Garuda Indonesia and China Airlines have both signed a Memorandum of Understanding, tying the two carriers in a partnership that involves codeshares and reciprocal frequent flyer programme benefits.
The agreement will see Garuda’s “GA” code on China Airlines’ flights between Taipei and the Indonesian destinations of Jakarta and Denpasar, as well as on the Taipei-Singapore-Surabaya route. Eventually, the agreement will expand to include CAL’s flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco and Garuda’s flights to Dubai, allowing both carriers to tap into new markets.
The two carriers will also work to align their frequent flyer programmes for reciprocal benefits, however details of this part of the agreement have not been revealed.
The partnership comes ahead of Garuda’s SkyTeam membership, which was made official in 2010 (see story here) and whose process is scheduled to complete by the end of this year with help from alliance partners such as China Airlines, Korean Air and China Southern.
For more information, visit www.garuda-indonesia.com or www.china-airlines.com
Alisha Haridasani