Garuda to resume London-Jakarta service
Indonesian flag carrier Garuda will resume flights to London Heathrow from later this month.
The direct London route was only recently halted due to low demand coupled with high operating costs.
Average passenger loadings were only about 60-70%, the airline said.
However, Garuda said it will resume a three-times-a-week London to Jakarta service, but media outlets in Indonesia have speculated that Garuda plans to re-route the service from the Indonesian capital to Bali next summer as it attracts more leisure passengers than business.
"We opened the flight again after seeing the market growth, however, we will continue to review the structure cost," said Garuda Indonesia president Gusti Ngurah Askhara Danadiputra.
Garuda is likely to have chosen to restart the service now as the flight slot Heathrow is on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis, meaning it could forfeit it before next year’s peak travel season kicks in.
If the airline keeps operating flights now, it could then switch the route to Denpasar Airport 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.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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