Garuda says flight cuts won't hurt revenue<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
National flag carrier Garuda said that the decision to
\ntemporarily reduce and cease flights, mainly on international
\nroutes, would have little impact on the company's 2002 revenue as
\nit took effect in the latter part of the year.<\/p>\n
"It will have an impact on Garuda's revenue this year. But as
\nthe reduction of flights became effective on Nov. 15, the impact
\nwill not be too significant," Emirsyah Satar, Garuda's finance
\ndirector told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Emir said that this year's revenue will be similar to last
\nyear's, at Rp 10.8 trillion (US$ 1.2 billion).<\/p>\n
Garuda bore the brunt of the bombing incident on the tourist
\nhaven of Bali on Oct. 12 that killed at least 190 people, mostly
\noverseas tourists. Its passenger levels have dropped by 40
\npercent, while 60 percent to 70 percent of Garuda's international
\nflights originate from Denpasar, Bali.<\/p>\n
Garuda's international routes that have been either
\ntemporarily reduced or withdrawn include flights to Australia,
\nJapan, South Korea, London and Frankfurt. Flights to Amsterdam
\nwill be temporarily halted from Jan. 22 through Feb. 20.<\/p>\n
These routes service Garuda's three largest markets.<\/p>\n
Several domestic routes that serve Bali and other cities have
\nhad their flight frequency temporarily reduced or are served by
\nsmaller aircraft.<\/p>\n
"(The policy) will reduce operating and other variable costs,
\nwhich, in turn, will help stem the hemorrhaging cash flow," Emir
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Garuda also said that none of its 51 aircraft was idle as
\nthe company had redeployed some to profitable routes as part of
\nits contingency plan after the Bali bombing.<\/p>\n
The aircraft are used to strengthen its fleet ahead of the
\nyear-end holiday. For the Idul Fitri holiday, Christmas and New
\nYear, Garuda has made available 30,188 seats on flights to 10
\ncities, both domestic and regional. Among the cities are
\nYogyakarta, Solo, Denpasar, Batam, Singapore, Hong Kong and
\nGuangzhou.<\/p>\n
With the decision, Garuda has also cut costs to provide
\nservices for the coming Haj season early next year. Its A-330
\naircraft, each with 293 seats, and Boeing 747-400, with 124,
\nwhich usually serve Europe, Australia and Japan, will be used to
\ntransport Haj pilgrims.<\/p>\n
As part of its contingency plans, Garuda is studying the
\npossibility of opening up new routes in regions with potential
\nsuch as the Middle East (Dubai and Kuwait) and within Asia
\n(including Beijing, India and Srilanka).<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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