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  • Direct air link to Indonesia from Mumbai soon

    Direct air link to Indonesia from Mumbai soon

    A direct air link between India and Indonesia is set to become a reality with Garuda Indonesia, the South East Asian country’s national air carrier, considering to launch a service soon.

    Garuda Indonesia plans to introduce direct flights connecting Jakarta-Mumbai. In all likelihood, it should happen this December, Consul General of Indonesia Saut Siringoringo said here on Tuesday.

    He hoped the move would not only address the biggest challenge — absence of direct air connectivity — but eventually also provide a boost to bilateral trade, tourism and people to people ties. Tourism, he added, has considerable potential, particularly in pushing up the number of people from India visiting Indonesia.

    From 2,70,000 Indian tourists last year, which was a 13 per cent growth, the number would cross 3,50,000 this year. “I am very optimistic, this year it could even reach 4,00,000,” the Consul General said, pointing out visa free facility, for stay upto 30 days, was provided on arrival to Indian tourists. Mr. Siringoringo is from the Consulate in Mumbai that covers eight States, including all those in south India. His office, he added, issued around 7,000 working permits every year.

    Bilateral trade

    On the bilateral trade, he said it was around $16 billion and the need for Indonesia was to diversify it beyond the coal and palmoil. Pharmaceuticals and agriculture were two areas that could contribute to the diversification, he added.

    The Consulate, he said, was keen on showcasing Indonesia and strengthening ties with India through programmes. It recently organised a two-day ‘Expo Indonesia 2016’ in Mumbai featuring 37 Indonesian companies. Apart from showcasing a range of products, including furniture, paper, health-care products, food, the event served as a platform to explore business ties. The last time such an exhibition was conducted was in 2007, Mr. Siringoringo said.

    Stating that there is a lot of interest on both sides, he said 130 business delegates from India attended the ‘Trade Expo Indonesia 2016’ last month in Jakarta, an event that witnessed a transaction of $ 84 million.

    Apart from holding another exhibition next year, the Consulate is also getting ready for the visit of a Ramayana troupe comprising 100 dancers from Indonesia.

  • Garuda Indonesia books USD19.6 mil net income in Q3 2016

    Garuda Indonesia books USD19.6 mil net income in Q3 2016

    Garuda Indonesia, booked net income of USD 19.6 million or IDR 254.8 billion (exchange rate IDR 13,000 per USD) during the third quarter (July – September period) of 2016 as an outcome of the initial implementation of the ‘Sky Beyond’ strategy, with a focus on Return Maximization as well as the continuous proportional implementation of the financial efficiency policy.
    “This positive result was achieved through non-stop hard work in implementing the ‘Sky Beyond’ business expansion strategy, which played an essential role in promoting the company’s performance the quarter.

    Despite the highly competitive season in the aviation industry, including the global economic deceleration which affected the national economic situation, we are quite optimistic of maintaining the positive growth of the company up to the end of this year,” stated M. Arif Wibowo, President & CEO of Garuda Indonesia, on Monday (31/10) at the media conference after the regular analyst meeting, in Garuda Indonesia’s headquarters in Jakarta.

    Arif explained that since the beginning of year 2015, Garuda Indonesia had been constantly implementing the proportional financial efficiency program. The predicted loss in the first semester of 2016 was projected to turn around in the next quarter by improving the whole performance during the peak season. The continuous financial efficiency program and the performance improvement in other aspects such as operational, services and commercial, are believed to have strengthened the company to achieve positive growth until 2020.

    Arif, accompanied by the entire Board of Directors of Garuda Indonesia and the president directors of the subsidiaries, also explained that the company had succeeded in increasing total revenue from USD 2.845 billion in 2015 (January – September) to USD 2.865 billion during the same period of 2016. Up to the third quarter of 2016, Garuda Indonesia Group (including Citilink) carried 26,043,138 passengers, which was an increase of 6.1 percent from the 24,551,594 passengers carried in the same period in 2015.

    From the total amount, Garuda Indonesia carried 17.81 million passengers (comprising 14.55 million domestic passengers and 3.26 million international passengers). Meanwhile, its subsidiary, Citilink Indonesia, transported 8.23 million passengers between January – September 2016, which was an increase of nearly 20 percent from the 6.86 million passengers carried over the same period in 2015.

