Garuda, Bouraq sign agreement on aircraft maintenance

JAKARTA (JP): The national air carrier Garuda Indonesia and Bouraq airlines signed an agreement here yesterday to maintain the private commercial airline's fleet at the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF).

"GMF, which received certification from the United States Federal Aviation Administration in 1992, has been able to maintain and repair small and wide aircraft," Garuda's president, Wage Mulyono (right), said after signing the agreement with Bouraq's president, Jerry A. Sumendap (left).

He said several domestic and foreign airlines use GMF to maintain their aircraft. The airlines include Pelita Air Service, Gatari Airfast, Sempati Air, Kuwait Air, Air Libanon and World Airways.

Under yesterday's agreement, Garuda will also provide training and assistance for Bouraq's personnel on aircraft maintenance.

Sumendap said that utilizing GMF's facilities will help Bouraq reduce maintenance expenditures by 20 percent.

"We used to maintain our aircraft at various facilities in other countries, including Singapore, the United States and Hong Kong," he said.

Bouraq also maintained some of its aircraft at PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN), the state-owned aircraft producer in Bandung, West Java.

Bouraq's vice president, G. Benny Rungkat, told The Jakarta Post that GMF's average maintenance fees run at US$30 per hour, far lower than $50 charged by foreign maintenance facilities.

Bouraq's fleet is comprised of seven Boeing 737-200s, three turbo-prop VC-843s, two Cassas and 15 turbo-prop BAE-748s.(icn)

Antara