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ational flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will receive at least 15 narrow body aircraft this year to further strengthen the country'€™s foothold in the country'€™s aviation market.

Garuda Indonesia president director Arif Wibowo said the new aircraft, including a Boeing B737-800 NG, Bombardier CRJ-1000 and ATR 72-600, would be operated as feeders to cater to both domestic and international passengers.

'€œWe will focus on intensifying our feeder routes in a bid to strengthen our domestic network. We are planning to open 44 new domestic routes this year,'€ Arif told reporters after the company'€™s recent shareholders meeting.

'€œWe began to reap the benefits from our investment in ATR last year, as our Garuda Explore brand now has a stronger foothold in the domestic market,'€ he said.

According to Arif, Garuda'€™s domestic market share as of March this year increased to 45 percent, larger than the country'€™s biggest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, which recorded 34 percent market share.

Last year, Lion Air held the largest market share with 41 percent, followed by Garuda with 37 percent, data from Garuda shows.

According to Arif, the airline aimed to record 25 million passengers this year, while its low-cost arm, Citilink, expected to see 11 million passengers.

'€œGaruda Explore is projected to serve around 15 percent [of Garuda'€™s targeted passengers]. People who want to travel to Komodo, Raja Ampat in the eastern part of the country will have to use the narrow body aircraft,'€ he said.

Garuda currently operates 53 domestic routes and 18 international routes.

The state-owned company booked US$12.4 million in net profit in the January-March period this year, a stark contrast from a $168.04 million net loss in the same period last year.

The carrier was back in the black after recording $373 million in net losses last year, making it the second-least profitable airline in Southeast Asia, as its revenue grew 13.4 percent to $927.33 million year-on-year in the first quarter from $817.41 million.

'€œDuring the first quarter we have conducted a cross-currency swap and fuel hedging mechanism to prepare for future fluctuations in the rupiah and fuel prices, and we believe we will remain secure until the end of the year,'€ Arif said.

He added that the airline was also eyeing further expansion to the Middle East and Europe this year.

'€œIn regard to the competition in the international market in the future, we have to make sure the unit cost is lower in order to be more competitive. We have decided already that for the next Boeing 777, we will only provide two classes, economy and business,'€ Arif said, citing that the airline would welcome three new Boeing 777s this year to cater to the growing Middle East market.

During the shareholders meeting, the company also decided to appoint a new member to the board of directors, Nicodemus Lampe as service director.

Arif said the decision was made to ensure the airline could maintain its reputation as a five-star airline, which was awarded by Skytrax earlier this year.