, abbreviated to '''Garuda Indonesia''', is the national
Airline of
Indonesia . It is named after the mythical bird
Garuda . In Indian
Vedic tradition, Garuda is the carrier of the
Hindu god
Vishnu . The airline is based in
Jakarta at
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport , with hubs at
Ngurah Rai International Airport ,
Bali ,
Juanda International Airport ,
Surabaya ,
Polonia International Airport ,
Medan ,
Sepinggan International Airport ,
Balikpapan , and
Singapore Changi Airport ,
Singapore . It is wholly owned by the Indonesian government and employs 6,285 staff (as of March
2007 ).
Garuda Indonesia had its beginnings in the s, which was provided by the
Acehnese people (notably local merchants). During the revolution, the airline supported Indonesian interests, such as carrying Indonesian leaders for diplomatic missions.
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The government of
Burma helped the airline significantly during the airline's beginnings. Accordingly, upon Garuda's formal joint incorporation with
KLM on
March 31 ,
1950 , the airline presented the Burmese government with a
DC-3 . By
1953 , the airline had 46 planes, although by 1955 its
Catalina fleet had been retired. In
1956 , Garuda made its first
Pilgrim flight to the city of
Mecca .
The
1960s were times of growth for the airline; the fleet in 1960 included eight
Convair 240 s, eight
Convair 340 s, and three
Convair 440 s. In 1961 and late
1965 , three
Convair 990 jet planes and three
Lockheed L-188 Electra were introduced, and a route was opened to
Kai Tak International Airport in
Hong Kong . After concentrating on domestic and regional services, the first flights to Europe were added on
September 28 ,
1963 , to
Amsterdam and
Frankfurt . In 1965, flights to Europe were expanded to include
Rome and
Paris via
Bombay and
Cairo , with the exclusive use of
Convair 990 aircraft. That year, flights to
China started, with Garuda flying to
Canton via
Phnom Penh . Also in
1965 , the jet age arrived for Garuda, with a
Douglas DC-8 that flew to
Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
The
1970s saw
McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and
Fokker F28 jets introduced, and at one point Garuda owned 36 Fokker jets, making Garuda the world's largest operator of F28s at that time. In the
1980 s, Garuda introduced
Airbus equipment such as the
Airbus A300 and the
Airbus A300-600 , as well as
Boeing 737 s,
Boeing 747 s, and
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 s.
The
East Asian Economic Crisis of 1998 hit Indonesia and Garuda hard, resulting in severe cutbacks on unprofitable routes. Despite once having a comprehensive worldwide route network, Garuda currently operates no flights to
Europe or
North America . Largely due to historical links with
The Netherlands , Garuda continued to operate flights to Amsterdam after the initial cutbacks, although these flights have since been discontinued. The situation was exacerbated by the
September 11 terrorist attacks, the
Bali bombings, the
2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and the
SARS scare, all of which contributed to a downturn in air travel and Indonesian tourism. However, the airline has recovered favorably from its economic problems and seems to be in good economic shape entering the middle
2000s .
In
2001 , a
Low-cost Airline subsidiary,
CitiLink , was established to provide shuttle services between Indonesian cities.
Garuda may expand its route map again before the end of the decade, possibly after the completion of
Kuala Namu International Airport in Medan. This could include routes to major
European hubs such as
Paris ,
London , and
Frankfurt .
In June 2007, the EU banned this airline, along with all other Indonesia airlines, from flying into any European countries. Spot checks conducted by South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Australia and the United States on Garuda Indonesia yielded satisfactory results. Under the support of the international aviation industry on all Indonesian airlines, EU promises to review its ban and will send experts to Indonesia for consideration to lift its ban. In August, the transportation minister of Indonesia announced that the EU will lift its ban hopefully somewhere in October, stating that the ban was attributed to communication breakdown between the two parties and that discussion is on the progress.
