REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Low-cost carrier Citilink Indonesia plans to procure eight Airbus-320s aircraft this year to increase its seat capacity.

"This year, we will procure eight more planes in anticipation of an increase in the number of passengers. I believe that other airlines will also increase the number of their planes," PT Citilink Indonesia President Director Albert Burhan said after receiving a certificate of ISO flight delay management here on Tuesday.

Citilink, the subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, is currently operating 44 Airbus 329s and five Boeing-737s.

He predicted that the number of air passengers will increase by around 30 percent this year.

The eight new planes will serve flight routes in Java, Sumatra, Papua and Maluku, he said.

"We will serve flight routes in the eastern part of Indonesia. So far, we have been focusing on Java and Sumatra," he said.

The procurement of eight Airbus-320s will cost the airline around US$400 million under an operating lease scheme, he said.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Alwi, director of airworthiness and plane operation of the air transportation directorate at the Transportation Ministry, said his side has issued a permit to operate eight new planes.

Alwi said the eight planes were found to have met all conditions after undergoing a 24-month check.

"We have also looked at the composition of their crew. There were three sets of crew. In any plane, there must be a pilot on command and a co-pilot," he said.

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