Tigerair opens direct flights to Hong Kong

Tigerair Mandala celebrates its inaugural flight by offering prizes for the passengers on board, including return tickets from Jakarta to Hong Kong.

Although Fanny did not win a prize, she was still entertained by an interesting live performance by magician Georges Hilaul.

"We want to create by offering a relatively low rate, so that more people can travel the route, a question" CEO of the airline, Paul Rombeek, said at a press conference last week in Hong Kong. Rombeek was one of about 50 guests aboard the inaugural flight Tigerair Mandala.

"Our Jakarta - Hong Kong route is our longest and farthest away, and we are the first Indonesian low-cost airline to fly between the two cities directly."

The airline will have four weekly flights from Jakarta to Hong Kong and three weekly flights from Hong Kong to Jakarta.

According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board data, the number of Indonesian travelers that enter Hong Kong reached 521,000 people in 2012, an increase of 15% compared to 2011.

Tigerair Mandala is also from the domestic cities (Jakarta, Denpasar, Pekanbaru, Medan, Padang, Surabaya and Yogyakarta) and four international fora (Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong).

Currently, the airline nine brand new Airbus A320 46 flights a day flying.

Earlier this month, Tigerair Mandala, formerly known as Mandala Airlines, officially renamed in line with Tiger Airways' re-branding as Tigerair.

The majority shareholder of the airline is prominent investment firm Saratoga Capital. Tigerair controls a 33 percent stake in the airline.