Garuda unveils its fresh face in Australia
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda has launched direct flights to Jakarta from Sydney and Melbourne as it seeks to further expand its business between Australia and Indonesia.
Poerwoko Soeparyono, Garuda Indonesia Pacific head, said the non-stop services to the Indonesian capital is operating three days a week from both cities using new Airbus A330-200 wide-bodied aircraft, and represent a key element of Garuda Indonesia’s transformation strategy.
“These new direct services to Jakarta now offer our customers an alternative gateway into Asia – and eventually into key destinations in Europe, following the decision last month by the EU to clear the way for Garuda and other Indonesian airlines to resume operations to the Continent,†he said.
“In addition, the new Sydney-Jakarta and Melbourne-Jakarta flights reflect a more fundamental and wide-ranging directional change for the airline.
“Garuda has long been known in this market – and others – predominantly as a leisure carrier, servicing destinations such as Bali.
“While our leisure business will remain a critical segment of our operations into the future, the airline is now also looking to place increased emphasis on the corporate sector.
“Increasingly, we will be looking to target the business traveler. We will also be seeking to promote our connections beyond Indonesia to other key Asian cities such as Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong,†Poewoko said.
Last month Garuda Indonesia announced a net profit of US$65.2 million for the 2008 financial year, despite the severe economic conditions affecting the global airline industry.
“While the global airline industry has been severely hit by the global economic downturn, Garuda has turned around its financial position and is now operating extremely profitably,†Poewoko said.
“The airline has an aggressive five year growth strategy that will see a doubling of the fleet to 116 aircraft and take its place alongside other leading international airlines in the Asia Pacific region.â€
The A330-200 aircraft servicing the Sydney-Jakarta and Melbourne-Jakarta routes feature a new interior configuration which includes totally flatbed seats in Business Class and personal entertainment systems in all seats.
Ian Jarrett
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