JAKARTA, Dec 12, 2014 - (ACN Newswire) - PT. Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. ("Garuda"), held an Extraordinary General Shareholders Meeting (EGSM) at the Auditorium of the Garuda City Center Management Building, Cengkareng. The EGSM was attended/represented by 23,664,331,996 shares or 91.48 percent of Garuda's total shares.
Following the resignation of Emirsyah Satar from his position of President Director of Garuda Indonesia on 8 December 2014 lalu, the EGSM appointed M. Arif Wibowo as the new Garuda Indonesia President Director, and the new Board of Directors.
The EGSM also approved the Company's Performance Report.
Up till Q3-2014, Garuda Indonesia carried a total of 20.9 million passengers; an increase by 15.2 percent compared to the 18.1 million passengers carried in the same period the previous year. Garuda Indonesia also increased cargo volume to 292.888 tons, a 15.4 percent rise from last year's 253,894 tons.
Meanwhile, Garuda Indonesia's domestic and international flight frequency up till Q3-2014 also experienced an improvement of 15.4 percent, from 143,499 flights in the same period of 2013 to 165,642 flights. On Time Performance (OTP) also reached 89.6 percent; rising 4.1 percent from last year's 85.5 percent.
By September 2014, Garuda Indonesia operated as many as 160 airplanes with an average age of 4.7 years, to serve routes to the capital and secondary cities in all of Indonesia's provinces. Through the "Quantum Leap 2011-2015" program, by 2015, Garuda Indonesia targets on operating 194 airplanes that are less than 5 years old.
By becoming a member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance in March 2014, Garuda Indonesia, together with 19 other SkyTeam members, has a network that covers 1,052 destination cities in 177 countries, with up to a total of 16,323 flights per day.
In the meantime, in anticipation of an increasingly competitive global airline industry, in 2015 Garuda Indonesia will focus on several of the company's strategies, among others the opening of new promising routes, optimizing on the Skyteam global alliance membership and codesharing agreements, reviewing existing routes; increasing revenue; carrying out cost effective programs through fuel efficiency measures and renegotiating costs to support operations; as well as improving employee productivity and that of the organization.
Garuda Becomes a 5-Star Airline
Coinciding with today's Extraordinary General Shareholders Meeting (12 December) - which also marked the change in management - on Thursday, 11 December 2014, Skytrax, the world's leading airline and airport review specialist headquartered in London, officially named Garuda Indonesia as a 5-Star Airlines. Currently, there are only seven 5-star airlines out of some 234 airlines in the world, namely Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Hainan Airlines and Garuda Indonesia.
This achievement stands out as the final gift from the old management under the leadership of Emirsyah Satar not only to Garuda Indonesia, but the people of Indonesia.
This prestigious recognition is testament of the many improvements consistently carried out by the company over the years that eventually led to its transformation from a little known entity among the world's airlines into one of the best airlines with a top-tier 5-star ranking.
Becoming a 5-star airline ultimately affects Garuda Indonesia's improvement plans for 2015, such as moving operations to Terminal 3 Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which is the airline's main hub. The new location will offer Garuda Indonesia passengers a more pleasant travel experience and facilitate other SkyTeam airline members through integrated transfer and airport services and premium facilities that are continuously being improved.
Spurred on by a strong commitment to deliver the best service, Garuda Indonesia's performance gradually earned global recognition. In 2010, Garuda Indonesia became a 4-star airline and was voted "The World's Most Improved Airline" by London-based Skytrax, and "Airline Turn Around of The Year" by the Centre for Asia Pacific Airlines (CAPA) - an independent institution for aviation and airline analysis based in Sydney, Australia.
In 2012, Garuda Indonesia won "The Best International Airline" from Roy Morgan research agency in Australia, and was named "The World's Best Regional Airline" and "The Best Regional Airline in Asia" by Skytrax, during the "Farnborough Air Show". Meanwhile, during the "Paris Air Show" in June 2013, Garuda Indonesia received the "The World's Best Economy Class" award and was ranked as one of "The World's Top 10 Airlines".
In addition, during the "Farnborough Airshow" in UK on July 15, 2014 Garuda Indonesia once again received international recognition, winning "The World's Best Cabin Crew 2014" award from Skytrax, beating other nominees, the likes of Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. In 2014, Garuda Indonesia was named one of "The World's Top 10 Airlines" and was ranked seventh in the world, climbing from eight position in the previous year.
Garuda Indonesia was also voted "Best in Region: Asia and Australasia" for two consecutive years (2013 and 2014) by "Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX)", an association of businesses and professionals for the improvement of airline services, headquartered in New York, during the "Passenger Choice Award 2013" and "Passenger Choice Award 2014" in Anaheim, California, USA.
About PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk.
Presenting a new level of service excellence in air travel, Garuda Indonesia, the national airline of Indonesia, seamlessly connects more than 70 destinations worldwide to not only one of the largest economies in Southeast Asia, but also an array of exotic locations in the beautiful archipelago of Indonesia all at once. With close to 600 daily flights and a fleet of around 160 aircraft (the average age of which is less than five years old), Garuda Indonesia proudly serves its passengers with the award-winning "Garuda Indonesia Experience" service, which highlights Indonesia's warm hospitality and rich diverse culture.
The airline continuously strives, through its ongoing transformation program, to provide better and more convenient services with one of the youngest fleets in the sky, which should grow to around 194 aircraft by 2015. The progress of Garuda Indonesia's transformation program can be seen from achieving a Skytrax airline ranking as the 7th best airline in the world in the 2014, as well as winning the prestigious "The World's Best Cabin Crew" award in 2014 and "The World's Best Economy Class" award in 2013, also from Skytrax. Garuda Indonesia is a member of SkyTeam, the global airline alliance with 20 members, providing access to an extensive global network with over 15,700 daily flights to 1,052 destinations in 177 countries.
For further information, please log on towww.garuda-indonesia.com, follow @IndonesiaGaruda on Twitter, like our Facebook page at PT.GarudaIndonesia, or subscribe to youtube.com/GarudaIndonesia1949.
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