Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport near Jakarta. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam airline alliance and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, operating scheduled flights to a number of destinations across Asia, Europe, and Australia from its hubs, focus cities, as well as other cities for Hajj. It is the only Indonesian airline that flies to European airspace.
At its peak from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s, Garuda operated an extensive network of flights all over the world, with regularly scheduled services to Adelaide, Cairo, Fukuoka, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, and other cities in Europe, Australia and Asia. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a series of financial and operational difficulties hit the airline hard, causing it to drastically cut back services. In 2009, the airline undertook a five-year modernization plan known as the Quantum Leap, which overhauled the airline's brand, livery, logo and uniforms, as well as acquiring a newer, more modern fleet and facilities and renewing focus on international markets. It earned Garuda awards such as Most Improved Airline, 5-Star Airline, and World's Best Cabin Crew by Skytrax.
In the 2020s, the airline underwent restructuring efforts while continuing to maintain its service and safety standards. In 2025, Garuda Indonesia reported a net loss of US$318 million and in 2026 Skytrax adjusted its rating from 5-star to 4-star status.
Garuda also operated a budget subsidiary, Citilink, that provided low-cost flights to multiple Indonesian destinations and was spun-off in 2012. In November 2018, the airline took over operations as well as financial management of Sriwijaya Air by a cooperation agreement (KSO); the contract expired in December 2019.
History
Beginnings (1949–60s)
The predecessor to Garuda Indonesia was a KLM subsidiary, KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf (KLM Interinsular Service), which was nationalized in December 1949.
In its current institutional form, Garuda Indonesia had its beginnings in the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch in the late 1940s, when Garuda flew special transports with a Douglas DC-3. The first aircraft was a DC-3 known as Seulawah (Acehnese: "Gold Mountain", or from Arabic Shalawah, means praise/worship) and was purchased for 120,000 Malayan dollars, which was provided by the people of Aceh (notably local merchants). The first commercial flight from Calcutta to Yangon (then, Rangoon) was on 26 January 1949, using a DC-3 Dakota aircraft with the tail number RI 001 and the name Indonesian Airways. 26 January 1949 is generally recognized as the airline's founding date.
The name Garuda is taken from the Hindu tradition: it is the name of Lord Vishnu's mount (vahana) and was introduced in 1949. During the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference at The Hague, from 23 August to 2 November 1949, Indonesian President Sukarno cited a Dutch poem by a renowned Javanese scholar and poet Raden Mas Noto Soeroto: "Ik ben Garuda, Vishnoe's vogel, die zijn vleugels uitslaat hoog boven uw eilanden", which means "I'm Garuda, Vishnu's Bird, that spreads its wings high above the Islands". The first flight under the name Garuda Indonesian Airways was made with a second DC-3 entering service in 1949. Its first flight under the new name was to pick up Sukarno in Yogyakarta on 28 December.
Throughout the revolution, Garuda supported national interests and often carried diplomats on its flights. The Burmese government helped the airline significantly during its beginnings. The country's national airline, Union of Burma Airways, often chartered one of the airline's DC-3s for its own flights. Accordingly, upon Garuda's formal joint incorporation with KLM on 31 March 1950, the airline gave the Burmese government a DC-3.
By the early and mid-1950s, the airline operated a fleet of 38 aircraft, including 22 DC-3s, 8 Catalina seaplanes, and 8 Convair 240s. In 1956, the airline operated its first flight to Mecca with Convair aircraft, carrying 40 Indonesian pilgrims.
Garuda's fleet continued to grow throughout the 1960s, during which the airline continued its expansion. It acquired three Lockheed L-188 Electras in 1961, which supplemented its Convair CV-240 fleet, before taking delivery of its first jet aircraft, the Convair 990 Coronado, in 1963, which allowed it to launch flights to Hong Kong.
In 1965, the airline took delivery of its first Douglas DC-8, and grew beyond the Asian market it was focused on, beginning scheduled flights from Kemayoran Airport to Amsterdam and Frankfurt via Colombo, Bombay, and Prague. Rome and Paris became the airline's third and fourth European destinations, with flights stopping in Bombay and Cairo to refuel. Flights to the People's Republic of China began that same year, with service to Guangzhou via Phnom Penh, the first Indonesian airline to do so.
Continued growth (1970s–90s)
During the early 1970s, Garuda Indonesian Airways took delivery of both the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 (first delivered in 1969) and Fokker F28 Fellowship (first delivered in 1971) for its short and medium-haul operations. The airline went on to take delivery of 62 F28s, holding the title of the largest operator of the F28 in the world. In 1976, Garuda took delivery of its first McDonnell Douglas DC-10, giving it the capability to carry more passengers and fly longer flights, and replacing the DC-8 and Convair 990 fleet on flights within Asia and to Europe. The DC-10 became an integral part of the Garuda fleet for the years to come, outlasting the newer McDonnell Douglas MD-11s, before the type was finally retired in 2002. In 1980, the airline took delivery of the first Boeing 747-200, complementing the DC-10 on high-capacity or long-range routes.
