Garuda cuts debt in half......................

Major restructuring at Garuda Indonesia has halved its debt and achieved massive cuts to leasing costs for aircraft the Indonesian government said on Tuesday.

Restructuring of the national airline's obligations was agreed this month, six months after an unpaid creditor had forced it into a court-supervised debt moratorium. Garuda had approached various investors and foreign airlines to help increase its capital, according to Kartika Wirjoatmojo, the deputy minister of state-owned enterprises.

Kartika advised journalists that negotiations supervised by the court and in out-of-court settlements meant the company had halved its debt to $5.1 billion from $10.1 billion. It had also negotiated better leasing terms for its aircraft, which had seen widebody rates reduce by 65% and narrowbody aircraft fees reduce by 35%. "Garuda was rarely profitable, because of its low fleet utilisation and high lease costs," the deputy minister commented, "... With an efficient fleet, optimised domestic routes and reduced lease rates, Garuda can make a profit, we believe."

Moving forward Garuda will focus predominately on domestic operations whilst only continuing with the most profitable of international services. A plan that sees its fleet reduce in number from 210 in 2020 to 120 this year.

Kartika indicated the carrier was still looking for international airline partners or investment first to take a key stake in the airline, which would be more attractive now debt had been reduced so much.

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Garuda in talks with aircraft makers....

Garuda Indonesia is currently in talks with Airbus & Boeing

According to news agency Reuters, the Indonesian national airline, Garuda Indonesia is currently negotiating the terms its aircraft deals with plane manufacturers Airbus and Boeing over cancellation and delay. 

The airline's chief executive officer Irfan Setiaputra said on Tuesday the carrier was forced to make the decision because earnings have been badly affected by the pandemic, causing a major restructuring process and was trying to drastically reduce its debt mountain.  "Hopefully we can get a win-win solution," the CEO said in relation to the ongoing talks.

Garuda has outstanding orders 62 jets, 49 Boeing 737 MAX planes and 13 Airbus A330 jets.

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Garuda to seek restructuring of $500-mln Islamic bonds

                 The national airline of Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia has confirmed it will try to seek to restructure $500 million of Islamic bonds that are due to mature next month, the deputy of the state-owned enterprise ministry said on Friday.

“We plan to ask for restructuring of the maturing global sukuk,” Kartika Wirjoatmodjo said via text message.“We have engaged with an adviser, who has begun to communicate with bondholders,” he said.

This week, Garuda said in a statement to the Indonesia stock exchange that it was starting “a process of open and constructive dialogue” with its bondholders via an agent.

Six A330neo aircraft for Garuda Indonesia

CDB Aviation has confirmed the delivery of the first of six Airbus A330-900neo aircraft as part of a sale and leaseback transaction and on long-term lease to a new customer in Asia Pacific, the flag carrier of Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia. 

The fleet of six A330neo widebody airliners, equipped with latest generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines and configured in a two-class cabin layout with 24 seats in business and 277 seats in economy, will support the company’s growth and business expansion in the future.

“We are delighted to welcome Garuda to our growing Asia Pacific customer base,” noted CDB Aviation Head of Commercial, Asia Pacific Sign Kadouh. “These A330neos will deliver superior operating economics and extended range capability to position Garuda for the sustained growth in its medium and long-haul operations as the company continues its long-term strategy to compete in the industry.”

Singapore Airlines and Garuda expand codeshare deal

Photo Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Garuda Indonesia customers can now enjoy more options when travelling between Singapore and Indonesia as a result of an expanded codeshare agreement between the two carriers.

Under the expanded agreement, SIA and Garuda Indonesia are now codesharing on each other’s flights between Singapore and the Indonesian capital Jakarta. SIA and Garuda Indonesia each operate nine flights per day on the route.

The two carriers first started codesharing in 2010 on each other’s flights between Singapore and Denpasar (Bali). In 2014, the agreement was expanded to include flights between Singapore and Surabaya. SIA’s regional subsidiary SilkAir also codeshares on Garuda Indonesia-operated flights to Denpasar and Surabaya, while Garuda Indonesia codeshares on SilkAir-operated flights to ten destinations1 in its Indonesia network.

Garuda Indonesia and Japan Airlines agree codesahe deal

Japan Airlines and Garuda Indonesia have agreed a new codeshare deal starting on 28th October. The deal will see the airlines share capacity on various domestic routes and select routes between Japan and Indonesia and on some trans-Pacific routes Japan Airlines operates.

"Indonesia is well known for its warm hospitality and rich diverse culture," said Yuji Akasaka, President of Japan Airlines. "We look forward to the partnership with Garuda Indonesia, who continuously strives through its transformation program and has achieved a 5-star Airline rating by Skytrax. I truly believe we can provide our mutual customers with the highest level of service, which excels the industry standard.”

End of London route for Garuda

Garuda Indonesia has advised that it will be pulling out of London Heathrow when it axes its service from Jakarta at the end of the summer period. The last day a Boeing 777 in Garuda's livery will operate at Heathrow with be 28th October. 

Yet, it may not be for long, the airline says it is reconsidering many of its routes and London may be one that will be reinstated at sometime during the winter period.

