Indonesia cracks down on cheap fares to boost airline safety

Alwi said the rule change on ticket pricing had "no connection with the accident" and that authorities had taken the decision to raise the floor on price sometime earlier.

The new rule will affect Indonesian airlines such as Lion Air, Indonesia AirAsia and Garuda, but several airline executives contacted by Reuters on Thursday said they were not too worried.

"In fact it means that we will not be attacked by competitors that have predatory pricing. It's still far from Garuda's average price," said Arif Wibowo, Garuda's chief executive.

The regulation is unlikely to hurt Sriwijaya Air's sales as the carrier does not sell tickets at bargain prices, Agus Soedjono, senior manager for corporate communication at Sriwijaya Air, told Reuters.

"We will follow the regulator's policy ... but don't assume that cheap tickets mean we don't pay attention to safety," Soedjono said.

An Indonesia AirAsia spokeswoman declined to comment.

Under the new rule, airlines will only be able to sell tickets as much as 40 percent cheaper than the ceiling price set by the ministry. Previously, the price floor was 30 percent, although the ministry could grant some exemptions.