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ith the increase in its fleet and new routes, the national fag carrier Garuda Indonesia’s low-cost branch, Citilink, is expected to be able to increase its passengers by about 50 percent in 2012.

Con Korfiatis, Citilink’s technical advisor for board of directors, said in Jakarta on Friday that the operation of several new wide-bodied aircraft this year will not only enable the airline to further expand its domestic flights but also serve international destinations.

The fleet expansion will enable Citilink to compete with other low-cost carriers, he said, adding that with such an advantage, it will be able to increase its passengers by 50 percent to 3 million from 2 million at present.

Korfiatis said that Citilink received its first Airbus A320 aircraft within the last two weeks, and expects to take possession of three more over the next three months. The arrival of the four Airbus airplanes will increase its fleet to 10 planes.

As part of its expansion, Citilink, which is expected to split from Garuda next year to become an independent airline operator, plans to operate between 5 and 10 more aircraft in 2012 in order to meet the surging demand for budget airline services in the country.

“We see great prospects in Indonesia because of its size of population and geography, consisting as it does of thousands of islands. We are optimistic about the future,” he said.

According to The International Air Transport Association (IATA), Indonesia is poised to become one of the fastest-growing markets for the airline industry despite the current financial crisis.

The IATA said that in 2014, Indonesia is expected to rank as the world’s ninth-largest market for domestic flights.

Korfiatis said that with its expanding fleet, Citilink would be able to compete both at domestic and international levels. Garuda’s low-cost carrier previously planned to launch international routes linking Jakarta to several cities in Southeast Asia this year, but the plan has been delayed until 2012 because of the lack of airplanes.

“Our aircraft are able to fly within a range of four to five hours [flying time], enabling us to serve international destinations in the region, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Australia,” he said.

With the increase in the number of planes, Citilink will also be able to establish more regional hubs in Indonesia, such as Medan in North Sumatra, and Makassar in South Sulawesi, in addition to Jakarta and Surabaya.

Garuda is currently in the process of preparing for the separation of Citilink into a stand-alone subsidiary of the Garuda Indonesia group. This is expected to be realized in the first quarter of 2012.

When that occurs, the group will own two prominent brands catering to all sectors in the market, he said. (nfo)