What's the Latest on the Garuda-Pelita Merger? Danantara Provides an Update

What’s the Latest on the Garuda-Pelita Merger? Danantara Provides an Update

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — The Badan Pengelola Investasi Daya Anagata Nusantara (BPI Danantara) stated that the merger between state-owned airlines, PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (GIAA), and Pelita Air is still under discussion.

Managing Director of Stakeholders Management at BPI Danantara, Rohan Hafas, said that this corporate action requires careful calculation because it involves not only financial aspects but also the operations of each company.

“So, the decision will be based on the final outcome, which is where the efficiency lies, how much, and which one is more efficient,” he said during a press conference at Wisma Danantara Jakarta, Thursday (February 26, 2026).

According to him, merging companies into one is not easy. It is necessary to consider operational matters such as the working mechanisms of pilots and aircraft crew.

“Combining into one entity, or a kind of co-working alliance, or whatever you want to call it, one entity, collaboration, the companies can still be separate, but the booking orders are one, the maintenance is one, the ground handling is one, including the crew may be one,” he explained.

Previously, Chief Operating Officer of Badan Pengelola Investasi Daya Anagata Nusantara (BPI Danantara), Dony Oskaria, revealed that the state-owned airline companies would be officially merged in the first quarter of 2026.

This means that PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. (GIAA) will officially become the parent company of Citilink and Pelita Air, which are subsidiaries of PT Pertamina (Persero).

“(The merger of) Garuda in the first quarter,” he said at the CNBC Indonesia Economic Outlook 2026 event at the Kempinski Hotel, Jakarta, quoted on Friday (February 12, 2026).

Dony explained that the process of merging the two state-owned airlines would be carried out with a principle of prudence by separating problems from concepts.

“That’s why I always say that we have to separate problems from concepts, every business must be integrated into one airline ecosystem,” he said.

Dony hopes that the public does not need to worry because improvements in the Garuda Group will continue to be made. Meanwhile, Danantara, as the major shareholder, will continue to monitor the progress of Garuda’s business transformation.

“We must also monitor the transformation process of Garuda Indonesia, which will be better in the future,” he concluded.