The Top Ten Airlines In The World - 2018

Skytrax held its 2018 World Airline Awards on Tuesday 17th July at The Langham Hotel, London and has published the results of a 10 month long survey period in which travellers from around the world rated airlines on a number of key areas. There were some surprises in the complete listings, for example British Airways didn't even make the top thirty and Ryanair being rated above United.

Here are the top ten 'World's Best Airlines' 

1.  Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines has long been one of the most respected travel brands around the world, therefore it is perhaps no surprise that it makes it to the top of the list in this years Skytrax awards. Singapore Airlines seems to be pleasing passengers with its impressive service, flying one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world to destinations spanning a network spread over six continents. Of course, the Singapore Girl is an internationally-recognisable icon providing the high standards of care and service that customers have come to expect of Singapore Airlines.

2.  Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has rapidly grown to serve more than 140 destinations worldwide, offering levels of service excellence that helped the award-winning carrier to become the best in the world. Qatar Airways network spans business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. Qatar Airways is a member of oneworld global airline alliance. Despite recent difficulties with its near neighbours and sexist remarks from its CEO, the airline is still rated highly on all levels by its passengers.

read on for the next 8.

In-flight WiFi is the new revenue stream, even for low-cost airlines. The cost of inflight WiFi

It seems hardly a week goes by these days without some airline somewhere in the world saying that they are bringing in-flight wifi to their fleet.  The last few weeks no exception with one of the latest airlines to tell the world about its future sky-high connectivity plans being the ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines in the USA. 

Recently the airline announced it has signed a deal with the Thales Group to introduce Wi-Fi on all of its planes by summer 2019, claiming to be will also become the first ultra-low-cost carrier in the Americas to offer Wi-Fi. 

“We’re thrilled to enhance the in-flight Guest experience with the addition of new-generation Wi-Fi,” said Ted Christie, Spirit Airline’s President. “By next summer, every plane in our fleet should be fully equipped to keep our Guests connected in the skies. It’s just one of the many investments we’ve made and will continue to make for our Guests.”  Of course, Ted's pleased with Spirit charging an average price of $6.50 for high-speed web browsing and streaming depending on route and demand, it represents a big revenue stream for the airline. 

Many other airlines, including low-cost ones, have already or are planning to introduce wifi capabilities to their aircraft as they hunt for even more of our pounds, dollars or euros.  Here's a brief example of airlines offering wifi onboard and some of the sky-high fees for connecting to the net at 10,000 feet and above!

Taiwan slowly being erased from the global scene..... how airlines are caving in to China's orders

China is succeeding in obliterating Taiwan from the face of the earth... at least in the terms of airline computer reservation systems.  

Many airlines around the world have crumbled and caved to a demand from the Chinese authorities to refer to Taiwan as part of China in all literature and websites. Nearly twenty of the worlds major airlines have completely removed Taiwan from all their websites and just refer to destinations such as Taipei as in China.

At least 16 other airlines have partly submitted to China's orders and use the phrase Taiwan - China, on their websites and booking engines. 

The sudden change comes after the Civil Aviation Administration of China sent a letter on 26th April to 36 foreign airlines ordering them to explicitly refer to Taiwan as a part of China. There are only a couple of days left for the airlines to either fold and submit to Cina's demands or face business sanctions in China. 

The fact that so many airlines have already crumbled has been seen as a clear victory for China’s President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party’s aims of forcing foreign companies to conform to their geopolitical vision, even in operations outside of China, even if it differs from what is the general or legal global viewpoint.  

Many critics see this as just the next step in the Chinese nationalistic programme to exert economic power to change political or accepted norm, that in the case of Taiwan could see a complete military takeover. China regularly sends up its fighter jets to buzz the coast of Taiwan or Taiwanese shipping and are seeking to isolate Taiwan both financially and politically. 

Garuda to cut more routes after $213 million loss

Garuda retired its 747's in Oct 2017

The airline of Indonesia,  Garuda has confirmed it will be cutting more routes and renegotiating contracts after posting losses of $213.4 million net last year. Airline executives said on Monday they will cut at least 10 routes this year, on top of the 17 routes axed last year as the carrier struggles to stem its losses. Chief Executive Pahala Mansury declined to name the affected routes at a meeting on Monday, saying only that Denpasar in Bali to Chengdu in China is among several of those under review for possible termination over the next few months. The Denpasar - Chengdu service is less than a year old after only starting in May last year. 

Garuda says goodbye to 747's

The Indonesian national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has announced this week that it has ended all operations utilising the airlines Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

“The last flight of aircraft PK-GSH marked the retirement of all three Boeing 747-400s owned by Garuda Indonesia. From 1994 to 2017, Garuda Indonesia operated three B747-400 planes with registration numbers PK-GSI, PK-GSG and PK-GSH,”  Garuda Indonesia president director Pahala N Mansury said in a statement.

Vietnam Airlines and Garuda indonesia extend codeshare deal

Garuda Indonesia and Vietnam Airlines are going to be expanding the current codeshare agreement between the two carriers to include a number of additional services across Southeast Asia.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed by representatives of the airlines last week, indicating they will begin codesharing on domestic Vietnam flights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as internationally between Singapore and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

Similarly, domestic Indonesian flights between Jakarta and Bali will be added to the codeshare agreement, as will international services between Singapore and Jakarta and Bali.

 

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