Garuda Indonesia, the airline of Indonesia, has officially announced a new codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates.

Through this worldwide codeshare partnership, Garuda Indonesia increases its network from 19 international destinations to more than 80 cities across 50 countries with almost 3,000 weekly flights covering Asia Pacific, Europe, The Middle East, Africa and North America.

The commercial cooperation is part of Garuda Indonesia's 'Quantum Leap' strategy, which aims to boost the airline's competitiveness significantly by 2015. The airline's commitment to carrying out its business transformation and achieving significant improvements has earned it a number of accolades in 2012 alone*.

Emirsyah Satar, President and CEO of Garuda Indonesia said: "This codeshare partnership between Garuda Indonesia and Etihad Airways will further strengthen the global network of both airlines and provide increased benefits to all our passengers."

"Through this agreement, Garuda Indonesia will be able to extend its service to Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa - and Etihad Airways will provide more convenient connections for their passengers in Indonesia, Australia and Japan. Through this mutual partnership, Garuda Indonesia will continue to improve its services and 'bring the world to Indonesia'."

James Hogan, Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, said the codeshare with Garuda Indonesia was a key plank of the airline's network development strategy.

"The partnership with Garuda Indonesia will contribute to Etihad Airways achieving its goal of expanding its network and brand presence in South East Asia. Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, is an important source of global tourism growth and this new agreement will position both airlines to benefit from the strong demand for travel between Indonesia and the Middle East and Europe that we have seen in recent years."

"Etihad Airways is keen to expand the scope of cooperation with Garuda Indonesia to include new destinations - particularly in Indonesia - and to offer our guests a wider choice of travel options," continues Mr. Hogan.

The agreement was signed by Garuda Indonesia President and CEO, Emirsyah Satar and Etihad Airways President and CEO, James Hogan, and witnessed by RI Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Salman Al Farisi at Etihad Airways' Head Office in Abu Dhabi.

As a result of the new cooperation, Garuda Indonesia will change its stopover on the Jakarta - Amsterdam route from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, effective from 2 December 2012.

Through the code share agreement, which comes into effect on October 28, 2012, Garuda Indonesia passengers can now travel seamlessly to the following 27 Etihad Airways destinations in Europe, North America, Middle East, and Africa: Paris, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Munich, Manchester, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Geneva, Brussels, Athens (Europe), New York, Toronto, Chicago (North America), Domodevo (Russia), Cairo, Johannesburg and Nairobi (Africa), and Jeddah, Muscat, Dammam, Riyadh, Amman, Istanbul, Bahrain, Kuwait and Beirut (Middle East).

*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.

For more information, please contact:

Franziska Kaestner
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