Garuda Indonesia to add 2 A330s to Wamos Air wet-lease deal

Capital A inks partnership deal with Garuda Indonesia Group

AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International) owner Capital A has signed a "strategic partnership" with Garuda Indonesia Group, the entity behind Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) and Citilink aimed at a deeper working relationship across various business lines.

Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes and Garuda Indonesia President and CEO Irfan Setiaputra signed the agreement at a September 27 event in Jakarta. It foresees, for example, cooperation between the logistics and MRO subsidiaries of both airline groups. The key component, however, is an interlining MOU between AirAsia and Citilink - the first such agreement ever signed by Capital A aviation wing AirAsia Aviation Group - and will allow passengers increased access to third- and fourth-tier cities across the ten-country ASEAN bloc.

"The partnership will leverage on the depth of close to 50 domestic destinations in Indonesia covered by Citilink with the breadth of AirAsia's 150 ASEAN international destinations," a Capital A statement said. "Initial launch of selected routes by Q1 2024 will provide a seamless transfer experience for both inbound and outbound...

Jakarta wants slice of Garuda-Airbus bribery fine

Indonesia's Pelita Air to merge into Citilink - minister

The aircraft and flight licenses belonging to Pelita Air (IP, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) will transfer to Citilink (QG, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) under the latest merger plans made public this week by Indonesia's Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Kartika Wirjoatmodjo.

"Pelita's license and aircraft will be transferred to Citilink," he told the Indonesian language Kompas outlet. However, the Pelita Air brand will not disappear. While part of Citilink, Wirjoatmodjo says Pelita will maintain its own brand identity.

Under this outcome, the majority state-owned Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk entity will operate three airlines - Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, and Pelita. Earlier this month, reporting on the proposed merger, ch-aviation cited the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir saying the point of the merger was to improve operational and financial efficiencies at the airlines. There is also a political point to the merger. Thohir wants to increase the capacity his country's carriers offer, betting that increasing the supply of seats will put downward pressure on airfares, an outcome likely to prove popular among Indonesia's increasingly mobile population.

New corruption indictment for former Garuda Indonesia CEO

Prosecutors at Jakarta's Central Corruption Court indicted a former Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) CEO on September 18, accusing him, along with several other former senior executives at the airline and other entities, of causing losses totalling IDR9.37 trillion rupiah (USD609.1 million) in a deal to acquire CRJ1000s and ATR72-600s.

Emirsyah Satar, who ran Garuda between 2005 and 2014, is charged with causing financial losses to the state, along with:

• Agus Wahyudo, former executive project manager of aircraft delivery at Garuda;
• Hadinoto Soedigono, former director of engineering and fleet management at Garuda;
• Adrian Azhar, former vice president of fleet acquisition at Garuda;
• Albert Burhan, former vice president of treasury management at Garuda;
• Setijo Awibowo, former vice president of strategic management at Garuda; and
• Soetikno Soedarjo, a commercial advisor who represented the interests of ATR - Avions de Transport Régional and Bombardier Aerospace.

The indictment proceedings, reported by Indonesian media outlets, alleged the accused acted to financially benefit themselves as well as Bombardier, ATR, and...