Garuda Indonesia

Beginnings (1949–60s)

The earliest predecessor to Garuda Indonesia was KNILM, Royal Dutch Indies Airways, founded in 1928 during the Dutch colonial period; despite the similar name, it was not a subsidiary of the main Dutch carrier KLM.^[10] KNILM was dissolved in 1947, and its assets were transferred to a new KLM subsidiary, KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf (KLM Interinsular Service), which was nationalized in December 1949.^[10]

In its current institutional form, Garuda Indonesia had its beginnings in the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch in the late 1940s, when Garuda flew special transports with a Douglas DC-3. The first aircraft was a DC-3 known as Seulawah (Acehnese: "Gold Mountain", or from Arabic Shalawah, means praise/worship) and was purchased for 120,000 Malayan dollars, which was provided by the people of Aceh (notably local merchants).^[11] The first commercial flight from Calcutta to Rangoon was on 26 January 1949, using a DC-3 Dakota aircraft with the tail number RI 001 and the name Indonesian Airways. 26 January 1949 is generally recognized as the airline's founding date.^[12]

The name Garuda is taken from the Hindu tradition: it is the name of Lord Vishnu's mount (vahana) and was introduced in 1949. During the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference at The Hague, from 23 August to 2 November 1949, Indonesian President Sukarno cited a Dutch poem by a renowned Javanese scholar and poet Raden Mas Noto Soeroto: "Ik ben Garuda, Vishnoe's vogel, die zijn vleugels uitslaat hoog boven uw eilanden", which means "I'm Garuda, Vishnu's Bird, that spreads its wings high above the Islands". The first flight under the name Garuda Indonesian Airways was made with a second DC-3 entering service in 1949. Its first flight under the new name was to pick up Sukarno in Yogyakarta on 28 December.^[13]

Throughout the revolution, Garuda supported national interests and often carried diplomats on its flights. The Burmese government helped the airline significantly during its beginnings. The country's national airline, Union of Burma Airways, often chartered one of the airline's DC-3s for its own flights. Accordingly, upon Garuda's formal joint incorporation with KLM on 31 March 1950, the airline gave the Burmese government a DC-3.

By the early and mid-1950s, the airline operated a fleet of 38 aircraft, including 22 DC-3s, 8 Catalina seaplanes, and 8 Convair 240s. In 1956, the airline operated its first flight to Mecca with Convair aircraft, carrying 40 Indonesian pilgrims.^[12]

Garuda's fleet continued to grow throughout the 1960s, during which the airline continued its expansion. It acquired three Lockheed L-188 Electras in 1961, which supplemented its Convair CV-240 fleet, before taking delivery of its first jet aircraft, the Convair 990 Coronado, in 1963, which allowed it to launch flights to Hong Kong.

In 1965, the airline took delivery of its first Douglas DC-8, and grew beyond the Asian market it was focused on, beginning scheduled flights from Kemayoran Airport to Amsterdam and Frankfurt via Colombo, Bombay, and Prague. Rome and Paris became the airline's third and fourth European destinations, with flights stopping in Bombay and Cairo to refuel. Flights to the People's Republic of China began that same year, with service to Guangzhou via Phnom Penh, the first Indonesian airline to do so.

Continued growth (1970s–90s)

During the early 1970s, Garuda Indonesia took delivery of both the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Fokker F28 Fellowship for its short and medium-haul operations. The airline went on to take delivery of 62 F28s, holding the title of the largest operator of the F28 in the world. In 1976, Garuda took delivery of its first McDonnell Douglas DC-10, giving it the capability to carry more passengers and fly longer flights, and replaced the DC-8 and Convair 990 fleet on flights within Asia and to Europe. The DC-10 became an integral part of the Garuda fleet for the years to come, outlasting the newer McDonnell Douglas MD-11s, before the type was finally retired in 2002. In 1980, the airline took delivery of the first Boeing 747-200, complementing the DC-10 on high-capacity or long-range routes.