    Garuda Indonesia and Citilink’s flight frequency in the domestic and international sectors during the January – September period rose to 204,182 flights, with an increase of 9.7 percent from the same period in 2015 with 186,052 flights. In addition, Availability Seat Kilometer/ASK increased by 13.3 percent to 43.91 billion from 38.75 billion ASK in the same period of 2015.

    Despite the challenging situation in operational aspects such as the domestic flights operations at the new Terminal 3 Soekarno-Hatta in early August, and the force majeur by unpredictable weather, Garuda Indonesia also suceeded in increasing its on time performance / OTP to 90.1 percent in the January – September period, from 88.2 percent in same period last year. The seat load factor / SLF of the period was 73.4 percent, with an aircraft utilization amount of 09:12 hours.

    In line with the continuous network expansion plan, in the third quarter of 2016, Garuda Indonesia started to serve new destinations in east Indonesia, namely Nabire, which was served directly from Biak, Papua, and Maumere, which served directly from Denpasar, Bali. The opening of these new routes was a strategic step to improve the connectivity between cities in Indonesia, as well as to strengthen its network in the domestic market.

    Concerning the highly competitive situation in the aviation industry – mainly in the Asia Pacific region – which influenced both domestic and international networks, Garuda Indonesia’s market share for domestic reached 41.2 percent, and 26.7 percent for international market share.

    “We still have time to maximize the power and potency of our strategy, particularly in facing this coming end of year peak season period. We believe that we can reach the continuous positive growth in the coming years, including our strategic plan for international network expansion in the near future,” Arif added.
  • Garuda Indonesia Posts Strong Net Income Growth in Q3

    Garuda Indonesia Posts Strong Net Income Growth in Q3

    Indonesia’s flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, posted net income of US$19.6 million during the third quarter of this year as an outcome of the initial implementation of the ‘Sky Beyond’ strategy, with a focus on Return Maximization as well as the continuous proportional implementation of the financial efficiency policy.

    “This positive result was achieved through non-stop hard work in implementing the ‘Sky Beyond’ business expansion strategy, which played an essential role in promoting the company’s performance the quarter,” said M. Arif Wibowo, President & CEO of Garuda Indonesia, at the media conference after the regular analyst meeting, in Garuda Indonesia’s headquarters in Jakarta.

    He added that despite the highly competitive season in the aviation industry, including the global economic deceleration which affected the national economic situation, Garuda is quite optimistic of maintaining the positive growth of the company up to the end of this year.

    Arif explained that since the beginning of year 2015, Garuda Indonesia had been constantly implementing the proportional financial efficiency program. The predicted loss in the first semester of 2016 was projected to turn around in the next quarter by improving the whole performance during the peak season.

    The continuous financial efficiency program and the performance improvement in other aspects such as operational, services and commercial, are believed to have strengthened the company to achieve positive growth until 2020.

    Arif, accompanied by the entire Board of Directors of Garuda Indonesia and the president directors of the subsidiaries, also explained that the company had succeeded in increasing total revenue from US$2.845 billion in Q3 2015 to US$2.865 billion during the same period of 2016.

    Up to the third quarter of 2016, Garuda Indonesia Group (including Citilink) carried 26,043,138 passengers, which was an increase of 6.1 percent from the 24,551,594 passengers carried in the same period in 2015.
    From the total amount, Garuda Indonesia carried 17.81 million passengers (comprising 14.55 million domestic passengers and 3.26 million international passengers). Meanwhile, its subsidiary, Citilink Indonesia, transported 8.23 million passengers between January – September 2016, which was an increase of nearly 20 percent from the 6.86 million passengers carried over the same period in 2015.

    As a result of the cargo-focused strategy that commenced in early 2016 to strengthen the company’s cargo business in addition to passenger business, mainly by a new Director of Cargo who had only been serving for less than six months (a new tenure on the Board of Directors since April 2016), the amount of cargo transported in January – September period was 295,217 tons, or an increase of 14.7 percent from the same period in 2015 of 257,304 tons.

    Garuda Indonesia and Citilink’s flight frequency in the domestic and international sectors during the January – September period rose to 204,182 flights, with an increase of 9.7 percent from the same period in 2015 with 186,052 flights. In addition, Availability Seat Kilometer/ASK increased by 13.3 percent to 43.91 billion from 38.75 billion ASK in the same period of 2015.

