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Tag: airline

  • Cebu Pacific adds Masbate, Tablas to route network

    Cebu Pacific adds Masbate, Tablas to route network

    Airliner Cebu Pacific (CEB) further builds its presence in the MIMAROPA and Bicol regions with the launch of two more routes.
    Starting February 15, 2017, CEB’s wholly owned subsidiary, Cebgo, will launch daily flights between Manila and Masbate; and four times weekly (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) between Manila and Tablas using the newly-acquired ATR 72-600 aircraft.

    The addition of these new routes will allow our passengers to easily visit these fast-rising areas in Luzon, both known for its white-sand beaches, waterfalls and diving spots.

    “We remain firm in bringing people together through safe, affordable, reliable, and fun-filled air travel. With these additional routes, travelers will now be able to visit these destinations faster while enjoying CEB’s trademark low fares. Rest assured, we will continue expanding our network to reach more passengers in and out the Philippines,” says Alexander Lao, Cebgo President and CEO.

    CEB holds an introductory P799 all-in seat sale for flights from both Masbate to Manila and Tablas to Manila from December 12-14, 2016, or until seats last. Travel period is from February 15, 2017 to March 31, 2017.

    Cargo services will also be made available in these areas together with passenger services, contributing to growth of the more than 2,000 accounts we currently hold.

    Guests may also download the Cebu Pacific official mobile app on the App Store and Google Play.

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  • Garuda the most loved airline in the world

    Garuda the most loved airline in the world

    The nations flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has received a citation of “The Worlds Most Loved Airline” from the Skytrax, the world airline rating agency.

    Garuda Indonesia President M Arif Wibowo said when receiving the citation here on Thursday that the airline topped other airlines with satisfaction rate of 85 percent.

    “Our greatest thanks for our customers and airline workers,” Arif said, attributing the high appreciation for the airline performance to cooperation of a team of thousands hands in creating the strong brand.

    He said he did not expect to receive the citation as he was not aware of the existence of that category.

    He said the citation would bring bout challenge and at the same time give the airline a motivation to create the highest standard of service.

    CEO of SkyTrax Edward Plaisted said the citation was given based on a survey involving respondents from 40 countries.

    Garuda competed with 420 other airlines included in the survey, Plaisted said.

    “Garuda deserves the citation for highest level of services and satisfaction,” he said.

    The airline provides good facility for both main, business and economic classes with five-star standard, he said.

    The airline has succeeded in taking a big leap forward after it was banned from flying to Europe several years earlier for poor service and performance including air accidents.

    It also began to chalk up operating profit only in the past several years after years of being in the red.

    Garuda also operated a budget subsidiary Citilink, which provided low-cost flights to multiple Indonesian destinations and was spun-off in 2012.

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  • AirAsia launches daily Manila-Taipei service

    AirAsia launches daily Manila-Taipei service

    Travellers from the Philippines now have more options when flying to Taiwan after Philippines AirAsia started its daily Manila-Taipei service last Monday.

    Philippines AirAsia chief executive Captain Dexter Comendador himself piloted the Airbus A320 to mark the budget airline’s maiden voyage from Manila to Taipei.

    “Today heralds a brighter and much closer ties between two countries to improve trade and tourism,” he addressed the passengers midway through the flight.

    “We have introduced amazing connections for our guests to enjoy and we are aiming to go further across Asia by strengthening AirAsia’s presence in Taiwan,” Comendador added.

    The flight touched down at the Taoyuan International Airport after midnight to a welcome water barrage from firetrucks.

    The Taipei-Manila route was officially launched Tuesday at a press conference at the Grand Sheraton in Taipei, which was attended by Philippines AirAsia chair Maan Hontiveros and AirAsia North Asia CEO Kathleen Tan.

    A thrice-weekly Cebu-Taipei service was also announced with performances from Sinulog dancers. Taiwanese celebrity travel blogger Patty Woo also regaled guests with her beach adventures during her recent trip to Cebu.

    Starting Friday, Philippines AirAsia will begin regular flights from Cebu to Taipei on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

    Taiwanese tourist arrivals in the Philippines have reached 157,517 from January to August this year. Taiwan is currently the country’s sixth top visitor market after Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Australia.

    “Taiwan and the Philippines share a strong affinity with one another. They enjoy robust economic ties, many Filipinos live and work in Taiwan and more and more Taiwanese are visiting the many beautiful islands in the Philippines. We are honored to be able to bring the countries even closer together,” Tan said.

