Yes I realise both customers and airlines are living through difficult times right now but this venture is a sound one.
A codeshare agreement between Emirates and Garuda Indonesia was first mooted in November 2021 and it is now confirmed.
It means Emirates will be selling through tickets to ten Indonesian destinations via Dubai and Jakarta or Denpasar.
From Garuda’s viewpoint it means the Indonesian airline will be serving 16 destinations beyond Dubai. More will be added if and when regulatory approval is obtained.
In the case of Europe the destinations are London Heathrow, Manchester, Milan, Paris CDG and Barcelona.
Readers will doubtless have seen our many reports on Garuda’s routes to Amsterdam and London in recent years.
Originally when Garuda returned to Europe it had high hopes of recreating its former network.
But in the end it had to settle with Amsterdam (its historical European gateway) and London. But the latter was never really a success for one reason or another.
The link with Emirates will provide Garuda with more access to Europe without the need to invest in further long-haul aircraft.
This is important because Garuda is in not the best of financial health as a result of the pandemic.
Garuda’s president and CEO Irfan Setiaputra said “We believe the partnership with Emirates will expand our customers’ access to popular destinations in Europe”, while Adam Kazim, CCO of Emirates said that “We offer our customers access to popular destinations in Indonesia”.
Currently Garuda operates between Amsterdam and Jakarta. Its London route was dropped some time ago. One would expect that situation to continue.