    Despite the challenging situation in operational aspects such as the domestic flights operations at the new Terminal 3 Soekarno-Hatta in early August, and the force majeur by unpredictable weather, Garuda Indonesia also suceeded in increasing its on time performance / OTP to 90.1 percent in the January – September period, from 88.2 percent in same period last year. The seat load factor / SLF of the period was 73.4 percent, with an aircraft utilization amount of 09:12 hours.

    In line with the continuous network expansion plan, in the third quarter of 2016, Garuda Indonesia started to serve new destinations in east Indonesia, namely Nabire, which was served directly from Biak, Papua, and Maumere, which served directly from Denpasar, Bali. The opening of these new routes was a strategic step to improve the connectivity between cities in Indonesia, as well as to strengthen its network in the domestic market.

    Concerning the highly competitive situation in the aviation industry – mainly in the Asia Pacific region – which influenced both domestic and international networks, Garuda Indonesia’s market share for domestic reached 41.2 percent, and 26.7 percent for international market share.

    “We still have time to maximize the power and potency of our strategy, particularly in facing this coming end of year peak season period. We believe that we can reach the continuous positive growth in the coming years, including our strategic plan for international network expansion in the near future,” Arif added.

    Garuda Indonesia Group operates a total of 194 aircraft, consisting of ten (10) Boeing 777-300ER, twenty-five (25) Airbus A330-200/300, two (2) Boeing 747-400, seventy-six (76) Boeing 737-800NG, eighteen (18) Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen, and fifteen (15) ATR72-600, with a 146 aircraft operated by Garuda Indonesia, and forty (40) Airbus A320 and eight (8) Boeing 737-300/500, or 48 aircraft operated by Citilink, with an average aircraft age of 4.6 years.

  • Garuda Indonesia plans to connect Mumbai with Jakarta

    Garuda Indonesia plans to connect Mumbai with Jakarta

    Garuda Indonesia plans to expand its service to India at the end of this year by opening a new route from Mumbai to Jakarta.

    Garuda Indonesia’s vice president of corporate communications Benny S. Butarbutar told that the airline had received support from the Transportation Ministry and the new service would use Airbus 330 and Boeing 777 aircraft. “We are currently planning the route, and considering factors like is it going to be a direct flight or will there be a transit, will it be a daily service or several flights per week,” said Benny in Jakarta on Wednesday.

    The potential of tourist arrivals from India to Indonesia was quite significant, said Benny. “This is a growing market that we should tap into in order to attract more visitors.”

    Indian tourists visiting Indonesia in 2014 amounted to 223,607 people, an upsurge from the previous year’s figure of 201,009, according to the Central Statistics Agency.

  • 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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  • Garuda Indonesia and Angkasa Pura II Sign Agreement for Air Cargo Business

    Garuda Indonesia and Angkasa Pura II Sign Agreement for Air Cargo Business

    Air carrier Garuda Indonesia signed an agreement with state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II at the Soekarno-Hatta airport on Thursday (13/10) to support the creation of a commercial cargo area.

    Both companies agreed to develop AP II’s commercial area in the airport’s cargo warehouse as Garuda Indonesia’s cargo operational service area. According to Garuda’s official statement, there will be revenue sharing between Garuda and AP II from the air cargo business.

    Garuda Indonesia was represented by cargo director Sigit Muhartono, while commercial and business development director Daan Achmad signed on behalf of AP II.

    “In line with Garuda’s target to obtain $269 million of cargo profit share in 2016, the utilization of this facility will significantly support the company’s cargo business,” Sigit said.

    He added he is optimistic in developing the business, particularly as the deal will span 23,000 meters squared.

    Daan shared Sigit’s optimism, saying the cooperation will “give a positive contribution to improving Indonesia’s cargo industry, given that Soekarno-Hatta is one of the largest bases for air cargo business in Indonesia.”

    Currently Garuda Indonesia has 70 Cargo Service Centers (CSC) all over Indonesia. Of all service centers, 46 CSCs are located in airports and 24 are in city centers. Garuda Indonesia Cargo provides shipping from City to Door and City to Port where CSCs serve as Drop and Pick-up Points.

