Garuda decides to resume London flights
Indonesian flag carrier Garuda had a change of heart and will resume flights to London Heathrow from later this month.
The direct London route was only recently halted due to low demand coupled by high operating costs.
Average passenger loadings were only about 60-70%, the airline said.
Jakarta-London flights will operate three times a week.
However it could be a temporary measure, as the airline sees more demand for leisure travel rather than business, and plans to reroute it from Jakarta to Denpasar-Bali, local media outlet Kompas reported.
"We opened the flight again after seeing the market growth, however, we will continue to review the structure cost," said Garuda Indonesia President Director Gusti Ngurah Askhara Danadiputra.
It has likely chosen to restart the service now as the flight slot at LHR is on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis, meaning it could relinquish it before next year’s peak tourist season kicks in.
The airline could then opt for Denpasar as the UK leisure market to Bali has remained strong despite a series of natural disasters in the country over the past year.
The UK is the fourth biggest source market to Bali behind China, Australia, and India.
The airline was just recently awarded by OAG for the airline with the best on time performance in Asia Pacific.
It scored 90.4% punctuality during October 2018.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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