Dragonair Buka Rute ke Indonesia
Maskapai internasional asal Hong Kong Dragon Air resmi membuka rute baru Hongkong-Denpasar-Hong Kong sekaligus merupakan kota pertama penerbangan maskapai tersebut di Indonesia. Selain itu, rute ini juga menjadi tujuan ke-15 yang diluncurkan oleh maskapai sejak dua tahun terakhir.
Celebrating the launch of Dragonair’s service between Denpasar and Hong Kong at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport were (left to right): Dragonair Manager East Indonesia Ms Grace Ho; Dragonair General Manager Southeast Asia Mr Wilson Yam; Bali Tourism Head of Marketing Mr Nyoman Wardawan; Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Patrick Yeung; Angkasa Pura 1 Airport Operation Manager Mr Nyoman Nurohim; and Dragonair Country Manager Patton Chan. Dragonair will operate the route every Thursday and Sunday with A330-300s. Three other airlines already operate daily flights between the two airports, including Cathay Pacific Airways.
Chief Executive Officer Dragon Air Patrick Yeung menyampaikan Denpasar menjadi Dragon Air di Indonesia karena merupakan tujuan liburan paling populer di Hong Kong. Dia menyebut, maskapai menargetkan okupansi penumpang maksimal 70 persen pada musim libur. “Kami baru saja memulai penerbangan rute ini. Harapannya rata-rata okupansi penumpang maksimal bisa mencapai 70 persen untuk permulaan periode awal,” katanya.
Yeung menyebut, maskapainya melayani rute Hongkong-Denpasar dan sebaliknya dengan frekuensi dua kali sepekan, setiap Kamis dan Minggu. Jika pangsa pasar terus meningkat, perseroan juga akan menambah frekuensi.
Layanan Denpasar Dragon air akan dioperasikan oleh pesawat Airbus A330-300 dalam dua konfigurasi kelas, yakni kabin kelas bisnis dan kelas ekonomi dengan sistem inflight entertainment on-demand baru, Studio-ka.
Adik perusahaan Dragon Air, Cathay Pacific, saat ini sudah mengoperasikan layanan harian antara Hongkong dan Bali. Dengan begitu, kedua maskapai secara akumulasi akan beroperasi dengan sembilan penerbangan mingguan di rute Denpasar.
Selama ini, Dragon Air melayani penerbangan ke 48 destinasi di Asia, dan 22 kota di China. Ekspansi ini dianggap penting untuk memperluas eksistensi di Asia.
Dragonair has joined its sister airline Cathay Pacific Airways in linking Hong Kong (HKG) with Denpasar (DPS) in Bali, Indonesia.
On 27 April the airline began twice-weekly (Thursdays and Sundays) flights using its A330-300s on the 3,440-kilometre route.
Apart from Cathay Pacific which operates daily flights, passengers are also served by Hong Kong Airlines (21 weekly flights), as well as Garuda Indonesia and Tigerair Mandala, who both operate daily flights.
Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Patrick Yeung said at the launch of the route in March: “We are very excited about launching flights to Denpasar and being able to further expand our presence in Asia. We look forward to welcoming passengers on board to experience our award-winning service and products. This new service will provide customers with greater choice and convenience at the same time as bolstering Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s leading aviation hubs.”