Aeroflot's flight on a Rossiya Airlines plane from Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport to Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar on the island of Bali opened direct air service between Russia and Indonesia. The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism organized a ceremonial meeting the first flight.
As TRN learned, on October 29 at 8.20 am local time, the Boeing 777-300 Extended Range of Rossiya Airlines landed for the first time on the most popular island among Russian tourists, Bali. The flight time of 10,600 km was 12 hours 15 minutes. And here it is worth noting that given that the Boeing 777-300 ER has a layout designed to carry 21 Business class passengers and 436 class passengers, the regularity is three times a week, in the winter season of 2018-2019 the new flight increases the seat capacity on the liners between the two countries in one direction by more than 35 thousand passengers.
The Russian airliner, along with representatives of the media of the two countries, was met by Mr. Wahid Supriyadi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to Russia and the Republic of Belarus, who arrived specially for the ceremony, Mr. Agus Setiawan, Head of the European Market Department of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Made Priyadi Sentanjaya, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, as well as Mr. Nuku Kamka, Honorary Consul in Bali, and the first honorary passengers of the flight from Moscow were official representatives of Rossiya Airlines and Mikhail Kuritsyn, Chairman of the Russia-Indonesia Business Council. The arrivals were greeted with flower garlands, national dances of the Bali province and traditional Indonesian gamelan music, which was performed by a group of current employees of the airport ground services as a sign of respect and hospitality.
The launch of a direct flight is an important step in the development of Russian-Indonesian relations and the increase in tourist flow. According to the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, in 2017, the tourist flow from Russia to Indonesia increased by 37,28% even despite the absence of a non-stop flight, and in the period from January to August 2018, the number of tourists reached 83,438, exceeding the figures for the same period last year by 6.9%.
Direct flights will be operated three times a week. Flights from Moscow will depart on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays (SU 6295) at 15:05**∗, and back (SU 6295) on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10:05**. In the 2018-2019 winter season, the new flight will increase the seat capacity between the two countries in one direction by more than 35,000 passengers. Tickets to Denpasar can be purchased on the official website of PJSC Aeroflot.
The first flight load was more than 85%, which is an excellent indicator in the practice of civil aviation. For Rossiya Airlines, the new regular route also becomes the most record-breaking in terms of flight distance.
"Now we can say with confidence that the resumption of direct flights has made the Land of a Thousand Islands closer to Russian travelers, at least this concerns the most popular island among Russian tourists, Bali!" said Mr. Wahid Supriyadi at a press conference on the occasion of the flight's arrival in Denpasar. "If for tourists the new flight has become another convenient alternative to existing transit flights, then for businesses we now also see new potential for realizing the possibilities of exporting perishable tropical fruits and seafood, as well as tea and coffee. We believe that with the simplification of the visa regime for Indonesian citizens, the flight to Moscow from Denpasar will become even more popular."
Source: trn-news.ru
