“The verdict is baseless and we therefore officially reject the decision,” Garuda’s lawyer, Erry Heriawan, told reporters after submitting the appeal at the court.

Another lawyer for Garuda, Yogi Sudrajat, said the Indonesian Business Supervisory Commission (KPPU) had not provided sufficient evidence Garuda had colluded with other airlines in fixing fuel surcharges imposed on passengers.

“The KPPU accused us of conspiring with other airlines in fixing the fuel surcharge. We can prove that Garuda’s fuel surcharges were totally different from those imposed by other airlines,” he added.

He said that in 2006, the Transportation Ministry had suggested airline companies impose similar fuel surcharges for a three-month period. “However, the agreement was cancelled after the KPPU opposed the plan,” Yogi said.

In May, the KPPU accused nine local airline companies of price fixing, landing customers with total additional costs of Rp 13.84 trillion (US$1.5 billion).

The guilty airlines are Sriwijaya Air, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, Mandala Airlines, Travel Express Aviation Service, Lion Mentari Airlines, Wings Abadi Airlines, Metro Batavia and Kartika Airlines.

For the offence, the airliners were required to pay a total penalty of Rp 585 billion, which comprises
Rp 80 billion in fines and Rp 505 billion in compensation.

Garuda must pay a fine of Rp 25 billion and compensation of Rp 162 billion, Sriwijaya (Rp 9 billion and Rp 60 billion), Merpati (Rp 8 billion and Rp 53 billion), Mandala (Rp 5 billion and Rp 31 billion), Travel Express (Rp 1 billion and Rp 1.9 billion), Lion (Rp 17 billion and Rp 107 billion), Wings (Rp 5 billion and Rp 32.5 billion), Metro (Rp 9 billion and Rp 56 billion), and Kartika (Rp 1 billion and Rp 1.6 billion).

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