Indonesia's Sriwijaya Air plans to sign a purchase agreement next week for 10 Boeing 737-800s, as it seeks to launch more international services.
The Jakarta-based carrier will ink the deal with Boeing in Seattle next week, and the aircraft will be delivered from 2015, says an airline spokeswoman.
"But we are in negotiations with Boeing to see if the deliveries can be brought forward to 2013 as we really need them to begin more flights," she adds.
Sriwijaya serves mostly domestic destinations and operates flights to Singapore and Malaysia's Penang island, and wants to expand its international network.
"We are looking at Australian cities, and will likely begin flights to Perth," says the spokeswoman. The carrier is also considering flying to Vietnam and Cambodia and Chinese cities like Hangzhou.
Sriwijaya has a fleet of 27 737s, but the upcoming deal with add its first 737-800, It is also looking to add 60 smaller aircraft to its fleet for domestic operations.
"We are in discussions with Embraer and ATR and other manufacturers, and we hope to get these aircraft at the same time as the 737s," says the spokeswoman.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
