Intensify Performance Recovery, Garuda Increases Flight Frequency On Positive Performance Routes: Jakarta-Denpasar Route Can Up To 45 Times Per Week

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The national airline Garuda Indonesia is intensifying its performance recovery measures. One way to do this is by gradually increasing the frequency of flights.

President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra, said that the additional frequency was carried out on routes that had positive performance. This step is carried out in line with the realization of increasing the capacity of the company's production equipment after the homologation stage for Postponement of Debt Payment Obligations (PKPU) and negotiations with the lessor have been completed.

The plan to increase the frequency of the initial phase will be carried out in stages from July to August in a number of flight sectors departing Jakarta. Among them are Batam, Balikpapan, Denpasar, Medan, Makassar, Surabaya, to Singapore.

"The additional frequency will be carried out by considering the route's performance on an ongoing basis as well as fleet optimization, which will continue to be reviewed and evaluated by Garuda," he said in an official statement, Thursday, July 21.

Through the addition of the flight frequency, in this initial phase, Garuda plans to increase its flight service capacity on a number of domestic routes, such as the Jakarta-Batam roundtrip route which will be operated up to 11 times per week. Then, Jakarta-Balikpapan pp up to 11 times per.

Then, Jakarta-Denpasar round trip up to 45 times per week; Jakarta-Kualanamu/Medan round trip up to 21 times per week; Jakarta-Makassar round trip up to 32 times per week ; and Jakarta-Surabaya round trip up to 35 times per week. In addition, the Jakarta - Singapore roundtrip international route will be operated up to 14 times per week.

Through the addition of the flight frequency, Garuda is projected to be able to operate at least 850 flights per week during August 2022, an increase of 32 percent compared to last June, which was around 650 flights per week.

"This additional flight frequency is a form of our commitment as a national flag carrier to always ensure that air connectivity needs for the community are properly met through safe, comfortable, and healthy flight services. Especially in preparing for the peak season period towards the end of the year," he explained.

More than that, said Irfan, this step is certainly expected to help support the recovery process of Indonesian tourism and have a positive impact on the national economy. The increase in flight frequency is also a projection of Garuda's optimism for the positive performance outlook which will continue to be improved in the future.

In particular, by aligning the base of production equipment capacity with market demand, whose growth is increasingly consistent in the midst of handling the pandemic.

"We are gradually increasing the frequency and also periodically aligning it with the availability of the fleet, which we continue to optimize, especially in line with the negotiation process with the lessor that we carry out," he said.

Irfan said, in the period from July to early August, Garuda is planned to resume operating three Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft which were previously relocated by the lessor. This step is in line with the follow-up to the negotiation agreement that has been reached by the company and is driven by positive performance.

Irfan added, with the number of serviceable fleets that are projected to continue to grow gradually, Garuda in the future will also continue to maximize the addition of flight frequencies to other routes, while working on various other opportunities.

"In addition to focusing on optimizing flight routes, we will also continue to develop other business income opportunities from business lines outside of scheduled flights, such as optimizing cargo transportation, ancillary revenue, and collaborating with our other strategic partners," he said.