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Garuda defers fleet renewal amid pressure on finances

Mardika Parama (The Jakarta Post)

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Jakarta

Thu, September 17, 2020 Published on Sep. 16, 2020 Published on 2020-09-16T18:45:31+07:00

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The stewardess welcomed the guests at the launch of the NEO Airbus A330-900 at the Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten.

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ational flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is not planning to buy any new aircraft this year as the COVID-19 crisis has strained the company’s finances, the airline’s top executive has said.

Garuda president director Irfan Setiaputra told The Jakarta Post in an exclusive interview on Thursday that much of the company’s fleet was still grounded because of falling passenger numbers during the ongoing health crisis.

“What is the world going to say if we have a new aircraft while there are many aircraft parked on the ground? It doesn’t make any sense,” he said during the interview, adding that the airline’s fleet was still relatively new.

“However, nobody knows how things are going to develop next year.”

Garuda Indonesia Group, which includes low-cost carrier Citilink, own 20 aircraft and is leasing 190 aircraft with an average age of 7.8 years, according to the company’s data.

In comparison, US major airlines’ average fleet age was 13.3 years in 2019, data from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics show.

Moreover, the airline has seen its aircraft productivity fall as its operation have been disrupted by international border closures and social restrictions.