    Garuda hopes to expand its cargo business to remote corners of Indonesia to support the rapid growth of domestic and international cargo shipping.

  • Garuda Indonesia expects US$25 million from intl cargo

    Garuda Indonesia expects US$25 million from intl cargo

    The Indonesian flight carrier, Garuda Indonesia, is expecting US$25 million from international cargo service by the end of 2016.

    “Currently, the average income from cargo per month is US$21 million. Business cargo, mainly catering to the international market, will continue to support the company’s revenue stream,” President Director of Garuda, Arif Wibowo, said here on Tuesday.

    According to him, one of the strategies developed by the company to increase the cargo capacity is to open international flights.

    “We should explore international markets and also enlarge our cargo capacity on overseas flights,” he added.

    He pointed out that the largest component of cargo business of Garuda currently comes from China, covering Canton and Shanghai, reaching about 20 tons per day.

    Meanwhile, the cargo capacity from Tokyo and South Korea is about 20 tons per day, and from Europe is around 14-15 tons per day.

    To capture the growth opportunity in the cargo business, in particular in the international market, Garuda is opening new routes and adding frequencies of domestic flights to a number of foreign countries.

    For instance, he stated, the Jakarta-Madina flight will be available in December 2016. Also, the Surabaya-Madina route will be opened.

    To support its flight expansion plans, Garuda provides 50 units of Boeing737 MAX, while its subsidiary, Citilink, provides 50 units of Airbus A320.

    Regarding the business expansion to China, Garuda will soon open an international flight on the Denpasar-Chengdu route in January.

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  • Minister asks Garuda to be more aggressive in international market

    Minister asks Garuda to be more aggressive in international market

    Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Rini Sumarno has asked national carrier PT Garuda Indonesia to act more aggressively, especially in promoting itself in both local and international markets.

    “The Minister asked us to continue to enhance our synergy with other state-owned enterprises in expanding Garudas infrastructure and services,” said CEO of Garuda Indonesia Arif Wibowo, after a meeting with Minister Rini Sumarno in the Ministrys offices in Jakarta, Tuesday.

    During the meeting, which was also attended by the Ministrys Deputy of Finance, Survey and Consulting Gatot Trihargo, Garuda was asked to be more aggressive in their future development, including by strongly cooperating with their subsidiary business, Citilink.

    “To dominate the domestic, regional and international market, Minister Rini Sumarno emphasized the importance of connecting time between flights, as well as adding more routes to the existing ones, especially to tourist destinations,” he added.

    In relation to that, he further explained that the airline is planning to open a new route from Jakarta to Labuan Bajo, East Nusa.

    “Direct flights from Jakarta to Labuan Bajo, East Nusa will officially start Oct 27. A route to the same destination has actually been operating from Denpasar, Bali. The new route from the capital city to Labuan Bajo can become the bridge to direct connections to our international routes,” he reiterated.

    In its initial phase, the new route from Jakarta to Labuan Bajo will operate daily at 10 am.

    “If the demand for it continues to rise, we can then add more flight times there,” he remarked.

    According to the Ministers directives that seeks additional domestic, regional and international flights, he said, the airline have brought in 50 Boeing737 MAX airplanes, while Citilink brought in 50 Airbus A320 airplanes.

    “We need to be more aggressive in adding more narrow body airplanes, in order to strengthen our domestic networks,” he stated.

    On the same occasion, Garuda and Citilinks market share also moved forward, as it is hoped to reach 50 percent in the domestic market, compared to its value at the moment, which is 44 percent.

    “The Minister wants us to also dominate the domestic market. We are asked to calculate it in detail, so we can reach that target. As for the international market, Garuda is targeted to dominate 50 percent of the Chinese and Middle Eastern markets, whereas, at the moment, we hold about 38 percent of it,” he noted.

    Additionally, the national carrier will open a new international route from Denpasar, Bali to Chengdu, China starting January 2017.

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  • Garuda targeting Rp386 billion transactions during travel fair

    Garuda targeting Rp386 billion transactions during travel fair

    PT Garuda Indonesia is targeting transactions of up to Rp386 billion in ticket sales during the Garuda Travel Fair (GATF) Phase II in 2016, to be held in 18 cities in Indonesia.

    Commercial Director of Garuda Indonesia A. Toni Soetirto said at a press conference here on Thursday that for Jakarta alone, the company targets sales transactions amounting to Rp225 billion and 80 thousand visitors.

