Garuda Indonesia, the airline of Indonesia, this week launches flight services to six new destinations as a result of the airline's recently signed codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways.

Through this worldwide codeshare partnership, Garuda Indonesia opens new services to six international destinations: London, Paris, Manchester, Moscow, Athens and Muscat. The airline also officially moved its international hub from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, Etihad's headquarters on 2 December 2012.

Emirsyah Satar, President and CEO of Garuda Indonesia said: "The decision to move our hub was made to deliver on our promise to raise the quality of service for our customers, and is a key part of the codeshare agreement signed with Etihad Airways in October, a partnership of which we are immensely proud.

The opening of the Abu Dhabi hub will accommodate passengers who wish to travel to more than 80 destinations served by Etihad Airways in 50 cities in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa," he added.

As part of the agreement, Etihad Airways will also now have access to Garuda's three Australian ports.

Bagus Y. Siregar, Vice President for Garuda Indonesia Australia and SWP commented: "The South West Pacific region is growing in customer demand exponentially each year.  This exclusive codeshare offers Eithad's passengers access to our ports in the region, and also opens the world further to Garuda Indonesia's passengers.

The agreement encompasses a codeshare agreement across passenger services including frequent flyer programs, and a cooperation across cargo, engineering, maintenance and airport services.

Throughout this cooperation, Garuda Indonesia will continue to expand its network to more than 27 destinations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa; Paris, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Munich, Manchester, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Geneva, Brussels, and Athens in Europe; New York, Toronto, Chicago in the North American region, Domodevo in Russia, Cairo, Johannesburg and Nairobi in Africa; and Jeddah, Muscat, Dammam, Riyadh, Amman, Istanbul, Bahrain, Kuwait and Beirut in the Middle East.

Etihad Airways passengers will now be connected with Garuda Indonesia's network of services across the Indonesian archipelago, Asia, Australia and Japan. Specifically, Etihad will partner on the following routes: Jakarta - Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta - Abu Dhabi, and to major cities in Indonesia, such as Surabaya, Denpasar, Manado, Makassar and Balikpapan (from Jakarta).

For more information, please contact:

Sarah Corry, ICON International Communications

Tel: + 61 2 8235 7600

Mobile:  + 61 450 803 881 (Sarah) 

scorry@iconinternational.com.au

About Garuda Indonesia

Garuda Indonesia, the airline of Indonesia, is a full-service network carrier and serves 33 domestic and 19 international destinations. The airline's main hubs in Indonesia are located in Jakarta and Denpasar. In July 2009, the airline unveiled a new aircraft fleet, new in-flight product, new service concept and a fresh corporate identity to mark the start of its transformation into one of Asia's most successful and profitable airlines.

Garuda Indonesia received its IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification in May 2008, recognising that the airline is fully compliant with global best-practice standards for flight operations, aircraft maintenance and safety management systems. In December 2009, the airline was also upgraded to a four-star rating by SkyTrax, the global benchmark for airline service standards, confirming the improvement in its front-line product and service quality. In January, February and July 2012, Garuda Indonesia was recognised as 'The Best International Airline' by Roy Morgan and more recently as 'The World's Best Regional Airline' as well as 'The Best Regional Airline in Asia' by SkyTrax.