Garuda Indonesia will be taking delivery of 21 aircraft this year as part of its fleet expansion and renewal plan.
This includes five Bombardier CRJ1000 regional jets, two Airbus A330s, four Boeing 737-800s and 10 Airbus A320s for its low-cost arm Citilink, Garuda president and chief executive Emirsyah Satar said at a press conference in Singapore.
The carrier will also retire three aircraft - one Boeing 747-400 and two 737s, bringing its fleet size to 105 aircraft by the end of 2012.
The Indonesian flag carrier plans to grow its fleet to 194 aircraft by 2015.
This includes 50 A320s for Citilink, 25 regional jets, 83 narrowbodies and 36 widebodies.
"This looks like a very big number, but Indonesia is growing," says Emirsyah.
He adds that the narrowbodies will mainly be deployed for domestic and regional use while widebodies such as the Boeing 777s will be put on services to Europe and the Middle East, and the A330s on routes to China, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
The carrier also wants to grow its cargo business and has ordered its first freighters - three Airbus A330 freighters, which will be delivered by 2013.
"Currently, Garuda doesn't have any freighters - all of them are carried by the belly. We've done study on most major markets now and Garuda is not enjoying the market, which means there is potential for growth," says Emirysah.
Garuda estimates that it will need 100 new pilots a year to match its fleet expansion plan and is working with local flight schools to meet the numbers.
On competition from carriers such as the relaunched Mandala Airlines and Lion Air, which made news earlier this year with an order for 201 Boeing 737 Max, he says: " We see that the pie is big enough for all the airlines, but nevertheless going forward, economy of scale is very important to survive and we'll see who survives."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
