Garuda, Korean Air sign agreement on marketing cooperation

Antara ,  Nusa Dua, Bali   |  Thu, 07/24/2008 6:10 PM  |  Business

Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and Korean Air have agreed to cooperate more closely in the marketing of their services.

The agreement was formalized in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Garuda Indonesia president director Emirsyah Satar and Korean Air CEO Lee Jong Hee here Thursday.

Under the MoU, the two airlines will increase seat allocation under their code sharing scheme on the Jakarta-Seoul or Denpasar-Seoul routes from the present 20 to 30 seats.

The two airlines will also implement an interline e-ticket to improve customer's service, and impose code sharing on domestic routes served by both Garuda Indonesia and Korean Air.

Korean Air will also help Garuda join Skyteam, a global alliance of national airlines.

Skyteam members among others are Aeroflot, Aero Mexico, Air France, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Korean Air, Air Europe, Copa Airlines and Kenya Airways.

Skyteam members fly to some 841 cities in 162 countries with more than 16,409 flights per day.

Emirsyah Satar said Garuda's target was to become a four-star airline in 2009 and a five-star airline in 2010.

In a bid to reach the target, Garuda has improved its management as well as its services.

"Garuda now flies the Denpasar-Seoul route five times per week, and Korean Air four times per week using A-330 Airbuses," Emirsyah said.(**)

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