On 21 June 1982, Garuda became the launch customer of the Airbus A300 B4-220FFCC, the first variant of the A300 capable of being operated with two pilots instead of three. By 1984, nine of these were in service, supplemented by 8 McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, 24 DC-9s, 45 Fokker F-28s, and 6 Boeing 747-200s. In 1985 under Reyn Altin Johannes Lumenta, who had been CEO since 1984, Garuda made the controversial decision to hire foreign brand consultants Landor Associates to create a new logo, livery and brand, a project regarded as expensive and unnecessary at the time but later applauded as vital for Garuda's reputation and corporate identity as the national airline.

Under Lumenta, Garuda also increased the number of flight frequencies and destinations, reduced ticket prices and collaborated with Merpati Nusantara Airlines, introducing flexible tickets valid for both Indonesian airlines.^[14][15]

In 1990, Garuda took delivery of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11s,^[12] which gradually replaced the DC-10 on flights to Europe and allowed the airline to launch flights to Los Angeles via Honolulu.^[7] During this time, the airline operated a fleet of the aforementioned MD-11s, DC-10s, 747, Airbus A300 and Boeing 737-400, operating it to destinations throughout Asia, Europe and North America. In 1994, Garuda took delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which became a mainstay of its fleet until 2015, operating hajj flights and high-density short-haul routes, while the delivery of the first Airbus A330-300 in 1996 allowed more flexibility, as it was more fuel-efficient than the three- and four-engine jets. That same year, Garuda placed an order for six Boeing 777 aircraft,^[16] due for delivery in 2000, but a new series of challenges and difficulties were about to hit the airline.

Difficult period (1996–2004)

The late 1990s and early 2000s proved a turbulent and difficult time for Garuda; accidents in Fukuoka in 1996 and Medan in 1997 added to problems caused by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, resulting in a drastic reduction in operations, including termination of service to the Americas and a massive scaling back of its European operations. Largely due to historical links with the Netherlands, Garuda continued to operate flights to Amsterdam after the initial cutbacks. The other European routes continued were Frankfurt and London. However, Garuda attempted to launch its first non-stop flight from Jakarta to Europe with a Jakarta to Frankfurt service, continuing on to London and back on October 28, 2001, as Garuda Flights 970 and 971, the route was short-lived and the route was axed in early 2002 due to the effect of tourism caused by the attacks in the US on September 11 the previous year, along with the crash of Garuda Flight 421 earlier that year. Finally, both routes returned back to one stop services until they were discontinued in 2003, with the Amsterdam route discontinued the following year on the 28 October 2004. The situation was exacerbated by the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., the Bali bombings, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and the SARS scare, all of which contributed to a downturn in air travel and Indonesian tourism.^[17] Shortly after, its earlier order for the Boeing 777 was deferred, and so was an order for 18 Boeing 737-800s to replace its ageing 737 Classic fleet.^[16] By 2005, Garuda had largely recovered from its economic problems, swapping its order for six Boeing 777-200ERs for 10 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners in 2005,^[16] but its operational problems remained.^[18]

Munir murder (2004–2006)

On 7 September 2004, Garuda's reputation suffered further damage when human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, travelling to Amsterdam via Singapore on Garuda Indonesia Flight 974, was assassinated by off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto, who slipped arsenic into his drink sometime before the departure of the flight's second leg to Amsterdam. Munir was reported to have felt unwell several hours after departure from Singapore, during which time he was checked on by a doctor who happened to be on board and moved to the business class cabin to sleep. He died about two hours before arrival in Amsterdam, sparking an international controversy, during which time Priyanto, CEO Indra Setiawan, and deputy Rohainil Aini were all convicted of his murder, although it has been alleged it was under orders from the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency (Badan Intelijen Negara).^[19][20][21] The airline was found negligent in failing to perform an emergency landing and was ordered to pay compensation to Munir's widow,^[22] but failed to do so.^[23]