    Taiwan is known for night markets, tourist attractions like Taipei 101, and foodie adventures with its diverse culinary offerings

    Philippines AirAsia has teamed up with TourMeAway Walking Tours to make exploring Taipei more fun. From now until November 30, Philippines AirAsia travelers to Taipei may join the Hunger Game Walking Tour or the Taipei Chillout Tour for free.

  • Airline Sriwijaya Air offering Initial Public Offerings (IPO) in Indonesia

    Airline Sriwijaya Air offering Initial Public Offerings (IPO) in Indonesia

    Currently, Sriwijaya Air serves 46 domestic routes as well as seven international routes in the Asia Pacific with 51 narrow-body Boeing jets. With the larger fleet (after additional airplanes are purchased), the airline wants to add several domestic and regional routes as well as one to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).

    Chandra Lie did not inform how much the company expects to raise from the initial public offering on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). In February 2011 Indonesia’s national flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia conducted an IPO on the IDX in which it raised IDR 3.3 trillion (approx. USD $252 million) by selling a 28 percent stake.

    Sriwijaya Air, founded by the brothers Chandra Lie and Hendry Lie in 2003, is Indonesia’s third-largest airline, controlling about ten percent of the domestic air passenger market. It currently carries about 800,000 passengers per month. The airline will move its administration and operational activities to the Cengkareng Business City complex from its current base at the Soekarno Hatta International Airport.

    The aviation industry in the Asia-Pacific region remains among the world’s fastest growing regions in terms of air passengers. Recently, the Indonesia National Air Carriers Association (INACA) says, whereas worldwide the number of air passengers is growing at a pace of nearly 7 percent (y/y), Indonesia’s air passenger growth is estimated at around 15 percent (y/y) in 2016.

    Number of Air Passengers in Indonesia 2011 – 2015:

    2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
    Air Passengers
    (in million)    		 62.4 66.4 68.6 72.6 82.4

    Source: BPS

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  • Garuda Indonesia Bans Samsung Galaxy 7 Note From All Flights

    Garuda Indonesia Bans Samsung Galaxy 7 Note From All Flights

    Garuda Indonesia has issued a ban on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 for all its flights starting from Monday due to safety issues.

    This move ensues the recent ban by US Department of Transportation on the device, including its recalled and replaced units, after reports of the smartphone catching fire.

    Garuda Indonesia VP corporate communications Benny S. Butarbutar said in a press release Monday that passengers in possession of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 would not be permitted to board the aircraft. Bringing the device through carry on baggage, checked-in luggage, or cargo was also strictly prohibited.

    This is the second ban issued by the airline regarding Samsung Galaxy Note 7. In early September, it banned the use of the device during flights as well as warned passengers not to charge the battery or store the smartphone in checked baggage.

    Samsung has already been forced to recall more than 2.5 million devices due to faulty batteries. The company has instructed users to “power down and stop using the device”, and announced the permanent end of its production last week.

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  • Indonesia eyes 2017 relaunch for Merpati

    Indonesia eyes 2017 relaunch for Merpati

    Merpati (MZ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) is planning to resume commercial operations during the course of 2017 the Deputy for Restructuring and Business Development in the Indonesian Ministry of State Owned Enterprises, Aloysius K. Ro, has announced.

    Merpati ceased operations in February 2014 after it failed to service nearly IDR7 trillion worth of debt owed to other parastatals including airport operators Angkasa Pura I and Angkasa Pura II and energy company Pertamina among others. It specialized in serving the more remote areas of the Indonesian archipelago using B737 Classics, MA-60s, and DHC-6 Twin Otters.

    Speaking to the Tempo news agency, Ro said the relaunch would coincide with the completion of the defunct carrier’s restructuring programme. Thus far, majority shareholder, government, has injected IDR500 billion rupiah (USD38.3 million) into Merpati to cover its debt portfolio while laying off 1,500 staff.

    “We hope it can resume operations in 2017 if in the remaining one year it receives a privatization permit from the Finance Minister and investors are ready to invest in it,” he said. “But it is not easy to find investors to invest in air transport business under normal condition, let alone in a difficult one as experienced by Merpati.”

    Initial operations will likely focus on Papua, Indonesia’s largest and easternmost province, using a fleet of twenty-seater turboprops.

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  • Citilink recruits 70 new pilots for business expansion

    Citilink recruits 70 new pilots for business expansion

    Low-cost carrier Citilink, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, recruited 70 candidate pilots to boost the company’s business expansion after a three-month enrollment process from June to August this year.

    Citilink president director Albert Burhan said that the company had chosen the candidates out of 897 applicants from across country.

