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AKARTA: Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia announced Wednesday its international passengers have increased by an average of 30 percent every month since May this year.

E-commerce executive project manager Prijastono Purwanto said the increase resulted from Garuda adopting an Internet-based booking engine for international flights.

“The online booking engine for our international flights enables us to reach a wider geographic market than before,” he told reporters.

The engine, supported by Amadeus, the world’s leading provider of information technology solutions in the travel and tourism industries, facilitates customers to book, pay and get tickets online in a short time.

Previously, international flyers could buy tickets through Garuda’s call centers and sales points as well as travel agents.

Currently, Garuda flies to 19 international destinations in Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Europe, and plans to open four new routes to Europe — Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rome — in the next four years. — JP