Garuda announces Makassar expansion

Garuda Indonesia has officially launched its eastern hub at Makassar, on the island of Sulawesi. The Indonesian national carrier will now fly to 13 domestic and international destinations from Makassar’s Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport – Ambon, Balikpapan, Biak, Denpasar, Jakarta, Jayapura, Palu, Surabaya, Gorontalo, Manado, Ternate, Timika and Singapore.

“Makassar is fast becoming an important business location and has always been a strategic point in the eastern regions of the archipelago,” President & CEO, Emirsyah Satar. “By developing Makassar as its eastern hub, Garuda Indonesia hopes to increase passenger travel as well as stimulate the local economy, which in turn will have a positive impact on the people’s welfare,” he added.

Makassar becomes Garuda’s third hub after Jakarta and Denpasar, and the airline revealed that its fourth hub would be developed in Medan, Sumatra, serving Western Indonesia.

The Governor of South Sulawesi, Sahrul Yasin Limpo, welcomed Garuda to Makassar. “As one of the most strategically positioned and fast growing metropolitan cities in the archipelago, Makassar will undoubtedly benefit a great deal from this endeavour. I am confident that in Makassar and in other cities in the eastern part of Indonesia, businesses and the economy in the region will thrive. Makassar will be the first to connect cities in eastern part with cities in the western part of the archipelago and abroad,” he said. “In addition, this new development will further ensure the success of the ‘Visit South Sulawesi 2012′ program,’ he said.

Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia (GMF-AA) and PT Angkasa Pura I (PAPI) have also signed an agreement for the construction of a new hangar at the old Hasanuddin Airport Makassar. The hangar will serve the increasing number of aircraft flying through Makassar, and will enable maintenance of aircraft to be completed at the Sulawesi hub.

As of today (1 June 2011), Garuda Indonesia will introduce new routes from Makassar. The region will see direct flights to Singapore served daily using a Boeing B737-500, as well as new services from Makassar to Balikpapan and Ternate. It has also doubled its Surabaya-Makassar flights from daily to twice daily.

Elsewhere, the airline has also launched a new Surabaya-Ambon service, and added frequencies on several routes, including Jakarta-Palembang (from 8 to 9 flights per day), Jakarta-Batam (from 2 to 4 flights per day), Jakarta-Padang (from 3 to 4 flights per day), Jakarta-Surabaya (from 15 to 17 flights per day), Jakarta-Balikpapan (from 7 to 8 flights per day), Yogyakarta-Denpasar (from 2 to 3 flights per day), Surabaya-Denpasar (from 3 to 4 flights per day).

In the international sector, Garuda has also boosted the Jakarta-Beijing route from three flights to five flights per week, and the Denpasar-Seoul service from three flights to five flights per week. Meanwhile, Jakarta-Singapore is now served eight times per day, up from daily, and Jakarta-Bangkok has risen from daily to twice daily.