European ban (2007–2009)

In June 2007, the EU banned Garuda Indonesia and all other Indonesian airlines, from flying into any European countries,^[24][25] following the crash of Flight 200 earlier that year. With the support of the international aviation industry for all Indonesian airlines, the EU promised to review its ban and sent a team of experts, led by the European Commission's Air Safety Administrator Federico Grandini to Indonesia to consider lifting the ban.^[26] In August 2007, Indonesia's transportation minister announced that the EU would lift its ban hopefully sometime in October, saying that the ban was attributed to communication breakdown between the two parties and that discussions were in progress.

In November 2007, Garuda announced its intention to fly to Amsterdam from Jakarta and Denpasar with either Airbus A330 or Boeing 777 aircraft if the EU lifted its ban.^[27] On 28 November 2007, the EU said that the safety reforms already undertaken were a step in the right direction for the EU to consider lifting the ban, but still did not satisfy the EU's aviation safety standards, and thus did not lift its ban.^[28] The ban was lifted in July 2009,^[29] after which Garuda began evaluating service to Amsterdam and other European destinations, as well as the United States.^[30]

Developments after the lifting of ban (2009–2020)

Following the lifting of the EU ban against Garuda Indonesia and three other Indonesian carriers which were Lion air and etc , the airline announced in July 2009 an aggressive five-year expansion plan known as the Quantum Leap.^[31][32] The plan involved an image overhaul, including changing the airline's livery, staff uniform and logo, and nearly doubling the size of its fleet from 62 to 116.^[31] The Quantum Leap also plans to boost annual passenger numbers to 27.6 million in the same period, up from 10.1 million at the time of program launch through increasing domestic and international destinations from 41 to 62.^[31] Route expansions included Amsterdam, with a stopover in Dubai, in 2010. As of 2014, Garuda flies to Amsterdam non-stop five times a week using a Boeing 777-300ER with continuing service to London, with the sixth weekly service to be added by the end of 2015. Other European and American cities such as Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Los Angeles are being considered for reopening.^{[33][34][35][36][37]}

As part of the Quantum Leap, the airline refreshed its logo and redesigned its livery in 2009, more than 20 years after the last update.^[38] New uniforms were introduced in 2010.^[39] In 2010, the airline placed a firm order for six additional Airbus A330s at the 2010 Farnborough Airshow,^[40] while it opened a new hub at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport, Makassar, South Sulawesi to increase services to the eastern part of Indonesia on 1 June 2011, its third after Jakarta and Denpasar.^[41] In 2013, Garuda's won the Skytrax World's Best Cabin Crew Awards, and in 2018, Garuda's won the awards again for the fifth consecutive year. During this period, the airline also added additional frequencies to many of its international routes, including to Singapore, Bangkok, Beijing and Shanghai from Jakarta, while it also added capacity to Denpasar-Seoul.

At the Paris Air Show 2011, Garuda Indonesia announced a firm order of 25 Airbus A320s with an option for another 25.^[42] All 25 Airbus A320s are to be used by their subsidiary, Citilink^[43] The airline's earlier order for the Boeing 787, made in 2005, was changed once more, due to the delays in the 787's entry into service. Garuda opted to sign for 10 Boeing 777-300ERs instead, which it would take delivery of in 2013 to use on long-haul flights to Europe, and medium-haul flights within Asia, such as to Japan, China, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, as well as short-haul domestic routes between Jakarta and Denpasar.

The airline made its debut on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in February 2011,^[44] with the government of Indonesia retaining a majority of the shares. PT Trans Airways bought 10.9% stake of Garuda Indonesia unsold IPO shares from underwriters on 27 April 2012. The transaction was valued at Rp 1.53 trillion ($166.8 million).^[45] In late 2014, the airline became one of seven airlines to earn the prestigious 5-star rating from Skytrax, marking the end of the five-year Quantum Leap program.^[46] Following this announcement, Emirsyah Satar, who had been CEO for the past nine years, announced his resignation and retirement and promoted former Citilink chief Arif Wibowo as his successor.

