Indonesia has cracked down on the sale of cheap tickets for domestic flights to ensure that airlines do not cut corners on safety, the transport ministry said on Thursday.
印度尼西亞交通部8號表示,印尼嚴厲打擊國內航班銷售廉價機票,確保航空公司不會在安全問題上偷工減料。
The decision to tighten the rules on the fares came into effect on Dec. 30, two days after AirAsia flight QZ8501 crashed into the Java Sea en route from Indonesia to Singapore. There were no survivors among the 162 people on board.
這項嚴格管理機票價格的規定于2014年12月30日付諸實施。12月28日,亞航QZ8501航班從印尼飛往新加坡的途中在爪哇海墜毀,機上162名人員無一生還。
The price floor for economy class domestic flights has been raised, according to ministry documents seen by Reuters, with airlines prevented from selling tickets at less than 40 percent of a ceiling price set by the ministry. The previous floor was 30 percent, though the ministry could grant certain exemptions.
據英國路透社報道,印尼交通部文件顯示,已提高國內航班經濟艙票價的下限,并規定航空公司售票價格不得低于交通部限價的40%。過去這一比例是30%,不過交通部也會給予一些免除條款。
The ministry's intention is to help to increase airlines' profit margins, allowing them to spend more on safety.
交通部此舉意在提高航空公司利潤,使其能夠在安全方面加大投入。
"We want the aviation sector to be healthy, not cheap. If it's cheap, there are many things that might not be done," Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters on Thursday.
印尼交通部長納希尤斯?佐南(Ignasius Jonan)告訴記者,“我們希望航空部門健康發展,而不是只圖便宜。如果票價過低,航空公司或許在很多方面沒有投入”。
Some Indonesian airlines have been pricing tickets below their operating costs on certain routes to attract passengers in what is one of the world's fastest-growing commercial aviation markets.
一直以來,一些印尼航空公司某些航線的票價低于其運營成本,以尋求在這個全球發展最迅速的商業航空市場上搶占份額。
Its safety record, however, has been patchy and in 2007 the European Commission banned all Indonesia-based airlines from flying to the European Union after a series of accidents.
然而,其安全記錄一直不樂觀。在印尼航空公司發生一系列事故后,歐委會于2007年禁止所有印尼航空公司的客機飛往歐盟國家。
Exemptions to that ban have since been granted to some carriers, including Garuda Indonesia and AirAsia.
但印尼鷹航航空(Garuda Indonesia)和亞洲航空(AirAsia)等航空公司除外。
Since the AirAsia crash, the transport ministry has reassigned some officials and tightened rules on pre-flight procedures, though ministry official Mohammad Alwi said the new pricing rule had no connection with the accident and that authorities had taken the decision some time earlier.
亞航客機墜毀后,印尼交通部調任了一些官員,并嚴格規定飛前檢查步驟。不過,交通部官員穆罕默德?阿爾維(Mohammad Alwi)表示,出臺新價格規定是早已決定好的,與事故無關。
It is unclear whether the pricing rule will have the ministry's desired effect, with one aviation analyst saying it seemed like a "knee-jerk reaction".
價格政策是否能像交通部預計那樣奏效尚不清楚,一位航空分析師稱此政策像是個“下意識反應”。
"It will definitely impede the budget carriers' strategy," said the analyst, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, though he added that the low-cost airlines would still be able to offer lower fares than their full-service rivals.
“這將影響廉價航空公司的策略”,此匿名分析師表示,他未經授權接受采訪。他還補充道,比起提供全方位服務的高價航空公司,廉價航空公司的票價仍會更低。
The new rule is most likely to affect the likes of Lion Air and Indonesia AirAsia, but several airline executives contacted by Reuters said they were not too worried.
這項新規定最有可能影響像是獅航和印尼亞航此類的航空公司,但據路透社聯系到的幾名航空高管表示,他們并不十分擔憂。
"In fact, it means that we will not be attacked by competitors that have predatory pricing. It's still far from Garuda's average price," Garuda Chief Executive Arif Wibowo said.
鷹航航空首席運營官阿利夫?威勃沃(Arif Wibowo)表示,“事實上,這意味著我們不會再遭到一些航空公司的掠奪性低價競爭。他們的定價遠低于我們的平均價格”。
The regulation is unlikely to hurt sales at Sriwijaya Air because it doesn't sell tickets at budget prices, its corporate communications senior manager Agus Soedjono said.
印尼斯利維查雅航空(Sriwijaya Air)高級傳播經理阿古斯(Agus Soedjono)稱,這項規定或許不會對公司造成損害,因為他們不售賣廉價機票。 An Indonesia AirAsia spokeswoman declined to comment and Lion Air was not immediately available to comment. 一名印尼亞航女發言人拒絕對此置評,目前無法立即聯系到獅航相關人員。
(翻譯:eileen7 編輯:Julie)