Adam Air ticket sales revive after post-crash slump

September 11, 2007

The passenger numbers for Indonesian budget airline Adam Air have increased dramatically, following a slump after the loss of Adam Air Flight 574 on New Year's Day.

Adam Air usually carries 450,000 - 600,000 passengers a month, but lost about 30 percent of those immediately following the crash.

Adam Air corporate communications head Danke Dradjat explained the situation during a telephone conversation with reporters from The Jakarta Post. "There was a slowdown in the month following the crash, but it was brief and we managed to get back our passengers over the following three months, with a gradual increase of ten percent per month... There wasn't any special campaign to get the passengers back. We only emphasized the fact that our aircraft were maintained and serviced by the same technicians as Garuda Indonesia," he said. Garuda is Indonesia's state-owned airline.

Adam Air currently operates services to as many as 150 destinations every day, including international services to Singapore and Malaysia. Danke, who defended Adam Air by pointing out that major airlines also suffer accidents, said he expects passenger numbers to continue increasing. "We're expecting up to a 30 percent increase in passengers in the seven days before and after the Idul Fitri festivities." According to Danke, Idul Fitri is one of three periods over which passenger numbers hit peak levels, the others being Christmas and New Year.