Garuda secures deals to lease seven Boeing 737s<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has
\nsecured deals to lease seven Boeing 777 aircraft from two
\nAmerican financing companies GE Cash and International Leasing
\nFinance Company (ILFC), the airline's president Abdulgani said
\nhere on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Abdulgani said one of the seven narrow-bodied Boeing 737s
\nwould be delivered next month and the other six would arrive in
\nIndonesia in stages until January next year.<\/p>\n
\"The aircraft would replace old ones and service new routes to
\nmeet growing demand in the domestic and regional flights,\" he
\ntold a media briefing.<\/p>\n
Abdulgani said the aircraft would be leased at US$200,000 to
\n$250,000 a month depending on the age and condition of the
\naircrafts.<\/p>\n
The newest aircraft was a 1994-make, while the oldest a 1989-
\nmake, he said, adding that the aircraft would be leased for a
\nthree-year term.<\/p>\n
The procurement of the seven jets was also part of the
\nairline's program to expand its services amidst signs of recovery
\nin the region's aviation business, Abdulgani said, adding that
\nGaruda would reopen direct flights to Seoul, South Korea at the
\nend of the month.<\/p>\n
Garuda closed some domestic routes and 17 international ones,
\nincluding services to the United States, Taipei, Seoul, Paris,
\nRome, Zurich and Saigon after the financial crisis hit Indonesia
\nlate 1997.<\/p>\n
Abdulgani said the performance of the national flag carrier
\nhas showed an improvement as the result of the restructuring
\nprogram launched in 1998.<\/p>\n
He said that Garuda's load factor, which rose to
\n68 per cent in 1999 from only 54.4 percent in 1998, continued
\nimproving to reach an average of 70 percent. On time performance
\n(OTP) averaged 89 percent in 1999, up from 77 percent in 1998,
\nAbdulgani said.<\/p>\n
Abdulgani said that the airline recorded a net profit of Rp
\n409.6 billion in 1999 after being in the red for more than 10
\nyears.<\/p>\n
Garuda's Director of Finance Emirsyah Satar said net profit
\nwas projected to increase to Rp 500 billion this year, with the
\nimprovement in the airline's operation.<\/p>\n
Emir said that the company hoped the airline's debt
\nrestructuring could be finalized by the end of this year as talks
\non the rescheduling of a major part of the debts would be
\nconcluded this month.<\/p>\n
\"The process of restructuring will all be concluded at the end
\nof the year,\" he said after the media conference.<\/p>\n
Garuda's total debts dropped to $1.65 billion in 1999 from
\n$1.8 billion in 1998 after the airline paid part of the debts.<\/p>\n
The bulk of the debts included $610 million to the European
\nCredit Agency (ECA), a consortium of credit agencies in France,
\nBritain, and Germany, for the lease of six A330 aircraft, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The government has agreed to pay about $420 million of the
\ndebt,\" Emir said, adding that talks are underway for
\nrestructuring of the airline's debt owed to ECA from 12 years to
\n16 years. (10)<\/p>",
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