State-Owned Airline Holding to be Completed in the First Half of 2026, Who Will be the Members?

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The Nusantara Future Investment Management Agency (Danantara Indonesia) is targeting the completion of a holding company for state-owned airlines in the first half of 2026. The holding will consist of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (GIAA), its subsidiary PT Citilink Indonesia, and PT Pelita Air Service, a subsidiary of PT Pertamina (Persero).

Managing Director of Stakeholders Management at Danantara Indonesia, Rohan Hafas, explained during an Exclusive Group Interview at Wisma Danantara, Jakarta, on Thursday (26/2/2026), that the formation of the state-owned airline holding aims to create efficiency and optimise the booking system of the three companies.

“The consolidation of Pelita, Citilink, and Garuda means one booking system, one Garuda point, mileage, registration, and even the seats can be exchanged, and so on. This will definitely be more efficient. So, it’s about optimising the booking system,” said Rohan.

Regarding the addition of aircraft, he continued, with the merger of the three airlines, the limitations of the fleet experienced by each company can be overcome, especially on the same flight routes.

“The number of aircraft will be greater when combined. On the same route, each company may only have 60 per cent capacity. If combined, the goal is, for example, Surabaya, which is the most popular route. Citilink has flights to Surabaya, Pelita has flights to Surabaya, Garuda has flights to Surabaya, why not have one flight?” said Rohan.

Along with the consolidation of the booking system and operational cooperation of the three companies, Danantara hopes that this step can generate additional revenue for the airlines, especially Garuda Indonesia, which is currently still striving to achieve profitability.

“Hopefully, in the first half of 2026, this will be crucial to generate extra income without adding aircraft,” said Rohan.