Punctuality award keeps Garuda's spirits flying sky-high<\/p>\n
Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post, Amsterdam<\/p>\n
Every cloud has a silver lining, goes the saying. And Garuda
\nIndonesia Airlines, the state-owned national carrier, has seen it
\ntwice.<\/p>\n
In mid-January, Garuda received its second consecutive
\nPunctuality Award from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport here for
\nrecording the fewest number of delays at the airport during 2001.
\nFinland's national carrier Finnair was granted the same honor.<\/p>\n
Receiving the award was somewhat bittersweet, as Garuda
\nsuffered an accident in Klaten, Central Java, the day after the
\npresentation.<\/p>\n
According to PT Garuda Indonesia's general manager for
\nBenelux, Scandinavia, Finland and Switzerland, Djoko Judojono,
\nthe honor came thanks to innovation and hard work.<\/p>\n
"It's not easy to be on time, particularly when unusual events
\ntake place," he said at a media briefing before the award
\npresentation at Schiphol.<\/p>\n
"We have an example. On Dec. 30, when we were about to close
\nthe plane door, a young man aged 26 suddenly burst into tears and
\ninsisted on disembarking. It seems as easy as pie (to do), but
\nthere was all the work that went with it, like unloading the
\nbaggage ... so we had to delay (departure) for 30 minutes.<\/p>\n
"Things like this happen all the time, and I think other
\nflights also experience the same thing."<\/p>\n
Punctuality is a big issue in air travel, but in the real
\nworld, technical and non-technical factors often make leaving on
\ntime an impossibility.<\/p>\n
The 14 print and TV journalists invited by Garuda to cover the
\naward ceremony experienced the problem themselves. Their plane
\nleft 40 minutes behind the scheduled departure time from
\nSoekarno-Hatta International Airport on Jan. 12. A senior flight
\nattendant told us in a friendly tone that there was a seating
\nproblem with the economy class passengers.<\/p>\n
Statistics from Schiphol airport revealed that from January to
\nNovember 2001, Garuda reduced its arrival delays 4.2 percent from
\n78.8 percent of arrivals in 2000 to 75.5 percent. However, its
\npunctuality in departures in 2001 increased by the same
\npercentage, from 75.2 percent the year before to 78.3 percent.<\/p>\n
Yet Garuda's average departure delay surged from 14.9 minutes
\nin 2000 to 19.8 minutes in 2001. The figure was still lower than
\nthe average delay for all airlines, which was 20.2 minutes in
\n2000 and 20 minutes in 2001.<\/p>\n
It also needs to become more punctual in its arrivals, as the
\naverage arrival delay soared from 13.8 minutes to 29.1 minutes in
\n2001, compared to the average rate for all airlines of 15.5
\nminutes last year.<\/p>\n
Punctuality is described in the report as the percentage of
\nflights departing and arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled
\non\/off blocks time, for passenger flights only. A delay means the
\ndifference between the on\/off blocks time and the scheduled
\ndeparture\/arrival time, regarding passenger flights only. Early
\nflights are given a delay time of zero minutes.<\/p>\n
"In 2000, we outshone (others) in the arrival on-time
\nperformance. And in 2001, we won on departure punctuality," Djoko
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
No information was available on the frequency of Garuda
\nflights originating and boarding in Amsterdam during the period.
\nBut Garuda data for 2001 showed that the number of passengers
\nleaving Amsterdam aboard its Boeing 747-400 in Amsterdam went up
\nfrom 45,989 to 48,345 passengers.<\/p>\n
A survey conducted by De Consumentenbond, a Netherlands-based
\nconsumer foundation, published in De Reisgids magazine last
\nAugust, ranked Garuda third in customer satisfaction after
\nSingapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.<\/p>\n
The survey covered 16 areas, ranging from general information,
\nquality of food catering to feelings of security.<\/p>\n
"In terms of punctuality, we in Garuda are sure of one thing:
\nWe are excellent and we have surpassed the average performance.
\nBut many people still think that Garuda is always tardy and an
\nIndonesian domestic airport has never conducted any survey on it.
\nAll of a sudden, Schiphol gave us this award," said Djoko, who
\nalso oversees Garuda's offices in London and Frankfurt.<\/p>\n
"The international recognition is very important for Garuda. A
\ndomestic commendation would surely raise suspicions about
\ncorruption, collusion and nepotism."<\/p>\n
There are currently three flights a week to Amsterdam from
\nJakarta, with less than an hour's transit in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The award has not come overnight, but follows a hard-won
\nbattle to rescue the airline from the brink of bankruptcy.<\/p>\n
Garuda once flew to 11 destinations in Europe, before the
\neconomic crisis that hit the country in 1997, combined with
\nmismanagement, left PT Garuda Indonesia heavily in debt.<\/p>\n
Djoko came to Amsterdam in 1999 and immediately assessed the
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
"When I came to Europe, all our offices here were nearly
\nclosed. The headquarters planned to close down its offices in
\nAmsterdam, Frankfurt and London by 2000. But Garuda still wanted
\nto retain its flights to Europe.<\/p>\n
"I told them we must not quit Amsterdam, but London was most
\nlikely. Why, they asked, and I said that the Netherlands had a
\ncenturies-old historical association with Indonesia, and we
\ncouldn't just cut it off like that.<\/p>\n
"After observing the problem, I was convinced that we weren't
\nmarketing our airline in the proper way. We had intensified our
\nflight frequency by flying from Amsterdam, stopping over in
\nFrankfurt or Bangkok before reaching Indonesia, but there were
\nsome problems: We wouldn't arrive on time and there was seat
\ncompetition."<\/p>\n
Djoko came up with a solution.<\/p>\n
"By the end of 1999, perhaps early 2000, I proposed a new
\nproduct to the board of directors: direct flights. A plane
\noriginating in Amsterdam would only stop off in Singapore before
\nlanding in Indonesia. The new route was flown until last November
\nand we also changed the flight frequency in London and Frankfurt
\nto twice and four times a week respectively."<\/p>\n
Garuda recorded an increase in ticket sales in the Netherlands
\nalone of 39 percent, from 44.5 million Dutch guilders in 2000 to
\n61.92 million guilders in the following year, along with a 15
\npercent hike in ticket prices.<\/p>\n
"We worked really hard during the year because we realized
\nthat the office was close to closing. We improved our service and
\nour approach to the customer. Finally, the Amsterdam service
\nprogressed more rapidly than London and Frankfurt. We have
\npledged to the board of commissioners that we will reach the
\nbreak-even point in two years. Our office is considered
\nsuccessful. We're not increasing flight frequency but we earn a
\nlot of money."<\/p>\n
The airline's seat load factor has also reached a total of
\n77.2 percent from 157 flights last year, which paved the way for
\nincreased flight frequency. "Our company is still considering
\nwhether to preserve our offices in London and Frankfurt or to add
\nfrequency here."<\/p>\n
Speaking about the year ahead, Djoko said Singapore Airlines,
\nMalaysia Airlines and Dutch KLM were its main competitors. "I'm
\njust a bit worried that they will reduce their airfares and
\naffect our airline. Hopefully, we will remain stable in our
\nperformance."<\/p>",
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