Garuda's haj armada shrinks to six planes

Garuda's haj armada shrinks to six planes

JAKARTA (JP): National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has said
it will deploy a fleet of only six planes to transport 42,500
Indonesian haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia starting Feb. 24, down
from the 26 aircraft operated for last year's haj season.

Garuda spokesman Pudjobroto told The Jakarta Post on Thursday
the ailing airline would operate three Boeing B747-200s and three
Boeing B767s to transport 42,500 pilgrims out of the 71,300 total
during the haj season, which begins on Feb. 20 and ends on March
28.

"We will have a smaller fleet this year," Pudjobroto said in
his office here.

Saudi Airlines will transport the remaining 28,800 pilgrims to
Mecca, he said.

It will be the first time for Saudi Airlines to serve
Indonesian pilgrims. In the past although Saudi Airlines was
entitled to serve the Indonesia-Saudi Arabia route, Garuda
remained the sole carrier of Indonesian pilgrims to Mecca, raking
in significant profits during the season.

The three B747-200s are Garuda's own aircraft, which would be
sold by the airline after the haj season, while the B767 aircraft
would be chartered for the pilgrimage month only.

The sharp increase in airfares following the sharp drop in the
rupiah against the U.S. dollar has discouraged many Moslems from
making their haj pilgrimage this year.

The rupiah has lost nearly 75 percent of its value against the
American greenback since the monetary crisis hit the country in
July, 1997, causing more than a doubling in most dollar-based
prices.

Last year Garuda deployed 26 jets to transport the 202,300
pilgrims. Nine of the aircraft were owned by the airline, and the
remaining 17 were chartered for pilgrimage purposes.

Garuda is currently trimming its fleets as part of a major
operating and financial overhaul.

It operates 40 aircraft and owns an additional five B747-200s
and eight Airbus 334s, all of which are currently up for sale.

Pudjo said Garuda would carry the pilgrims from Solo (Central
Java) on Feb. 24, Ujungpandang (South Sulawesi) on Feb. 25,
Balikpapan (East Kalimantan) and Jakarta on Feb. 28 with the last
group flying from Medan (North Sumatra) on March 1.

The pilgrims from Ujungpandang and Solo will be carried on the
B-767s, which can seat 344 people. The remaining pilgrims will
fly by the 480-seater B747-200s, he said. (das)