Garuda plans to fly to India, U.S., Philippines<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta<\/p>\n
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia plans to open a new
\nroute to India, and reopen routes to the United States and the
\nPhilippines in the near future, to tap passengers amid growing
\nbusiness activities between Indonesia and the three particular
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Garuda commercial and marketing director Bachrul Hakim said
\nthat currently the airline was in the process of conducting
\nfeasibility study for the three routes, in order to gain maximum
\nresults in the investment for the routes.<\/p>\n
\"We are studying the possibility of flying to India, the
\nUnited States and the Philippines next year because the
\ndestinations are deemed potential, due to growing business
\nactivities between Indonesia and the three countries,\" said
\nBachrul, after a ceremony to mark a cooperation between the
\nairline and Bank Danamon on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Bachrul explained that Garuda was eyeing four cities in India
\nfor its maiden flight, including New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and
\nMadras, and Manila for the Philippines. As for the United States,
\nthe airline had yet to decide the city, possibly Honolulu, Los
\nAngeles or New York.<\/p>\n
\"We are still studying whether the passenger load for the
\nroutes can consistently maintain 60 percent per flight, at least,
\nfor Garuda to feasibly serve them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Garuda once flew to the United States, stopping at Honolulu
\nand Los Angeles. However, the airline scrapped the flight in 1994
\ndue to the low passenger load factor, causing losses for the
\nairline.<\/p>\n
For the same cause, Garuda also stopped serving the route to
\nManila in 1998.<\/p>\n
Garuda spokesman Pudjobroto said the airline would not need to
\ngain licenses to start serving the routes, since Indonesia had
\nalready signed agreements with the three countries for the
\ncommercial flight licenses.<\/p>\n
\"The licenses are already available with the three countries.
\nBut for the United States, we still need licenses from other
\ncountries, such as Japan, for the stopover because its a long
\nflight,\" said Pudjobroto.<\/p>\n
Garuda's current fleet comprises 54 aircraft serving 21
\ndomestic and 22 international destinations. International
\noperations account for 55 percent of Garuda's revenue, while
\ndomestic operations account for 45 percent.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, regarding Garuda's preparation to anticipate a boom
\nin passengers during Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year holidays
\nin November and December, Pudjobroto said the airline would
\nincrease its loading capacity by between 20 percent and 30
\npercent.<\/p>\n
The additional flights will be allocated for hectic domestic
\nroutes, such as between Jakarta and Solo, Yogyakarta, Surabaya,
\nDenpasar, Padang and Palembang. As for international
\ndestinations, the airline will provide extra flights to routes
\nbetween Jakarta and Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Garuda has set the peak season for Idul Fitri holidays --
\nwhich falls on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 -- from Nov. 11 until Nov. 22,
\nwhile for Christmas and New Year holidays from Dec. 22 until Jan.
\n3, 2005.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/garuda-plans-to-fly-to-india-us-philippines-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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