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Jakarta Post

Garuda to receive 24 new aircraft next year

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia says it will take delivery of 24 new aircraft at a cost of US$1

Nurfika Osman (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, November 10, 2012

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Garuda to receive 24 new aircraft next year

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ational flag carrier Garuda Indonesia says it will take delivery of 24 new aircraft at a cost of US$1.57 billion next year to support expansion of its domestic and international flight service.

President director Emirsyah Satar said in Jakarta on Friday that the aircraft comprise four Boeing B777-300 Extended Range (ER) aircraft, 10 B737-800 Next Generation (NG) aircraft, two Airbus A330-320s, one A330-300s and seven Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft.

“They will be used to help expand both our domestic and international networks. As for the B777s, they will replace our aging B747 series,” Emirsyah said on the sidelines of the Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair 2012 in Jakarta on Friday.

The B747s that Emirsyah referred to are currently used for the airline’s long-haul routes, such as Jakarta–Amsterdam and Jakarta–Jeddah.

Emirsyah said that Garuda planned to expand its international service to include service from Jakarta to London in the UK; Brisbane, Australia; and Auckland, New Zealand; next year. “We expect to open the new international routes by the end of 2013.”

Marketing director Elisa Lumbantoruan said that the airline would fly each of the routes four times a week by the third quarter of 2013.

“In the future, as we will have more aircraft, we will increase the service from four times to seven times a week,” he said.

Garuda currently operates 96 aircraft with an average age of 6.23 years. The airline flies to more than 50 destinations domestically and internationally.

Under the airline’s Quantum Leap program, it plans to increase its fleet numbers to 194 aircraft with an average age of 5 years by the end of 2015.

Emirsyah also said that Garuda’s low-cost carrier, Citilink Indonesia, would receive 10 new A320s next year that are worth about $900 million.

The budget airline is expected to field a fleet of about 100 aircraft, including 50 turboprop aircraft, by the end of 2015.

“We are going to announce whether we will use ATR-72s or Bombardier Q400s planes by the end of this year. We are still studying both aircraft,” Emirsyah said.

The turboprop aircraft would be based in eastern Indonesia, as feeder planes for routes served by Citilink’s and Garuda’s Bombardiers.

Last month, Garuda officially put into operation a Canadian-made Bombardier aircraft at its regional hub in Makassar, South Sulawesi to help strengthen service on its domestic routes.

Four out of the 18 jets that Garuda is expected to take delivery of will serve routes connecting Makassar and Ternate, North Maluku; Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi; Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara; and Surabaya, East Java.

The fifth Bombardier, which the airline expects to take delivery of in December, would enter service from Garuda’s hub in Surabaya and connect the city to one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations: Denpasar, Bali.

According to Garuda recent reports, the airline’s total revenues grew 14.4 percent to $2.39 billion in the first nine months of 2012, while net profits climbed 51.9 percent to $56.48 million.

Its passenger numbers also rose 20.2 percent to 14.89 million, while its cargo volume surged 18.7 percent to 201,070 tons.

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