Garuda Indonesia is aiming to upgrade its re-opened route to London to a daily nonstop service in 2015.
The Asian carrier operated its first flight from Jakarta to the UK capital on 8 September since the route was suspended in late 2002. Garuda is operating the flights as an extension of its existing services to Amsterdam, with a stopover in the Dutch city.
Flights are conducted four times a week, using Boeing 777-300ERs. London is the second European destination in the airline’s network after Amsterdam.
The airline wants to switch the London route to a daily nonstop service, says Jubi Prasetyo, general manager for the UK and Ireland. The aim is to increase the flights to a daily frequency for the summer 2015 schedule, he says.
Load factors between Jakarta and Amsterdam have increased since the airline started operating the route nonstop with 777s earlier this year. It had previously deployed Airbus A330s with a stopover in Abu Dhabi.
The increased passenger numbers were a result of both switching to the more convenient direct service and improved European connections after the airline joined the SkyTeam alliance in March, says Prasetyo.
But he adds that Garuda needs to expand its network to additional European destinations.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
