Air France to open Denpasar - Amsterdam route soon
Denpasar (ANTARA News) - Air France, in cooperation with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) of the Netherlands, will begin a direct Denpasar-Amsterdam service via Singapore next Dec 7, a spokesman said.
Air France - KLM Country Manager Axel Colen made the statement after a meeting with Denpasar Mayor IB Rai Darmawijaya Mantra here on Tuesday.
Colen said Air France would make its maiden flight to Denpasar on December 7, 2009 because European tourists, especially from the Netherlands, were keenly interested in visiting the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
"Air France's direct flights from Amsterdam to Denpasar will make it easier for European tourists to visit Bali rather than having to make a transit in Jakarta," Colen said.
He said Air France Airbus A300 jetliners with a capacity of 425 seats would serve the Amsterdan-Denpasar route three times a week, namely every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Denpasar Mayor Rai Mantra in the company of local tourism office chief Putu Budiasa said he welcomed Air France's plan to conduct direct flights from Amsterdam to Denpasar.
With the direct flights of Air France from Amsterdam to Denpasar, Rai Mantra said, there was hope that the number of Eurpean tourists visiting Bali would increase.
"The direct flights will certainly have a positive impact on tourism in Bali in the international community's eyes, because Air France is a famous airline that will increase the interest of European tourists to visit Bali," Rai Mantra said.
Meanwhile, Putu Budiasa said the number of European tourists visiting Bali was continuing to increase year after year.
"In terms of countries of origin, tourists from France are the highest in number, followed by those from the Netherlands, Germany, and Britain," Budiasa said.
Data from the Bali tourism office indicated that of a total of 1,464,739 tourists who visited Bali from January to August this year, 26 percent or 383,863 people were from Europe. (*)
COPYRIGHT © 2009 ANTARA
PubDate: 11/10/09 21:03