In July 2007, the Deputy of Marketing, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia announced that Garuda Indonesia will fly to 2 Indian cities of Chennai and Mumbai, possibly in November 2007
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Garuda Indonesia is a full-service airline, in contrast with the 'no frills' low-cost carrier. The class configuration is divided into first (on Boeing 747-400s), executive (business), and economy class. The airline lacks modern products often associated with international airlines, such as personal TV screens and business and first class seats which convert into beds. However, the introduction of such products may become viable in the coming years due to the recent restructuring and consolidation of the airline, which has delivered good profits in the first half of 2007.
{Link without Title} Garuda Indonesia news
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See Also: Garuda Indonesia destinations
Garuda currently operates flights to a total of 45 destinations (21 domestic, 24 international) throughout
East and
South East Asia ,
Australia and the
Middle East , with
Australia and
Japan being vital tourism markets. Garuda Indonesia also offers flights to 13 other international destinations through code-share agreements with
China Airlines ,
China Southern Airlines ,
Malaysia Airlines ,
Korean Air ,
Gulf Air ,
Qatar Airways ,
Silkair ,
Vietnam Airlines , and
Philippine Airlines . Taking these routes into account, Garuda Indonesia's route map extends to
Western Europe .
On 19 June 2007, Garuda Indonesia and Hainan Airlines entered a code-sharing arrangement in a bid to strengthen both airlines' marketing positions in Indonesia and China
Garuda Indonesia-News . In this agreement, Garuda Indonesia will be the operating partner on the Jakarta-Beijing (vv) service, flying three times a week using the new B737-800.
A 24-hour call center is available for local customer access. The e-tickets system (paperless or electronic ticket) has been introduced on all domestic flights and flights to Singapore originating from Jakarta. This system computerizes ticketing method, in which a traditional paper ticket is no longer required.
In 2005, Garuda Indonesia relaunched its frequent flyer program called Garuda Frequent Flyer (GFF) with a new look, new benefits, and new services. The new program allows members to earn miles on domestic and international flights and has four tiers of membership covering Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum benefit levels. New services for GFF members include a new website at http://gff.garuda-indonesia.com, including an on-line mileage calculator for
earning and redemption, on-line mileage balance, on-line personal profile management, and downloadable forms.
The flight numbers of Garuda Indonesia are classified as follows:
The Garuda Indonesia fleet includes the following aircraft (at August
2007 ) :
Since its first incident in
1950 , Garuda Indonesia has suffered 14 fatal accidents and 1 hijacked incident. These are some of them:
- Garuda Indonesia Convair-990 crashed on May 28, 1968 at Juhu, in Bombay, India with all passengers surviving. The pilot mistook the much smaller Juhu airport used for small trainer aircraft for Bombay's Santa Cruz International Airport and tried to land his aircraft. It overshot the runway falling just short of the traffic road ahead and several residential buildings when its nosewheel got stuck in a ditch at the end of the runway. Had it not been for the ditch, the aircraft carrying over 100 passengers, would certainly have had many fatalties, both passengers and people on the ground.
- Garuda Indonesia Flight 206, a DC 9 aircraft was hijacked on 28 March 1981 . This was the first serious Indonesian airline hijacking, since the first case was a desperate Marine hijacker who was killed by the pilot himself. The hijackers, a group called Commando Jihad, hijacked the DC 9 "Woyla", onroute from Palembang to Medan , and ordered the pilot to fly the plane to Colombo , Sri Lanka . But since the plane didn't have enough fuel, it refueled in Penang , Malaysia and then to Don Muang , Thailand . The hijackers demanded the release of Commando Jihad members imprisoned in Indonesia , and US $ 1.5 million, as well as a plane to take those prisoners to an unspecified destination. The Kopassus commandos who took part in this mission trained for only three days with totally unfamiliar weapons, brilliantly executed this fast-paced operation. One of the Kopassus commandos was shot by the hijacker leader, who then shot himself. All the other hijackers were killed. All the hostages were saved.
- Garuda Indonesia Flight 865, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 departing Fukuoka , Japan , on June 13 , 1996 , overran the runway after aborting the takeoff well above rotation speed. The number-3 engine fuel line was severed, resulting in a massive fire and the total destruction of the aircraft. Three of the 275 people on board were killed. Air Disasters - 1996 Crash
