Garuda Indonesia moves into the Blue

Aug 14th 2007

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia turned around to a long-awaited profit in the first semester of this year on the back of an increase in passenger numbers and higher fares, coupled with an efficiency program, reported the airline’s President Director, Emirsyah Satar, as mentioned in Indonesia’s Trade and Investment News.
 
The airline booked a net profit of Rp148 billion ($15.93 million) in the first half of the year, compared to a net loss of about Rp361 billion in the same period last year.
"Our profit in the first half was partly the result of an increase in passenger numbers to 4.36 million from 4.07 million in the corresponding period last year," he was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post.

Other factors contributing to the turnaround in the airline's balance sheet were the rise in airfares and an improvement in the utilization rate of its aircraft.
Garuda had managed to fly more passengers during the first semester despite the reduction in the size of the company's fleet to 49 aircraft from 56 previously, he said, adding that the leases on seven aircraft had not been extended.

"We managed to accommodate more passengers in fewer airplanes due to an improvement in the utilization rate of each plane from an average of 8 hours and 45 minutes to 9 hours and 17 minutes a day," he said.

In the first semester, the company booked revenues of Rp5.8 trillion, an increase of 12% from the Rp5.2 trillion it earned last year.
Garuda suffered a loss of Rp811 billion in 2004, Rp688 billion in 2005 and Rp167 billion in 2006.

He said the airline's yield -- unit price per seat per km -- rose from $0.67 to $0.72, up 8% year-on-year.  "The seat load factor grew from 70% to 76% in the first half," he added.
Garuda also reduced the number of its loss-making routes from seven to four in the first semester, said Satar.

Garuda also reported that the airline will expand its network to include the Jakarta-Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, service starting  15 August 2005.
 
As regards the audit made by the Saudi Arabia team on Garuda Indonesia in particular, Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal confirmed that Garuda has passed the audit conducted by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority on Civil Aviation (GACA) on safety flight procedures and maintenance.