TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State airline company Garuda Indonesia is targeting to control more than 50 percent of the domestic aviation market. Currently, Garuda's domestic market share reaches 44 percent.
"The State Owned Enterprises Minister said we don’t have enough [market share]. So we have to be more aggressive," Garuda president director Arif Wibowo said in Jakarta Tuesday, October 4.
He did not say when the target could be achieved. "We are still making calculations," he said.
Arif said Garuda is preparing a number of strategies to meet the target; one of them is by opening new routes to areas with many tourist destinations.
Garuda also plans to add 50 Airbus A320 planes through its subsidiary Citilink next year. This year, the company has brought 17 new planes, adding the airline's operated fleet to 197 units, 53 of which belonging to Citilink.
According to Arif, SOE Minister Rini Soemarno also asked Garuda to increase the number of its international flights. Garuda now has 28 percent share in the international aviation market. The airline is preparing to open new routes to Chengdu, Shanghai, and several cities in Japan and the United States.
FAIZ NASHRILLAH