    “We need to recruit more pilots to undertake our expansion and open new routes,” Albert said at the Garuda Indonesia Training Center (GITC) in Jakarta on Monday.

    The recruited pilots will undergo a series of training at the GITC and at the Airbus training centers in Toulouse, France, and Florida, US, for at least six months. They will exercise to achieve a “type rating” as is required to operate an Airbus A320.

    Garuda Indonesia human resources director Linggarsari Suharso warned the candidate pilots that working as a pilot was a difficult job. A pilot must prioritize the safety of passengers over other considerations, he said.

    “Safety is the top priority in the transportation business,” he said at the training center on Monday.

    According to data from the Transportation Ministry last year, Indonesia needs at least 600 new pilots every year. Meanwhile, 24 pilot schools across the country graduate from 15 to 24 students each annually.

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  • Garuda Indonesia Urged to Strengthen Domestic Market

    Garuda Indonesia Urged to Strengthen Domestic Market

    Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has told national carrier PT Garuda Indonesia to continue strengthening domestic market due to its huge potentials.

    “Our domestic market is very strong. Last year, there were 255 million visits by domestic tourists. This year, the target is 260 million visits. If that amount is multiplied by Rp. 1 million, it means Rp260 trillion circulated,” Arief said in Jakarta on Friday (29/4).

    Arief added that once the domestic market is strengthened, it would be easy to develop international market.

    In comparison with domestic market of neighboring countries, Aried added, Indonesia is much bigger. He cited Singapore, which does not have domestic market or domestic market in Malaysia that is not too big.

    The Minister added that that the Government is gearing up to meet the target of 20 million tourists visiting Indonesia in 2019.

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  • Garuda signs 1 billion pound deal with Roll Roys

    Garuda signs 1 billion pound deal with Roll Roys

    The nations flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia and British aircraft engine maker Roll Roys signed a 1 billion pound cooperation agreement here on Tuesday.

    “The results of the meeting between President Jokowi (Joko Widodo) and Prime Minister David Cameron included the agreement between Garuda and Roll Roys worth 1 billion poundsterling,” British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik said here on Tuesday.

    Garuda would buy 14 units of aircraft produced in Britain and other European countries, Moazzam said after the meeting between Jokowi and Cameron.

    The units to be produced in Britain will use Roll Roys engines, he said.

    Under the agreement, Garuda would send mechanics and technicians for training in Roll Roys.

    The ambassador said that Jokowi and Cameron also discussed issue of extremism, adding that Cameron asked Indonesia to play a greater international role in controlling radicalism.

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  • Garuda Indonesia to set up new company for non-core units

    Garuda Indonesia to set up new company for non-core units

    Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) is planning to establish a new holding company to contain subsidiaries that do not contribute to its core business.

    Airline president Arif Wibowo told the Asia Nikkei newspaper that the plan has already secured shareholder approval – including that from the Ministry of Transportation – with a proposal set to be submitted to the Ministry of State Enterprises in the middle of the year.

    “We hope this will increase the company’s leverage, as each business unit will have clearer management and they can develop more specific focuses,” he said.

    Garuda currently operates five subsidiaries including: budget carrier Citilink (QG, Surabaya); PT Aero Wisata which deals with travel, hotel, transportation and catering services; PT Abacus Distribution Systems Indonesia which handles GDS services; PT Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia (GMFAA) which deals with aircraft MRO; and PT Aero Systems Indonesia which is an IT solutions provider.

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  • Garuda Indonesia Expects 10% Passenger Growth

    Garuda Indonesia Expects 10% Passenger Growth

    President Director of national carrier PT Garuda Indonesia Arif Wibowo predicted that passenger growth of the airline would reach 8-10 percent in 2016.

    “The growth is supported by the booming tourism industry in Indonesia,” Arif said in Jakarta on Sunday (3/1).

    For the record, in 2015, PT. Garuda Indonesia reported a positive passenger growth, that is 25 million passengers or a 3 million increase from that in 2014.

    In the meantime, its subsidiary, Citilink, also posted a quite significant growth, that is 11 million passengers or a 2 million increase from that in the previous year.

    Therefore, to anticipate the increase in the number of passengers, Arif said that the airline would purchase 23 new aircrafts, which purchased with leasing mechanism.

    Furthermore, Arif also hoped that in May 2016, Garuda Indonesia could use Terminal 3 of the Soekarno-Hatta International airport that is now under renovation.

    “We hope that with the new terminal, our services could improve,” he concluded.

