Indonesia cracks down on cheap fares to boost airline safety

印尼设廉价航空最低票价引争议

Indonesia cracks down on cheap fares to boost airline safety

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.

印度尼西亚交通部8号表示,印尼严厉打击国内航班销售廉价机票,确保航空公司不会在安全问题上偷工减料.

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.

这项严格管理机票价格的规定于2014年12月30日付诸实施.12月28日,亚航QZ8501航班从印尼飞往新加坡的途中在爪哇海坠毁,机上162名人员无一生还.

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.

据英国路透社报道,印尼交通部文件显示,已提高国内航班经济舱票价的下限,并规定航空公司售票价格不得低于交通部限价的40%.过去这一比例是30%,不过交通部也会给予一些免除条款.

The ministry's intention is to help to increase airlines' profit margins, allowing them to spend more on safety.

交通部此举意在提高航空公司利润,使其能够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.

印尼交通部长纳希尤斯•佐南（Ignasius Jonan）告诉记者,"我们希望航空部门健康发展,而不是只图便宜.如果票价过低,航空公司或许在很多方面没有投入".

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.

一直以来,一些印尼航空公司某些航线的票价低于其运营成本,以寻求在这个全球发展最迅速的商业航空市场上抢占份额.

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.