Garuda expands short-haul fleet with ATR deal
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Garuda Indonesia will start taking delivery of a new fleet of turboprop aircraft next month.
The national carrier this week signed an agreement with European aircraft maker ATR and Danish aircraft leasing company, Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC), that will see it take delivery of 25 new ATR72-600s, with options for a further 10. Deliveries commence next month and will continue until 2017.
Including all options, the deal will be worth more than US$790 million, at current list prices.
“As the airline industry continues to grow steadily, Garuda will continue to carry out its business transformation and expansion programme, in sync with the government’s plans in the next couple of years to develop air transport infrastructure by opening new airports around the country, particularly in fast growing economic regions and tourist destinations,” said Garuda’s president & CEO, Emirsyah Satar.
Garuda will use the new 70-seat, single-class propeller planes on domestic routes with a flying time of less than 30 minutes, often to smaller airports that cannot handle larger jet aircraft. These are likely to include flights from Bali, Makassar, and Ambon to Labuan Bajo, Tambolaka and Ende in East Nusa Tenggara, Bima in West Nusa Tenggara, Banyuwangi and Jember in East Java, Bau-bau and Wangi-wangi in Southeast Sulawesi, Luwuk and Poso in Central Sulawesi, Mamuju in West Sulawesi, Kaimana in West Papua and Tual/Langgur in Maluku.
The deal is in line with the company’s ‘Quantum Leap’ expansion programme, which has already seen Garuda welcome more than 20 new aircraft in 2013, including its first Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A330-300 long-haul jets, plus B737-800s, A330-200s and Bombardier CRJ-1000s.
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