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Garuda trials B737 MAX; will accept three A330neo in 2019
January 12th 2018
Indonesian flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, received its first B737 MAX 8 on December 26. Read More » The state-controlled airline has 50 MAXs on order and will take delivery of the remaining 49 aircraft from 2020-2024.
Garuda has renegotiated its MAX delivery schedule with Boeing as part of essential cost-cutting initiatives that includes addressing over capacity in its fleet. Originally, the MAX 8s were to be delivered to the airline in 2017-2019.
The airline’s sole B737 MAX will mainly trial on the Jakarta-Surabaya trunk route, airline president, Pahala Mansury, told Indonesia’s Investor Daily last Sunday. Pahala said the first MAX 8 marked the 142nd Garuda and 200th Garuda Indonesia Group aircraft.
The airline chief, a former banker, said the MAXs would gradually replace the carrier’s 50 B737-800s, and said bringing the new aircraft type into the fleet offered significant fuel savings compared with the B737NGs. He added that Garuda would start commence acceptance of the first three of 14 on-order A330-900neo in 2019.
Garuda already owns 17 A330-300s and three A330-200s. The airline is leasing a further four -200s.In the interim, Garuda public relations executive, Ikhsan Rosan, told media the airline would be launching 30 new domestic and international routes in 2018.
From January 29, Garuda will add a twice-weekly Denpasar-Xian A330 scheduled charter route, followed by a three times a week Denpasar-Zhengzhou A330 service starting the following day.
“The opening of these routes is part of the firm's continuing efforts to maximize the potential from the highly lucrative Chinese tourism market,” according to Sigit Muhartono, Garuda’s official in charge of international route development.
