REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesian airline Sriwijaya Air said it will start international flights to a number of Chinese cities on Wednesday.

Sriwijaya Air will fly from the Ngurah Rai International Airport of Denpasar, Bali to Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Nanking," the airline's Senior Manager for Corporate Communications , Agus Soedjono, said here on Wednesday.

Agus said the airline will serve the Chinese route everyday until February using Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft with a seat capacity of 175 including 8 seats for executive class.

He did not say the flight schedule after February.

The flight everyday to China is planned to anticipate brisk demand for flight service ahead of the Chinese new year.

Agus described as good the market demand for flights between China and Bali especially after the absence of direct flight to serve the rouse.

The route was earlier served by Batavia Air, but it was left open for new flight providers after Batavia Air went bankrupt.

Agus said the load factor is expected to reach 85 percent in flights between China and Bali.

"We think, this is a good busienss opportunity for Sriwijaya Air," he said.

He said the airline hopes to be able to expand operations by also serving flights to other cities in China.

Sriwijaya Air plans to expand operations to 11 potential areas in China including Peking, Hangzhou, Guilin, Guang Zhou, Wuhan, and Chong Qing, he added.

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