Garuda and KLM to boost cooperation

JAKARTA (JP): The national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and the Dutch airline KLM have agreed to strengthen their cooperation in management, technology and crew training, Antara reported yesterday.

A cooperation agreement between the two airlines was signed in Amsterdam Tuesday. Commercial Director Sudarso Kaderi represented Garuda at the signing, the news agency said.

F.T Rorimpandey, transportation attache of the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague, said the agreement would boost Garuda's overall performance.

"Previously, their cooperation emphasized fleet operation, including aircraft maintenance, storage and spare parts use," Rorimpandey was quoted by Antara as saying.

Under the new agreement, Garuda will use Amsterdam's Schippol Airport as a transit point for passengers from Indonesia intending to fly to other European cities. KLM will handle onward reservations for Garuda passengers.

Garuda in turn will handle reservations for KLM's passengers who fly on Indonesia's domestic routes.

In 1995, Garuda and KLM agreed to expand commercial flight cooperation so they could use double flight numbers (GA/KL or KL/GA) on their Indonesia-Netherlands routes.

The Netherlands is one of Indonesia's major sources of European tourists after Britain and Germany. Indonesia's 10 biggest tourist markets are Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, the United States, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and South Korea.

Over the years, Garuda has reduced the frequency of its flights to Amsterdam from 10 to six a week at present because of falling passenger numbers.

Rorimpandey said KLM has excellent flight service management shown by the greater number of passengers it is carrying compared to Garuda's flights on the Indonesia-Netherlands route.

Through the cooperation program, KLM could transfer its technological know-how, so that Garuda could be just as competitive, he said. (08)