Singapore’s competition regulators have allowed Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia to deepen their strategic partnership, as part of a commercial joint venture agreement.
The move, announced on 5 July, covers a “wider range” of commercial activities, including the potential operation of revenue-sharing flights between Indonesia and Singapore, as well as the coordination of flight schedules, and joint sales and marketing initiatives.
In May the carriers announced plans for deeper commercial cooperation. Both Garuda and SIA are also working on “strengthening” their frequent flyer partnerships.
Says SIA chief Goh Choon Phong: “We are poised to deepen our collaboration across a wider scope of commercial activities. Along with the ongoing work to strengthen the links between our frequent flyer membership programmes, this will provide our customers with even more options and enhanced value.”
The two carriers codeshare on flights between Singapore and Indonesia. In addition, Garuda places it code on SIA-operated flights between Singapore and Johannesburg, London (Heathrow), and Mumbai.
Garuda chief Irfan Setiaputra says: “We are very pleased to receive this approval, as it marks significant progress towards our commitment to enhance service quality as well as broaden both Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines’ networks through a deepening partnership.”