    “The implementation of GATFs second phase provides an opportunity for service users to receive attractive offers,” he stated.

    In addition, he targeted a 3 to 4 percent increase in occupancy rate (load factor) compared with the off-season or low season.

    “In the third quarter, the interest of the public is higher,” he remarked.

    The overall target for transactions, he added, was higher than that of GATF Phase I, which raised Rp350 billion, and in Jakarta alone raised Rp179 billion, with 69 thousand visitors.

    Soetirto said GATF Phase II will be held in 18 major cities: Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Lampung, Palembang, Semarang, Solo, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Lombok, Kupang, Balikpapan, Makassar, Manado, Ambon, Timika, and Jayapura.

    “Through this travel fair, the customers get the best prices and attractive packages,” he stated.

    Soetirto said Garuda Indonesia is also working with its subsidiary, Citilink Indonesia, as well as a number of travel agents to participate in the exhibition being held at the Jakarta Convention Center for three days from October 7 to 9.

    For the seventh time, Garuda will collaborate with Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) as its bank partner in organizing the exhibition.

    On the same occasion, Director of Consumer Banking BNI Anggoro Eko Cahyo said BNI would offer a variety of promotions and convenient services for customers at the exhibition.

    Among them, BNI credit card holders will receive 600 cashback tickets per day with a value up to Rp1 million, while the banks debit card holders will have a similar offer.

    “We appreciate Garuda Indonesias invitation to partner with them again and share profits, values, and so on,” Cahyo noted.

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  • Garuda Indonesia opens new flight route in E. Nusa Tenggara

    Garuda Indonesia opens new flight route in E. Nusa Tenggara

    The national airline Garuda Indonesia launched a new flight route here to expand connectivity in East Indonesia, said Director of Garuda Indonesia Cargo Sigit Murhartono on Thursday.

    “The two new routes are Maumere-Denpasar, round trip, and direct flights on Kupang-Jakarta, round trip,” he said in a press statement in Kupang.

    The inauguration of the new flight path for Garuda Indonesia was conducted at the Frans Seda Airport in Maumere, Sikka District, and was attended by Sikka Regent Yoseph Ansar Rera.

    Murhartono said the new flight service to and from the NTT is part of the expansion of the flight network, which continues to be conducted by Garuda Indonesia.

    In addition, the opening of the new route is part of the continued commitment of the state-owned airline to support the programs of the Presiden Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administration.

    “We have a commitment to always support government programs to improve connectivity between the island and the city, especially in developing the tourism industry to realize the target of 272 million tourists visiting Indonesia and to make NTT Province a new tourist destination,” he noted.

    He also expected the opening of the new routes would allow Garuda to increase the flow of tourists and businesspeople between Kupang City, as the capital of the province, and Maumere, which has many tourist spots.

    Murhartono explained that the Maumere-Denpasar route will be served by Garuda Indonesia four times a week — Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday — with scheduled flights from Maumere departing at 10.55 a.m. and arriving in Denpasar at 00.55 p.m.

    Meanwhile, the Denpasar-Maumere trip will depart at 7 a.m. and will arrive in Maumere at 9 a.m. The Maumere-Denpasar round trip flight route will be served by an ATR 71-600 aircraft with a passenger capacity of 70 economy seats.

    The Kupang-Jakarta round trip flight will be served by a Bombardier CRJ 1000 NextGen aircraft, which is touted as being reliable and environmentally friendly with cost-efficient operations.

    “For the daily Kupang-Jakarta, round trip, service departure from Jakarta will be at 5 a.m., arriving in Kupang at 8.55 a.m. and then returning from Kupang at 6.55 p.m. and arriving in Jakarta at 8.10 p.m.,” he stated.

    With the opening of the new routes, Garuda Indonesia will serve up to 39 flights to and from NTT Province every week.

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  • Garuda to Fly to the US in 2017

    Garuda to Fly to the US in 2017

    National carrier Garuda Indonesia plans to serve flights to the United States starting next year.

    Vice President Corporate Communications Garuda Indonesia Benny S. Butarbutar said Garuda’s plan to fly to the United States is one of the measures to strengthen its business expansion.

