'The World's Best Regional Airline' records outstanding profits

Garuda Indonesia, the airline of Indonesia, has reported exceptional growth, doubling its comprehensive income in 2012 compared with 2011, from US$72.7 million to US$145.4 million.

The Indonesian carrier showed consistent progress across the board, with an increase of 72.6% in net profit from US$ 64.2 million in 2011 to US$ 110.8 in 2012, while passengers increased by 19.6% with 20.4 million carried.

In Australia and the SWP region, Garuda Indonesia's operations also continued to grow rapidly with a passenger increase of 20.05%, while flight frequencies increased by 22.12% from 1,537 to 1,877.

Commenting on the significant growth in 2012, Bagus Y. Siregar, Vice President for Garuda Indonesia Australia and SWP said: "We are seeing a rapid increase in passenger numbers due to the ongoing increase in flight frequencies, and the introduction of more convenient and direct services for the passengers in this region.

"We foresee these strong figures continuing in 2013, especially with the launch of new services for the whole region such as our daily service from Melbourne to Denpasar which started this month. We are also proud to launch a new direct Perth - Jakarta service for the first time on 28th June, as well as the momentous re-introduction of Brisbane - Denpasar services in August. It's going to be a very exciting year for us and these figures show we are making great progress towards becoming a five star carrier."  

Garuda Indonesia President & CEO, Emirsyah Satar explained that improvement in the company's financial performance is the result of expansion of the company's operations through the 2011-2015 Quantum Leap Program, a program of commitment to becoming a world class airline by 2015.

In 2012 Garuda Indonesia welcomed 22 new aircraft, consisting of two Airbus A330-200, four Boeing 737-800 Next Generation, five Bombardier CRJ-1000 NextGen and eleven Airbus A320 for Citilink, raising the total number of aircraft in operation to 106 aircraft, with an average age of 5.8 years. 

The airline's ongoing commitment to carrying out its business transformation and achieving significant improvements has earned it a number of accolades for the 2012 year. In March 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, the industry's most prestigious recognition of excellence. Most recently, Skyscanner Asia Pacific Awards named Garuda Indonesia the Best Longhaul Airline Catering 2012.

For more information, please contact:

Franziska Kaestner or Sarah Corry, ICON International Communications

Tel: + 61 2 8235 7600

Mobile:  + 61 424 328 260 (Fran) + 61 450 803 881 (Sarah) 

fkaestner@iconinternational.com.au / scorry@iconinternational.com.au

NB: Flight schedules are subject to change.

About Garuda Indonesia

Garuda Indonesia, the airline of Indonesia, is a full-service network carrier and serves 43 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.