Garuda Indonesia used the launch of its new Jakarta-Dubai-Amsterdam services on June 1 to confirm it remains on track to raise US$300m (A$360m) in an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of the year to support its growth plans.
The new daily service to Amsterdam started on June 1, and is operated by the airline’s fleet of Airbus A330-200s, which have 222 seats in two classes. The airline has also earmarked possible services to Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rome over the next four years, including some nonstop services which will be operated by the airline’s 777-300ERs which are due to arrive in 2011.
“Europe will play an integral role in our five year ‘Quantum Leap’ strategy which includes growing our international network as well as developing new concepts for both business and leisure travel. Establishing a strong presence in Amsterdam and the rest of Europe is an important element in meeting these growth targets,” said Emirsyah Satar, Garuda president and CEO.
“We’re also planning to launch an initial public offering before the end of this year and our return to Europe is pivotal in determining the success of the IPO. We want to raise approximately US$300 million to support these long term growth plans,” added Satar.
Garuda is currently fully owned by the Indonesian government, and it is expected that the government will retain a majority stake in the airline after the IPO.