On 21 June 1982, Garuda became the launch customer of the Airbus A300 B4-220FFCC, the first variant of the A300 capable of being operated with two pilots instead of three. By 1984, nine of these were in service, supplemented by 8 McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, 24 DC-9s, 45 Fokker F-28s, and 6 Boeing 747-200s. In 1985, under Reyn Altin Johannes Lumenta, who had been CEO since 1984, Garuda Indonesian Airways made the controversial decision to hire foreign brand consultants Landor Associates to create a new logo, livery and brand, a project regarded as expensive and unnecessary at the time but later applauded as vital for Garuda's reputation and corporate identity as the national airline.
Under Lumenta, Garuda Indonesia also increased the number of flight frequencies and destinations, reduced ticket prices and collaborated with Merpati Nusantara Airlines, introducing flexible tickets valid for both Indonesian airlines.
In 1991, Garuda took delivery of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11s, which gradually replaced the DC-10 on flights to Europe and allowed the airline to launch flights to Los Angeles via Honolulu. During this time, the airline operated a fleet of the aforementioned MD-11s, DC-10s, Boeing 747, Airbus A300 and Boeing 737-400, operating it to destinations throughout Asia, Europe and North America. In 1994, Garuda took delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which became a mainstay of its fleet until 2015, operating Hajj flights and high-density short-haul routes, while the delivery of the first Airbus A330-300 in 1996 allowed more flexibility, as it was more fuel-efficient than the three- and four-engine jets. That same year, Garuda placed an order for six Boeing 777 aircraft, due for delivery in 2000, but a new series of challenges and difficulties were about to hit the airline.
Difficult period (1996–2004)
The late 1990s and early 2000s proved a turbulent and difficult time for Garuda; accidents in Fukuoka (Flight 865) in 1996 and Medan (Flight 152) in 1997 added to problems caused by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, resulting in a drastic reduction in operations, including termination of service to the Americas and a massive scaling back of its European operations. Largely due to historical links with the Netherlands, Garuda continued to operate flights to Amsterdam after the initial cutbacks. The other European routes that continued were Frankfurt and London. However, Garuda attempted to launch its first non-stop flight from Jakarta to Europe with a Jakarta to Frankfurt service, continuing on to London and back on October 28, 2001, as Garuda Indonesia Flights 970 and 971, the route was short-lived and the route was axed in early 2002 due to the effect of tourism caused by the attacks in the US on September 11 the previous year, along with the ditching of Garuda Flight 421 earlier that year. Finally, both routes returned back to one-stop services until they were discontinued in 2003, with the Amsterdam route discontinued the following year on 28 October 2004. The situation was exacerbated by the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., the Bali bombings, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and the SARS scare, all of which contributed to a downturn in air travel and Indonesian tourism. Shortly after, its earlier order for the Boeing 777 was deferred, and so was an order for 18 Boeing 737-800s to replace its ageing 737 Classic fleet. By 2005, Garuda had largely recovered from its economic problems, swapping its order for six Boeing 777-200ERs for ten of the smaller Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners in 2005, but its operational problems remained.
Munir murder (2004–2006)
On 7 September 2004, Garuda's reputation suffered further damage when human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, travelling to Amsterdam via Singapore on Garuda Indonesia Flight 974, was assassinated by off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto, who slipped arsenic into his drink sometime before the departure of the flight's second leg to Amsterdam. Munir was reported to have felt unwell several hours after departure from Singapore, during which time he was checked on by a doctor who happened to be on board and moved to the business class cabin to sleep. He died about two hours before arrival in Amsterdam, sparking an international controversy, during which time Priyanto, CEO Indra Setiawan, and deputy Rohainil Aini were all convicted of his murder, although it has been alleged it was under orders from the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency (Badan Intelijen Negara). The airline was found negligent in failing to perform an emergency landing and was ordered to pay compensation to Munir's widow, but failed to do so.
European ban (2007–2009)
In June 2007, the EU banned Garuda Indonesia and all other Indonesian airlines, from flying into any European countries, following the crash of Flight 200 earlier that year. With the support of the international aviation industry for all Indonesian airlines, the EU promised to review its ban and sent a team of experts, led by the European Commission's Air Safety Administrator Federico Grandini to Indonesia to consider lifting the ban. In August 2007, Indonesia's transportation minister announced that the EU would lift its ban hopefully sometime in October, saying that the ban was attributed to communication breakdown between the two parties and that discussions were in progress.
In November 2007, Garuda announced its intention to fly to Amsterdam from Jakarta and Denpasar with either Airbus A330 or Boeing 777 aircraft if the EU lifted its ban. On 28 November 2007, the EU said that the safety reforms already undertaken were a step in the right direction for the EU to consider lifting the ban, but still did not satisfy the EU's aviation safety standards, and thus did not lift its ban. The ban was lifted in July 2009, after which Garuda began evaluating service to Amsterdam and other European destinations, as well as the United States.
