destinations such as Balikpapan, Lombok and Yogyakarta which cannot handle widebody aircraft.
The airline has dropped plans to introduce an Airbus A300, and is reconfiguring its A310s, dropping its first-class cabin section, reducing business class to 16 seats and increasing economy class capacity. While these changes are taking place, routes to Bali and Singapore have been temporarily suspended and are expected to resume in March.
AWAIR is now negotiating with other carriers to take on transfer passengers at Singapore, in an attempt to increase its loads on that route once it resumes. The airline is continuing to fly from Jakarta via Surabaya to Makassar, and from Jakarata to Medan.
Former president Rachmat Soebakir was replaced on 2 February by then-operations director Yasir Ismail. Soebakir has now been appointed to lead another of Indonesia's numerous new start-up carriers, Fajar Air.
AWAIR began operating last June as Indonesia's first new scheduled airline in over a decade, and has been followed by a flurry of activity in the sector as a result of government efforts to promote competition in the industry.
Source: Flight International