Following Wibowo's promotion, he began a "Quick Wins" cost-cutting drive to cut down on losses while boosting revenue through various measures, including cancelling unprofitable routes and increasing staff efficiency.^[47] Despite this, Wibowo remained committed to continuing the airline's international expansion, particularly once market conditions, such as the weakening rupiah, improved. This was reaffirmed following the airline's announcement of its intent to order 90 new aircraft, from both Boeing and Airbus, worth $20 billion at list prices at the 2015 Paris Air Show.^[48] Wibowo retired from his position in 2017, replaced by Pahala Nugraha Mansury the same year before being replaced by I Gusti Ngurah Askhara Danadiputra, otherwise known as Ari Askhara in 2018.

During Ari Askhara's leadership, Garuda introduced live acoustic concerts on domestic flights, which led to criticism.^[49] as well as reopening the London route from Denpasar, with transit in Medan's Kualanamu International Airport. It also hit with three high-profile scandals.

In April 2019, Chairal Tanjung and Donny Oskaria, Independent Commissioners of the airline called out that Garuda's 2018 Annual Report was not under the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, thus deciding not to sign the report. Both Ministry of Finance and Financial Services Authority found various violations inside the report as both Independent Commissioners told the public, which led to both regulators imposing a penalty to the airline and auditors involved.^[50][51]

On 13 July 2019, travel reviewer and YouTuber Rius Vernandes shared a picture of a hand-written menu during his flight from Sydney to Jakarta, which led to Garuda's management reporting him to the police followed by the airline issuing a regulation prohibiting selfies on the plane and a lawsuit prompted by the Garuda's workers' association also known as SEKARGA. Both Garuda's and SEKARGA's actions were panned and criticized by worldwide netizens. Through mediation, Rius and Garuda settled, and SEKARGA pulled the lawsuit on 19 July 2019.^[52][53]

COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2023)

On 14 May 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on aviation and airlines, Garuda Indonesia furloughed 800 of its staff for at least three months. In June, it laid off 180 contracted pilots.^[65] The airline implemented face masks for crew members following health regulations to prevent the spread of the disease. On 16 June 2020, after some passengers complained that they could not see the flight attendants' faces, Garuda president director Irfan Setiaputra said the airline was planning to replace face masks with face shields for its cabin crew.^[66] Three days later, in response to public criticism of the plan, he said Garuda's flight attendants would not stop using face masks.^[67]

Financial trouble

Due to the prolonged pandemic, Garuda Indonesia experienced problems in operations, management, and funding. Its debt became arisen and unpaid, and the corporation is currently on the verge of bankruptcy and future closure by the government.^[68] In the effort to save the airline, Garuda has cut around 30 percent of its workforce, reducing its staff to 5,400 from 7,861. Garuda claims that its board of directors and its commissioners have taken a pay cut as well.^[69]

At the end of 2021, Garuda reported a debt of $9.8 billion to more than 800 creditors, complicating efforts for out-of-court settlement attempts during the COVID-19 pandemic, where Garuda's income dropped by 70 percent.^[70] As the future replacement of Garuda Indonesia in case the corporation is deemed beyond saving, the government prepared Pelita Air Service, a cargo airline currently owned by Pertamina, to be the successor of Garuda Indonesia as the new flag carrier of Indonesia.^[71][72]

In May 2022, Garuda appeared in court for its attempts to reschedule its debts. Garuda filed for a 30-day delay in the proceedings, which is granted by the court. This was the second extension given by the court, as the original court date was in March 2022.^[73]

In April 2022, the Sixth Committee of Indonesia's People Representative Council and Erick Thohir, Indonesia's Minister of State Owned Enterprises, decided to execute a scheme to save the ailing airline.^[74]

