Garuda plans large restructuring

With debt piling up and very low demand due to the pandemic, Garuda Indonesia is plotting a massive reorganisation in order to survive. In a message to the staff, the airline's CEO has said that the airline calculates it needs a maximum of 70 aircraft, which means halving the fleet.

Currently, Garuda has a fleet of 141 aircraft consisting of twelve ATR72-600s, seven A330-200s, seventeen A330-300s, three A330-900s, 73 B737-800s, one B737-8, ten B777-300ERs and eighteen CRJ-1000s. Of this, the airline already said it's planning to phase-out and return its CRJ-1000s to the lessor. Next to this fleet, Garuda also has open orders with Boeing for 49 B737-8s and with Airbus for four A330-800s and nine A330-900s. In 2019, the airline has said it would cancel its MAXs on order but as the order is still on the books it seems the airline hasn't followed through on this yet.

It's unclear if the restructuring will have an effect on its low-cost subsidiary CitiLink. This airline is currently operating a fleet of 62 aircraft, consisting of seven ATR72-600s, 41 A320s, ten A320neos, two A330-900s and two B737-500s. The Boeings are, however, slated for permanent retirement and are currently parked.

Photo by Anton Homma.