    “The plan to fly to the United States is business expansion to strengthen the position of Garuda Indonesia as a global player in the aviation industry,” Benny said in a press release on Saturday (10/9).

    Benny said Indonesia’s flight market potentials to the United States is quite high, reaching 400 thousand passengers per year.

    Based on this potential, Garuda Indonesia targets a return flight to Los Angeles will go and New York, as the two cities with the highest market potentials.

    Benny added, in realizing the strategic plan, Garuda Indonesia has initiated various preparations, including a feasibility study of the potential market, profitable routie, and the type of fleet to be utilized optimally, and many others.

    Garuda Indonesia plans to use large-bodied Boeing 777-300ER fleet to fly to America.

  • Garuda Indonesia Raking It In During Idul Fitri Holiday

    Garuda Indonesia Raking It In During Idul Fitri Holiday

    Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia filled more seats on its domestic flights during the Lebaran exodus this year, as more people chose air travel to return to their hometown for Idul Fitri.

    The state-controlled airline’s average load factor — which indicates how much an airline makes use of its seat capacity — went up to 74 percent from June 24 to July 5, a day before Idul Fitri, on all of its domestic routes, Benny S. Butarbutar, Garuda Indonesia’s vice president of corporate communication, said on Saturday (09/07).

    Benny did not give a figure for last year’s Idul Fitri holiday.

    Still, the latest figure could mark a turnaround for Garuda. The full-service airline had seen its load factor dip to 69 percent in the first three months of this year, compared to 74 percent in the same period last year, as weak economic growth forced cost-conscious travelers to opt out of the airline’s services.

    Garuda added 32,000 more seats on 132 extra flights, 112 of which are on international routes, between June 24 to July 17 to cater for Indonesians during the annual Lebaran exodus, Benny said.

    “This represents a 35 percent increase in our extra capacity from the same period last year,” Benny said.

    The National Police estimated 17.6 million people made the travel back to their hometown during the Lebaran exodus this year. Ouf of that figure, 4.6 million chose air travel, up 7.6 percent from a year ago as people’s purchasing power has increased and local airlines offer new fleets and routes.

    Air travelers met with relatively few problems during this year’s Lebaran exodus compared to their peers taking land routes, who were met by hellish traffic jams on toll roads across Java.

  • Garuda to strengthen fleet with 17 new units of aircraft

    Garuda to strengthen fleet with 17 new units of aircraft

    Garuda Indonesia Group said it will strengthen its fleet with 17 new units of aircraft this year. The 17 units of aircraft will include a Boeing 777-300 ER, four units of Airbus A 330-300, and four units of ATR 72-600 for Garuda Indonesia and 8 units of Airbus A 320 aircraft for its subsidiary Citilink,a Garuda vice president for Corporate Communications Benny Siga Butarbutar said here on Tuesday.

    With the addition of new units, the Garuda Indonesia Group will operate 197 units of aircraft, Benny said on the sideline of commissioning a new route between Medans Kualanamu airport and Singapore.

    “The total number is 197 units including 53 units operated by Citilink,” he said.

    Citilink is a budget airline serving mainly domestic flights, with Garuda, the nations flag carrier serving international as well as domestic flights.

    From Kualanamu Garuda Indonesia Group serves direct flights to Jakarta, Banda Aceh, Lhokseumawe, Sabang, Batam, Lampung, Palembang, Denpasar, Sibolga, and Gunung Sitoli on the islanf of Nias off western coast of North Sumatra.

    Garuda Indonesia President M Arif Wibowo said the airline will also increase service for short distance flights.

  • Garuda Indonesia launches re-operations of Singapore-Medan flight

    Garuda Indonesia launches re-operations of Singapore-Medan flight

    Indonesia’s national airline, Garuda Indonesia, today launched the re-operation of a daily flight between Singapore and Medan. The flight reopening is in line with the airline’s future expansion plan, and the continuously commitment as the flag-carrier to help boost Indonesia’s economic, business, and tourism growth, as well as part of its effort to further strengthen the backbone of its connectivity in Southeast Asia region in line with the Open Sky policy.

    The relaunches ceremony was located at the Changi International Airport, and proudly unveiled by Indonesian Minister of Tourism Mr Arief Yahya, President & CEO Garuda Indonesia M. Arif Wibowo, Indonesian Ambassador for Singapore H.E. Ngurah Swanjaya, VP Airline Development Changi Airport Group Damon Wong, along with other officials of Garuda Indonesia Board of Director and Tourism Ministry of Indonesia.