In June 2022, during Garuda's attempt to delay payment of its debts, Garuda announced that its debt was $8.3 billion, where its biggest debtors were Airbus SE and Pertamina.^[75] If the delay to pay its debts was accepted by its creditors, Garuda promised that it would be profitable in three years.^[76] Garuda will also seek funding of $1.3 billion through global bonds and issuance of new stocks.^[77] On 17 June 2022, Garuda's creditors voted to accept Garuda's debt restructuring, saving the company from bankruptcy.^[78] Boeing did not join the debt restructuring process because Garuda stated that its amount of debt to Boeing was not verified yet, and Garuda stated that if Boeing did not confirm its debt to Boeing in 30 days after the debt restructuring, Garuda's debt to Boeing could be removed.^[79] On 20 June 2022, Garuda's debt restructuring was put on hold because two of the lessors did not agree with the debt restructuring, and a new court date was set on 27 June.^[80]

In September 2022, Garuda Indonesia filed for US Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection.^[81]

Corruption case

On 22 June 2022, the Attorney General's Office of Indonesia said it was finishing its investigation of corruption in the purchase of CRJ-1000 and ATR72-600 aircraft, which is illegal. Setijo Awibowo, the Vice President of Strategic Management, Agus Wahjudo, the Executive Project Manager of Aircraft Delivery and ex-vice President of Treasury Management Albert Burhan are suspects in the case. Emirsyah Satar, the CEO during the alleged corruption, has been arrested for another corruption case. The loss for Indonesia is reported to be US$609 million.^[82]

Presidents and CEOs

Branding and livery

Since its establishment, Garuda Indonesia has changed its branding and livery multiple times.

Special liveries

To celebrate its 62 years of service, on 26 January 2011, Garuda Indonesia painted 2 of its Boeing 737-800s with retro liveries the airline used in the 1960s and 1970s.

To raise awareness on wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, Garuda Indonesia painted five of their aircraft with a surgical mask tied to its nose, with the words "Ayo pakai masker," meaning "Please wear masks," introduced on 1 October 2020. This is part of Indonesia's governmental responses to the pandemic, however, the design itself is from an ongoing competition Garuda launched called Fly Your Design Through The Sky, asking people to design masks to be painted in one of their planes.^[87]

Gallery of Garuda Indonesia logos

1969–1985

1985–2009

2009 – present

Gallery of Garuda Indonesia liveries

A Douglas DC-3 Seulawah RI-001, with the simple "Indonesia Airways" logotype, Indonesian flag and blue lines (1949–1961)

A Convair 990 at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in 1965 with the triangular bird logo (1961–1969)

A Douglas DC-8-55 at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in 1970 with the Garuda logotype (early 1970s transition livery)

A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in 1985 with the red and orange color scheme (1969–1985)

A Boeing 747-200B at Frankfurt Airport in 1990 (1985–2009)

A Boeing 737-800 with the blue and white color scheme livery at Perth Airport (2009–present)

This set of images shows the evolution of Garuda Indonesia's livery.

Head office

Garuda Indonesia has its head office at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia,^[88][89] near Cengkareng and near Jakarta.^[90] The head office is the Garuda Indonesia Management Building, located within the Garuda Indonesia City Center. The about 17,000-square-metre (180,000 sq ft) head office facility is on a 5-hectare (12-acre) plot of land. As of 2009, the head office houses the Garuda management and about 1,000 employees from various units. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the current Garuda head office in 2009.^[91] The previous head office was located in the city center of Jakarta, in Central Jakarta.^[91][92][93]

