[2210101.EN.AIR] Garuda Indonesia Regains Foothold In Europe’s Cargo Market

Returning after a six-year break in operations, Garuda Indonesia has managed to re-establish its foothold in the European air cargo market with the help of its GSA partner, European Cargo Services (ECS).

The airline is achieving higher-than-forecast cargo payloads, with its daily Airbus A330 flights from Amsterdam to Jakarta via Dubai generally operating at full capacity. The A330 offers a daily uplift of 15 tons.

Garuda Indonesia found itself on the EU's "airline blacklist", and remained on the list until mid-2009 when the EC declared that the Indonesian authorities had finally ensured that the carriers under their regulatory control respected international safety standards.

Garuda awarded the Europe-wide cargo GSA contract to ECS to maximise the revenue potential of its bellyhold freight capacity. Garuda Indonesia's re-entry into Amsterdam at the start of June this year marked a significant step forward in the airline's global expansion strategy, and ECE expects to generate some 5,200 tonnes of freight per annum for the airline.

In addition to the Netherlands, other major cargo generating markets for Garuda include France, Germany and Scandinavia. 

As well as Dubai and Jakarta, ECS will market Garuda destinations across Asia and Australasia, including Bangkok, Beijing, Darwin, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Nagoya, Osaka, Perth, Riyadh, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

Source : EFT, 21.10.10.