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  • Time to swoop on Garuda Indonesia

    Time to swoop on Garuda Indonesia

    For Indonesia’s national carrier, 2015 has been a year to forget. Shares of PT Garuda Indonesia are heading for their biggest-ever annual drop, overseas debt costs are rising and flights have gotten disrupted by forest fires and an erupting volcano.

    Timothy Ross, a top-ranked airline analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG, says this is the perfect time to buy.

    The impact of ash clouds from Mount Rinjani and haze from burning peat forests is temporary, according to Ross, the most accurate analyst for at least four Asian airline stocks tracked by Bloomberg, including Garuda. Bears who dragged down the stock by 45% this year are looking past Garuda’s market-share gains from budget rivals PT Lion Mentari Airlines and AirAsia Bhd, said Ross, who predicts the company will return to a profit this year.

    “There are fundamental changes in the company, and the stock price has dropped by half, so when you take the two together it makes me a little more positive,” said Ross, who projects Garuda will rebound 22% over the next 12 months. The Singapore-based analyst turned bullish on the shares last month for the first time in two years.

    After tumbling three times faster than the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index this year, Garuda is valued at 0.7 times net assets, the cheapest level among the 25 largest Asian airlines tracked by Bloomberg. While the rupiah’s 12% drop in 2015 has made the company’s foreign-currency liabilities more expensive, Garuda’s debt-to-equity ratio is about half that of its regional rivals. Six other analysts have buy recommendations, giving it a perfect 5 rating on a Bloomberg scale, compared with an average of 4 for its Asian peers.

    Garuda rose 1.3% at 1:25pm local time, while the Jakarta Composite slid 1.5%.

    While analysts are bullish, the nation’s top-performing fund manager in the fourth quarter isn’t buying because he sees risks related to the rupiah and oil prices.

    “The airline industry in general is too volatile and highly dependent on the exchange rate as well as oil,” said Indra Mawira, an investment manager at Panin Asset Management, whose Panin Dana Ultima fund returned 13.4% this quarter. “Although Garuda has structured itself as a better company, I still think it’s hard to make money out of it unless you’re trading the shares with a one to three-month horizon.”

    Garuda president director Arif Wibowo, who took over in December 2014, says some of the benefits of falling energy prices have failed to show up in the company’s fuel bill because the airline has been expanding capacity. Garuda will add 23 planes to its fleet in 2016, in addition to the 18 scheduled for this year, he said in an interview on Dec 8, adding that the carrier will also reduce its fuel hedging.

    New York crude has tumbled more than 30% this year, reducing the price of jet fuel and helping spark a 17% gain in the Bloomberg Asia Pacific Airlines Index.

    Garuda is luring customers after Lion Air’s cancellation record deteriorated in 2015 and an AirAsia jet crashed a year ago en route to Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia, killing 162 people. While Indonesia has more than three times the global average rate of fatal air crashes, Garuda’s safety record is improving. The European Union lifted a flight ban on the airline in 2009 and the carrier’s last fatal accident was in 2007.

    Analysts estimate Garuda’s net income this year will be US$34.8mil, its first annual profit in three years. While 71% of the company’s US$2.2bil total short and long-term liabilities are denominated in currencies other than the rupiah, Garuda’s debt-to-equity ratio of 139% is well below the 236% average of its regional rivals.

    Investor concern about Indonesia’s air safety record is overblown when it comes to Garuda, Credit Suisse’s Ross said.

    “Those things impact share prices and customer behavior only for maybe a couple of months,” he said. “It tends to be put in the rear-view mirror pretty quickly.”

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  • Airline retail conference organiser grounded

    Airline retail conference organiser grounded

    The organiser of the Airline Retail Conference (ARC), has gone into liquidation. Memphis Media was due to host two inflight retail events in 2016 – the ARC Asia-Pacific at Marina Bay Sands Singapore on 25-26 February, and the ARC Conference Europe on 7-8 June at Olympia Conference Centre, London.

    The firm tried to transfer paid delegates from the Singapore and UK event to other conferences, the well-established Aviation Festival Asia (23-24 February), organised by Terrapinn in Singapore and a similar event in London on 8 and 9 September.

    But Memphis Media lacked the client numbers to run the events effectively, a problem exacerbated by increasing pressures on the inflight retail channel.

    The firm’s website has not been updates with teh news and managing director Karim Halwagi did not respond to our calls.

