Garuda changes routes to better efficiency
Garuda changes routes to better efficiency
JAKARTA (JP): National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has
restructured its international and domestic flight routes for the
winter season (October-March) in a bid to improve its efficiency
and service.
Garuda's commercial director Sudarso Kaderi said yesterday the
restructuring would result in the reduction of flight frequencies
to several destinations and the stoppage of services to several
others.
He said Garuda would stop flight services to Amman, Abu Dhabi,
Rome, Zurich, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City and Kaohsiung from Oct.
28 to the end of March, 1998.
"However, we will continue to serve these routes through
alliances with foreign airlines," Sudarso said.
"This does not mean we are closing the routes. Our objective
is operating in the most efficient manner," he added.
The restructuring, he added, was prompted by the delay in the
delivery of several new jetliners such as Boeing-737-500 and
Boeing 737-300 and MD-11 of the extended range version to Garuda.
Garuda will form partnerships with Alitalia for the service to
Rome, with Swissair to Zurich, with Southern China Airlines to
Beijing and Kaohsiung and with Vietnam Air to Saigon.
The alliances would take the form of either code sharing or
block space, he said.
"For example, we will be allocated 20 seats on Alitalia per
flight or 6,000 seats a year for Rome," he said.
Garuda passengers bound to Rome have so far averaged only
about 5,700 a year, he said.
Garuda will fly from Jakarta to Bangkok and Alitalia will
connect the Bangkok-Rome route, Sudarso said.
The frequency of the Jakarta-Bangkok flights would be
increased to three times a week from twice currently, he added.
Garuda would also reduce the number of its flights on some
routes. The Denpasar-Kuala Lumpur and the Denpasar-Taipei
services would be reduced to three times a week from four times
and the flights to Dhahran would be doubled to twice a week.
The Jakarta-Denpasar service will also be reduced to 66 times
a week from 81 times and the Denpasar-Jakarta flights to 69 times
from 92 times a week.
"Due to the delay in the delivery of the new airplanes, we
have to operate a medium range aircraft for short distance
routes, which means higher operation costs," he said.
The airline will increase its flights to Frankfurt to seven
times a week from five. Four of the seven flights would be direct
flights, Sudarso said.
Garuda would also expand it service to Amsterdam to six
flights from five a week, Saudi Arabia to seven from six and
Seoul to seven from five, he said.
Garuda's Jakarta-Surabaya-Jakarta, Jakarta-Singapore-Jakarta,
Surabaya-Denpasar-Surabaya and Surabaya-Hong Kong-Taipei routes
would be increased by one flight, he said.
But Garuda will reroute some services. The Jakarta-Denpasar-
Sydney-Melbourne-Denpasar-Jakarta route will be changed into
Jakarta-Sydney-Melbourne-Denpasar-Jakarta.
The four-times a week Surabaya-Singapore-Kuala Lumpur flight
will be divided into Surabaya-Singapore service four times a week
and Surabaya-Kuala Lumpur three times a week.
Sudarso said the airline would use the B-747-400 aircraft for
European destinations and the MD-11 for the United States, the
Middle East and most Australian destinations.
The airline will operate A-330-300, B747-200 and DC-10
aircraft for Asian routes and the B-737, DC-10, and A-300-B4 for
regional routes. Domestic flights will use B737, A-300-B4, DC-10
and F-28.
Sudarso said the airline would promote business passengers on
its Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong and
Tokyo flights as this market was more promising for growth.
Sudarso also announced yesterday Garuda's plan to lead other
domestic carriers to form an alliance and strengthen their
competitiveness against foreign airlines. (das)
Alliance -- Page 12