New flights from Sydney and Melbourne part of airline’s exciting transformation strategy
Indonesia’s national carrier, Garuda Indonesia, today announced new direct flights to Jakarta from Australia’s two major cities - Sydney and Melbourne. The inaugural flights, which take effect from today (ex Sydney) and from tomorrow (ex Melbourne) mark a significant new era for the carrier 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 will operate 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 traveller, as well as looking to promote and market many of the wonderful destinations beyond Bali. We will also be seeking to promote our connections beyond Indonesia to other key Asian cities such as Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong.”
Garuda Indonesia has been undergoing a significant transformation over the past few years, with the launch of the new direct Jakarta services from Australia coming on the heels of other key developments for the airline
Last month Garuda Indonesia announced a net profit of IRD669 billion (USD65.2 million) for the 2008 financial year, despite the severe economic conditions affecting the global airline industry. Last week the airline officially opened its new management headquarters at Jakarta’s Soekano Hatta Airport at a gala ceremony attended by the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who officially opened the purpose-built facility.
The airline also rolled out the first of a new fleet of aircraft, the new A330-220 and Boeing 737-800NG (Next Generation) aircraft with upgraded cabin configuration, a corporate identity refresh and a new service concept, the ‘Garuda Indonesia Experience’.
“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,” Mr 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 – and I am pleased to say Australia is at the forefront of this change.”
The new 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.
The aircraft feature Garuda Indonesia’s new signature interior, with individual touch-screen LCD TVs throughout Executive and Economy Classes with Video on Demand (VOD) entertainment systems offering 25 feature films and 250 audio tracks. The full lie-flat beds in Executive Class feature a 74-inch seat pitch.