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  • Garuda Indonesia Reports US$51.4 Million Third Quarter Earnings

    Garuda Indonesia Reports US$51.4 Million Third Quarter Earnings

    Garuda Indonesia booked a net income of $51.4 million through the third quarter 2015, an increase of 123.4% compared to the same period last year when it incurred a loss of $220.1 million.

    Garuda Indonesia President and CEO M. Arif Wibowo said that the Company also increased total revenue from $2.83 billion through the third quarter 2014 to $2.84 billion during the same period in 2015. Meanwhile, total expenses dropped from $3.08 billion to $2.72 million.

    “Improvements in the Company’s performance are the result of strategic business development measures being carried out through the ‘Quick Wins’ program, as well as a tight cost efficiency policy that was put into effect at the beginning of the year,” he said.

    Arif, who is also the Chairman of INACA (Indonesia National Air Carriers Association), further explained that this achievement came when the airline industry is facing huge challenges, from a sluggish economy to a number of “force majeures” or natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions and haze.

    Speaking of Garuda Indonesia’s ongoing flight network development, Citilink Indonesia’s former president said that the Garuda Indonesia Group (including Citilink) together carried a total of 24.55 million passengers during Jan-Sept 2015, or an increase of 17.5% compared to 20.89 million passengers carried during the same period in the previous year.

    Garuda Indonesia carried 17.69 million, comprising 14.51 million domestic passengers and 3.18 million international passengers, through the third quarter 2015, whereas it carried 15.56 million passengers during the same period in 2014. Its subsidiary, Citilink Indonesia, transported 6.87 million passengers between Jan-Sept 2015, an increase of 28.8% from the 5.33 million passengers carried in the same period in 2014.

    Garuda Indonesia and Citilink flight frequency in the domestic and international sectors rose from 165,642 fights in the third quarter of 2014 to 186,105 flights in the same period of 2015. In addition, Availability Seat Kilometer/ASK increased from 36.9 billion in 2014 to 38.75 billion in 2015.

    Garuda Indonesia also succeeded in increasing Seat Load Factor/SLF to 77.3% in 2015 from 70.7% in 2014. In terms of on time performance (OTP), Garuda Indonesia achieved an OTP of 88.2% in 2015, with an aircraft utilization of 09:11 hours.

    Through the third quarter 2015, Garuda Indonesia was also able to increase its market share in both the domestic and international markets. In that time, Garuda Indonesia’s domestic market share increased to 44% from the previous 37% in 2014. Meanwhile, Garuda’s international market share from Jan-Sept 2015 reached 28%, an improvement from the previous year’s 22%.

    The Garuda Indonesia Group operates a total of 181 airplanes to date, consisting of eight (8) Boeing 777-300ER, twenty-two (22) Airbus A330-200/300, two (2) Boeing 747-400, ten (10) ATR72-600, fifteen (15) Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen, eighty-eight (88) Boeing 737-300/500/800NG, and thirty-six (36) Airbus A320, with an average age of 4.7 years. By the end of 2015, the Group will operate a total of 187 airplanes, of which 143 are Garuda Indonesia’s and 44 are part of the Citilink fleet, with an average age of 4.3 years.

    To anticipate the impact of the Rupiah’s weakening exchange rate against the US Dollar, since the first quarter 2015 Garuda Indonesia has signed hedging contracts using “Cross Currency Swaps” with several banks, on Rupiah loans into US Dollars amounting to a total of Rp2 trillion.

    By carrying out the Cross Currency Swap, the company will be able to avoid or minimize the risk of a rise in operational costs if paid in Rupiah due to the weakening of the Rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar. This is due to the fact that an airline’s operational costs that include the purchase of spare parts, aircraft maintenance, and aircraft leasing are mostly conducted in US dollar AS.

    The company is still watching market developments and at the right moment will again hedge and use Cross Currency Swap to leverage the Rupiah. This is part of the company’s ongoing Risk Management measures based on the prudence principle. Routine hedging transactions against IDR earnings and USD fuel costs have added to the risk management’s work load in the midst of an adverse economic condition at global, regional and national levels.

    Moreover, Garuda Indonesia was able to obtain new sources of funding through more competitive cost financing, and in May 2015 issued a 5-year Global Sukuk Bond worth USD 500 million with a coupon of 5.95%.

    In line with the airline’s continuous service development program, Garuda Indonesia’s cabin crew was once again presented with the “The World’s Best Cabin Crew 2015” award from Skytrax – the London-based independent airline and airport review specialist, for the second consecutive year, after beating other big players in the airline industry. During the “Skytrax Award 2015” event, Garuda Indonesia also came in eighth place in the “World’s Best Airline” list.

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