Privatization

Garuda Indonesia had announced that its subsidiary GMF AeroAsia would be listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2008. However, due to the financial crisis of 2008, GMF delayed IPO until 2009. The Ministry of State-Owned Companies (Kementrian BUMN) had also announced a plan to privatize Garuda, which opened the possibility of offering its shares publicly. Garuda Indonesia aimed to list on 11 February 2011, for an initial public offering.^[94] The Government of Indonesia confirmed the IPO price of Garuda Indonesia at Rp.750 per share and also cut the offering size to 6.3 billion shares only from 9.362 billion planned before.^[95]

Subsidiaries

Garuda Indonesia's subsidiaries include:

In September 2019, Garuda Indonesia launched the grandchildren of company, PT Garuda Tauberes Indonesia application. The company is engaged in logistics orders, both for couriers, air cargo gateways and payments through the e-commerce application platform Tauberes. The concept carried is smart logistic services. In addition, four new grandchildren of the company have also been established. The four companies are PT Garuda Daya Pratama Sejahtera, PT Garuda Indonesia Air Charter. Then followed, PT Garuda Ilmu Terapan Cakrawala, and PT Garuda Energi Logistik dan Komersial. ^[100]

Cooperation

On 18 August 2018, Garuda Indonesia signed an MoU agreement with the cargo airline Jayawijaya Dirgantara relating to the distribution of cargo from Jayapura to Wamena.^[101]

Codeshare agreements and alliances

Codesharing has allowed Garuda Indonesia to expand services into Western Europe and the Middle East. In 2009, Garuda Indonesia expressed an interest in joining the SkyTeam airline alliance, which would make it the second airline in Southeast Asia to participate after Vietnam Airlines. Membership would open SkyTeam's network to Indonesian, Australian, and New Zealand markets, which it lacked connectivity to. In December 2009, three SkyTeam members – Korean Air, KLM, and Delta Air Lines (China Airlines joined as fourth member to support Garuda after its 2011 SkyTeam inclusion)^[116] – committed to supporting Garuda Indonesia to join SkyTeam. This made Garuda Indonesia eligible to apply for membership in the alliance. On 23 November 2010, Garuda Indonesia signed an agreement to join SkyTeam. However instead of the usual 18–24 months to complete membership formalities, shortcomings with its IT system delayed Garuda's entry. After a 40-month process, the airline eventually became the 20th member of the alliance on 5 March 2014, two years after the original target date.^[117][116]

• On 19 June 2007, Garuda Indonesia and Hainan Airlines began codesharing to strengthen both airlines' marketing positions in Indonesia and the People's Republic of China.^[118] In this agreement, Garuda Indonesia will be the operating partner on the Jakarta-Beijing (vv) service, flying five times a week using a new A330-200.
• An interline agreement between Garuda Indonesia and Australian airline Virgin Blue was confirmed in November 2007. This facilitates travel for passengers connecting from a Virgin Australia domestic flight to a Garuda Indonesia international service departing from either Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.^[119]
• In June 2008, it was announced that Garuda Indonesia would increase services between Australia and Bali. From 25 June, Garuda Indonesia added an extra flight between Darwin and Denpasar, bringing the total number of services to three per week. Additionally, a fourth flight from Melbourne to Denpasar began on 22 July. On 2 September, another extra service departed from Melbourne to bring the total number of weekly flights to five and a sixth flight left from Sydney. This extra capacity was in response to an increase in the number of Australians who travelled to Bali in the first quarter of 2008, marking a resurgence in Balinese tourism, which was hit hard by the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings.^[120]
• In August 2008, a codeshare agreement between Singapore Airlines and the airline on the route between Singapore and Denpasar was established. Singapore Airlines is the operating carrier.
• A partnership agreement with Etihad Airways was announced on 16 October 2012. The partnership includes a codeshare agreement for a total of 36 flights between the two airlines; subject to Government Regulatory Approval. Reciprocal Frequent Flyer programmes were also part of the agreement, allowing passengers to earn miles flying both Garuda Indonesia and Etihad Airways. Garuda Indonesia subsequently shifted its Dubai operations to Abu Dhabi to complement the agreement.^[104][121]
• During the APEC summit on 7 October 2013, a codeshare agreement between Garuda Indonesia and Aeroméxico was announced, allowing passengers to travel from Jakarta to Mexico City via Tokyo and vice versa. Under the codeshare agreement, Aeromexico would place its flight numbers on Garuda Indonesia's Jakarta-Tokyo flights while Garuda Indonesia would place its flight numbers on Aeromexico's Tokyo-Mexico City flights.^[122]
• On 19 November 2013, a codeshare agreement was announced between Garuda Indonesia and Jet Airways of India. Under the codeshare agreement, Jet Airways would place its flight numbers on Garuda Indonesia flights between Jakarta and Singapore while Garuda Indonesia would place its flight numbers on Jet Airways flights between Singapore and Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. The two airlines also announced a reciprocal Frequent Flyer programme partnership, allowing passengers to earn miles flying both Garuda Indonesia and Jet Airways.^[123]
• On 19 December 2013, Garuda Indonesia and Japan's All Nippon Airways announced a partnership agreement encompassing codeshare flights as well as reciprocal Frequent Flyer programmes. Under the codeshare agreement, ANA passengers arriving in Jakarta would be able to transfer to 10 destinations in Indonesia on board Garuda Indonesia flights, while Garuda Indonesia passengers arriving in Tokyo or Osaka would be able to transfer to 11 destinations in Japan on board ANA flights.^[124]
• On 6 February 2024, Garuda Indonesia and Qatar Airways launched the fourth Jakarta-Doha daily flight starting 2 April 2024, to add to three daily flights already served by Qatar Airways. This will be codeshare flights operated by Garuda Indonesia with its Boeing 777-300ERs.^[125]

