Indonesian president bemoans lack of aviation competition

Indonesian president Joko Widodo perceives a lack of competition in Indonesia's airline market, and hopes to find ways to make the industry more efficient. In an interview with local news portal Kumparan, Widodo says allowing foreign carriers to set up their own units in Indonesia is aimed at offering greater options for consumers, lowering the airfares on domestic routes, and forcing local carriers to be far more efficient through greater competition. Indonesia's domestic airline scene is now dominated by Lion Air Group and Garuda Indonesia Group, which control eight carriers amongst themselves. "Maybe there isn't enough competition," says Widodo. "We will increase [the level of] competition, so that airlines will be more efficient." The president adds that existing laws already permit foreign airlines to establish local units, on the condition that they own up to 49% in their Indonesian companies. To date, only AirAsia has an Indonesian unit where it acquired a 49% stake in local operator Awair in late-2004, rebranding it Indonesia AirAsia in 2005. He admitted that recent moves by his administration to limit domestic air fare prices and lower fuel costs for airlines are not working fast enough. Airfares have remained constant since end-2018, which is one of Indonesia's peak travelling seasons. This has resulted in declining domestic tourist numbers to places such as Bali, Lombok and Yogyakarta. <br/>