    President & CEO Garuda Indonesia M. Arif Wibowo stated that aside from the airline’s expansion program, the reoperation of the flight is also a commitment to support Indonesian government program in boosting the Top 10 Priority Destinations in which one of them is Lake Toba.

    “We believe this new service will stimulate growth of business and trade in the region, more so as Medan is strategically located as the gateway to Sumatera and the rest of Indonesia’s western regions. The new service will offer passengers a wider choice of destinations as well as greater flexibility and convenience when travelling between Singapore and cities in Sumatera, such as Palembang, Banda Aceh, Sabang, Lheuksmawe, Gunung Sitoli, and Pinangsori,” he added.

    Apart from business and leisure travel, many visitors from Singapore come to Medan as the city is quite well known for its vibrant mix of cultures and reputation as a culinary paradise as well as popular tourism attractions.

    Commenting on the airline’s strategic initiative, Indonesian Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya explained that Singapore is considered as an international transportation hub, as well as the tourism hub for Indonesia. Furthermore, the Minister also promotes Lake Toba, one of the Top 10 Priority Destinations in Indonesia.

    “Toba is the largest and deepest volcanic lake in the world. Lake Toba is a giant caldera, with crater formed by the eruption of a super volcano 74,000 years ago. Experts believe that huge explosion of Toba volcano was the largest in the last 2 million years, and had triggered a dramatic volcanic storm. As an attraction, Lake Toba is a very distinctive, world-class natural landscape,” he added.

    The Medan-bound service will run daily and will be operated by Garuda’s Boeing 738 aircraft with a two-class cabin configuration featuring its globally praised Business Class service concept and the World’s Best Economy Class (Skytrax Global Airline Awards 2013).

    The service will depart from Changi Airport at 11.15am and arrive at Kualanamu International Airport at 11.45am local time. The return flights to Singapore will depart Kualanamu International Airport at 13.30pm and arrive at Changi Airport at 16.00pm local time.

    Garuda Indonesia had also launched the Wonderful Indonesia Travel Pass last January in an effort to promote Indonesia’s tourist destinations beyond its main hub, as well as to boost travel, by making travelling within Indonesia a truly affordable and seamless experience.

    The launch of this service is part of Garuda Indonesia’s 50th Anniversary in Singapore. The airline’s presence in Singapore, for over 50 years, marks Singapore not only as one of the airline’s most important markets, but also as a symbol of an even better relationship between the two countries in the next fifty years. Ever since the first day of its consecutive operations in Singapore 50 years ago, the airline has grown considerably and transformed into one of Asia’s most successful airlines.

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  • Garuda re-exploring plans for flights to US in 2017

    Garuda re-exploring plans for flights to US in 2017

    Garuda Indonesia plans to re-explore the feasibility of starting flights to the United States in 2017 if the national flag carrier passes Category 1 test of safety and security standards as mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

    “Next year, we will try and clear this test as it is part of our five year plan, or this may be achieved even earlier,” the Garuda Indonesia President Director, M Arif Wibowo, said here on Wednesday.

    He noted that 400 thousand passengers travel from the US to Indonesia every year.

    The cities which receive maximum visitors are Los Angeles and New York, he added.

    “The number of potential passengers departing from Los Angeles is 120 thousand, while many more depart from New York,” Arif said.

    The flights will transit through Narita, Japan and will use two units of Boeing 777.

    “Actually, we want to start direct flights but that is not possible as of now. The option is to fly via Narita, Japan,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Director General of Air Transportation at the Transportation Ministry, Suprasetyo, said the audit result of the FAA will be declared by July 2016 at the latest.

    “We have completed and reported all the documents and are optimistic that we can achieve our target,” he added.

    The Director of Airworthiness and Aircraft Operation at the Transportation Ministry, Mohammad Alwi, said the last seven documents related to flight inspection have been reported online to the FAA auditors.

    “All the documents have been accepted. God willing, this July we will receive the good news as Ramadan and Eid gift,” he said.

    According to him, if Garuda is awarded Category 1 status, then its aviation safety standards and security aspects must conform to international standards, in line with the flag carriers in the same category.

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