Garuda Indonesia has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:^[126]

Explore and Explore-jet sub-brands

As Indonesia's flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia tries to connect many parts of Indonesia to support the government's "Indonesian Interconnectivity" program. But Garuda's fleet of Boeing 737-800s cannot reach many remote and smaller airports, because of the lack of airport infrastructure in smaller cities and remote areas, such as insufficient runway length.

In line with its Quantum Leap plan, Garuda ordered brand-new Bombardier CRJ1000 and ATR 72 to reach smaller airports from Garuda's hubs like Ngurah Rai International Airport, Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport, and Kualanamu International Airport. On 25 November 2013, Garuda launched its new sub-brands "Explore" and "Explore-jet", for servicing perintis ("pioneer") lines traditionally served by (dormant) Merpati Nusantara Airlines and its competitor Wings Air.

In 2022, due to the corruption scandal surrounding Bombardier CRJ1000 and ATR 72 fleet procurement back in 2013, and the company's worsened financial condition during the COVID-19 pandemic forced the grounding of these two types of aircraft fleets. Currently, most of the fleets have been returned to the lessor or transferred to its subsidiary Citilink, which also means the end of the "Explore" and "Explore-jet" sub-brands.

SkyTeam

On 5 March 2014, Garuda Indonesia officially joined the SkyTeam alliance and became its 20th member.^[135] The inclusion of Garuda Indonesia adds 40 new destinations to SkyTeam's global network and strengthens the alliance presence in Southeast Asia and Australia. To commemorate the event, the airline repainted an Airbus A330-300, a Boeing 737-800, and a Bombardier CRJ1000 with SkyTeam livery. In addition to repainted aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER was delivered with SkyTeam livery.^[136] With the arrival of Garuda Indonesia to SkyTeam, a variety of facilities are given as including SkyPriority, as well as changing its current frequent flyer membership into GarudaMiles. In addition, Garuda is connected with 140 new destinations and also teamed up with the world's major airlines, such as Aeroflot, Aeroméxico, Air France, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Korean Air, and Saudia.^[137]

Current fleet

As of November 2024^[update], Garuda Indonesia operates the following aircraft:^[6]

