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ndonesia’s flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia has suffered a US$2 million net loss in the first semester this year, but remains optimistic of booking a profit by year end, expecting an increase of flight occupancy during the holiday weeks in the upcoming months.

“We suffer losses in the first semester every year. It is common in the airline business in Indonesia, because first half is low-season and we usually see an increase in the second semester,” Garuda chief financial officer Handrito Hardjono said on Monday.

Handrito brushed off the net losses and went on to say that Garuda saw a significant improvement in its financial performance compared to the same period last year.

In the same period last year, Garuda suffered a $22 million net loss, mostly because of high operating costs of $753 million. Garuda’s operating income this year stood positive at $10 million while last year it was a negative $34 million.

The national airline also reported $1.38 billion in flight revenue, higher than $1.16 billion the company booked first semester last year.

Non-flights income sees an increase this year to $130 million, compared to last year’s figure of $ 122 million.

Garuda flew 17 million passengers in 2011, targeting an increase to 22 million this year. “Up to June, our passenger numbers have reached 9.7 million,” Handrito said.

Garuda’s low-cost carrier, Citilink, announced on Monday that it was officially independent from Garuda. Citilink, which has served 1.2 million passengers from January to June, operates 21 planes and will fly internationally using QG as its code after the spin-off from Garuda and becoming a subsidiary.

“We are going to open more domestic routes to strengthen our network and increase our frequency to 120 flights per day by the end of this year,” Citilink CEO Arif Wibowo told The Jakarta Post.

Currently, the airline operates 14 aircraft flying 11 routes including Jakarta to Denpasar, Balikpapan, Medan and Surabaya.

With current fleet and routes, frequency has reached 72 flights a day, he said.

Starting on Monday, Citilink will increase Jakarta–Surabaya flights from seven to nine a day and Jakarta–Denpasar flights from two to five a day.

In addition, the company plans to open routes linking Bandung, West Java, to Surabaya and Denpasar, and the capital city Jakarta to Yogyakarta; Padang, West Sumatra, and Pekanbaru, Riau, in the fourth quarter of this year.

Citilink will spread its wings next year. Singapore, Penang and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Melbourne in Australia are the planned destinations, Arif confirmed.

Citilink plans to operate 50 aircraft and fly 17 million passengers per year by 2015.

After the announcement, Garuda’s shares declined to Rp 750 on Monday’s close, from Rp 760 on opening. The stock has made significant increases compared to Rp 470 apiece in January. (sat)

—JP/ Nurfika Osman