Garuda Indonesia has placed an order for 18 Bombardier CRJ1000s, with options for another 18 of the regional jets.

The firm order includes six aircraft directly from the airframer, and another 12 from leasing company Nordic Aviation. Bombardier confirmed that Garuda was the unidentified customer for six CRJ1000s and 18 options that it announced on 10 February.

Five aircraft will join the fleet in the fourth quarter of this year, and another 12 in 2013, said Garuda president and CEO Emirsyah Satar. The airline will make a decision on the options before 2015, he added.

"This is part of our fleet expansion and rejuvenation programme," said Satar. "This is a very efficient aircraft, which I believe will provide an additional level of comfort to our customers on domestic and regional operations."

The aircraft, which will be in a two-class configuration, will be based in Tier II Indonesian cities such as Makassar, Medan and Balikpapa. They will be used on domestic routes, as well as international routes such as Makassar-Singapore.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news