Garuda Indonesia's current fleet

Boeing 737-800

Airbus A330-200

Boeing 777-300ER

Historic fleet

Garuda Indonesia's previous fleet

McDonnell Douglas DC-9

Boeing 747-200B

Boeing 737-400

McDonnell Douglas MD-11

Special liveries

Cabin

First Class

First class is available on two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, featuring eight suites arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. The first-class seats are suites, with sliding doors for extra privacy. They feature a 24" AVOD screen and seats that convert into a bed, as well as a touchscreen seat controller. There is a chef on board the aircraft to tend to the passengers' needs. First Class passengers can use in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity at no extra cost. It has a seat pitch of 82 inches and a seat width of 22 inches.^{[162][163][164]}

The product was originally available on all Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, however, it was decided the final four aircraft would be delivered in a two-class configuration. In 2017, four more aircraft were refitted into the two-class configuration, leaving just two aircraft featuring First Class.

Economy Class

Economy Class seats are available on all aircraft. Seat configuration is 2–2 on the ATR 72 and CRJ1000, 3-3 on the 737, 2-4-2 on the A330 as well as 3-3-3 on the 777. Seat widths range from 17 inches on board all 737, ATR 72 and CRJ1000, to over 18 inches on board the A330 and 777. Seat pitch is 30 inches on the ATR 72 and Bombardier CRJ1000 aircraft, 31–32 inches on the 737, 32–33 inches on board the 777, and 33–34 inches on board the A330.

Seat-back inflight entertainment is offered on all 737s (except PK-GEx series) and all A330s and 777s. Except for four newest A330 aircraft (which feature an 11.1-inch touchscreen), every seat has a 9-inch seat-back touchscreen.

Old cabins

In-flight entertainment

In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) is available on board most Garuda Indonesia aircraft: all A330s, all 777s, and all 737-800s.

Garuda's Boeing 777-300ER, Airbus A330s, and newer Boeing 737-800 aircraft are equipped with Audio video on demand In-Flight Entertainment System in all classes. The Economy Class on these aircraft features a 9-inch LCD touch-screen, while the Business Class features a 9-inch, 11-inch, and 15-inch touch-screen LCD in Garuda's Boeing 737-800, older Airbus A330-200, and all remaining Airbus A330 series and 777 aircraft respectively. In Business Class on board the Airbus A330-300 and newer A330-200 aircraft, the screens are located on the seat backs or in the armrest of bulkhead rows, while in the older Airbus A330-200 aircraft and Boeing 737-800s, the screens are stowed in the armrest. In Economy Class, they are on the seat back.^[167]

Garuda introduced a new IFE system on board four A330-300 aircraft. These come with an 11-inch touchscreen in Economy with a touchpad controller, and a 16-inch touchscreen in Business with a 4.7-inch touchscreen remote. Newspapers and magazines are provided to all passengers on board all flights.^[168] Six international television channels are available on board the Boeing 777-300ER.^[169]

Immigration On-Board (IoB)

Immigration on Board (IoB) was a special service created by Garuda Indonesia to provide more convenience for passengers travelling to Indonesia. With this service, in cooperation with the Directorate General of Immigration, an agency under the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Garuda Indonesia passengers on certain long-haul flights could complete their immigration process on-board before landing and disembarking.

By using this service, Garuda Indonesia passengers did not have to queue at the immigration counter upon arrival at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar or Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.^[170][171] The service was stopped since 2014.

Ticketing

A Jakarta-based 24-hour call center is available for local customer access where payment can be made by credit cards, internet/mobile banking or transfers via ATM. Recently online booking from their website is also possible with payment being made online with credit cards from select countries.

In April 2011, Garuda Indonesia announced plans to develop online sales. Garuda Indonesia had cooperated with Visa and MasterCard to develop an online credit card payment system, allowing customers to use PayPal. Debit card payments may be processed with Bank Mandiri, BCA or BII.^[172][173]

Lounge