SINGAPORE - SilkAir's inaugual flight to Semarang, Indonesia from Singapore took off yesterday.
Semarang is the largest city of Central Java and its capital.
Flight MI102 departed Changi Airport at 8:45am yesterday morning and arrived after slightly over an hour at Semarang's Achmad Yani International Airport at 9:55am. The return flight also took off and landed hours later.
Yesterday's launch marks SilkAir's 10th destination in Indonesia and 43rd in its network. The airline is the regional wing of Singapore Airlines and also flies to Balikpapan, Bandung, Lombok, Manado, Medan, Palembang, Pekanbaru, Solo and Surabaya in Indonesia.
The thrice-weekly flights to and from Semarang on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are operated with the A319 and A320 aircraft, featuring both Business and Economy Class.
"We believe the route offers good growth potential and we anticipate strong demand for this new service from business and leisure travellers alike," said SilkAir's chief executive Mr. Leslie Thng.
Come August, the airline will also be launching flights to Makassar, another Indonesian destination. Flights to Makassar will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Frequency of SilkAir flights to Indonesia will increase to 64 flights weekly with the addition of the two new routes.
For bookings and more information, visit silkair.com or http://www.facebook.com/SilkAir.
ysheryl@sph.com.sg