Developments after the lifting of ban (2009–2020)
Following the lifting of the EU ban against Garuda Indonesia and three other Indonesian carriers which were Lion Air, etc, the airline announced in July 2009 an aggressive five-year expansion plan known as the Quantum Leap. The plan involved an image overhaul, including changing the airline's livery, staff uniform and logo, and nearly doubling the size of its fleet from 62 to 116. The Quantum Leap also plans to boost annual passenger numbers to 27.6 million in the same period, up from 10.1 million at the time of program launch through increasing domestic and international destinations from 41 to 62. Route expansions included Amsterdam, with a stopover in Dubai, in 2010. As of 2014, Garuda flies to Amsterdam non-stop five times a week using a Boeing 777-300ER with continuing service to London, with the sixth weekly service to be added by the end of 2015. Other European and American cities such as Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Los Angeles are being considered for reopening.
As part of the Quantum Leap, the airline refreshed its logo and redesigned its livery in 2009, more than 20 years after the last update. New uniforms were introduced in 2010. In 2010, the airline placed a firm order for six additional Airbus A330s at the 2010 Farnborough Airshow, while it opened a new hub at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport, Makassar, South Sulawesi to increase services to the eastern part of Indonesia on 1 June 2011, its third after Jakarta and Denpasar.
In 2013, Garuda's won the Skytrax World's Best Cabin Crew Awards, and in 2018, Garuda's won the awards again for the fifth consecutive year.
During this period, the airline also added additional frequencies to many of its international routes, including to Singapore, Bangkok, Beijing and Shanghai from Jakarta, while it also added capacity to Denpasar-Seoul.
At the Paris Air Show 2011, Garuda Indonesia announced a firm order of 25 Airbus A320s with an option for another 25. All 25 Airbus A320s are to be used by their subsidiary, Citilink The airline's earlier order for the Boeing 787, made in 2005, was changed once more, due to the delays in the 787's entry into service. Garuda opted to sign for 10 Boeing 777-300ERs instead, which it would take delivery of in 2013 to use on long-haul flights to Europe, and medium-haul flights within Asia, such as to Japan, China, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, as well as short-haul domestic routes between Jakarta and Denpasar.
The airline made its debut on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in February 2011, with the government of Indonesia retaining a majority of the shares. PT Trans Airways bought 10.9% stake of Garuda Indonesia unsold IPO shares from underwriters on 27 April 2012. The transaction was valued at Rp 1.53 trillion ($166.8 million).
In late 2014, the airline became one of seven airlines to earn the prestigious 5-star rating from Skytrax, marking the end of the five-year Quantum Leap program. Following this announcement, Emirsyah Satar, who had been CEO for the past nine years, announced his resignation and retirement and promoted former Citilink chief Arif Wibowo as his successor.
Following Wibowo's promotion, he began a "Quick Wins" cost-cutting drive to cut down on losses while boosting revenue through various measures, including cancelling unprofitable routes and increasing staff efficiency. Despite this, Wibowo remained committed to continuing the airline's international expansion, particularly once market conditions, such as the weakening rupiah, improved. This was reaffirmed following the airline's announcement of its intent to order 90 new aircraft, from both Boeing and Airbus, worth $20 billion at list prices at the 2015 Paris Air Show. Wibowo retired from his position in 2017, replaced by Pahala Nugraha Mansury the same year before being replaced by I Gusti Ngurah Askhara Danadiputra, otherwise known as Ari Askhara in 2018. Ari Askhara took over as Garuda's CEO in September 2018, setting a new strategy of capacity cuts and price increases. The airline reported a $19.7 million profit in Q1 2019, jup from a $64.3 million loss the prior year, including a 12% rise in revenue.
During Ari Askhara's leadership, Garuda introduced live acoustic concerts on domestic flights, which led to criticism. as well as reopening the London route from Denpasar, with transit in Medan's Kualanamu International Airport. It was also hit with three high-profile scandals.
In April 2019, Chairul Tanjung and Dony Oskaria, Independent Commissioners of the airline, called out that Garuda's 2018 Annual Report was not under the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, thus deciding not to sign the report. Both Ministry of Finance and Financial Services Authority found various violations inside the report, as both Independent Commissioners told the public, which led to both regulators imposing a penalty on the airline and the auditors involved.
On 13 July 2019, travel reviewer and YouTuber Rius Vernandes shared a picture of a hand-written menu during his flight from Sydney to Jakarta, which led to Garuda's management reporting him to the police followed by the airline issuing a regulation prohibiting selfies on the plane and a lawsuit prompted by the Garuda's workers' association also known as SEKARGA. Both Garuda's and SEKARGA's actions were panned and criticized by worldwide netizens. Through mediation, Rius and Garuda settled, and SEKARGA pulled the lawsuit on 19 July 2019.
Controversy during the leadership of Ari Askhara
On 5 December 2019, Ari Ashkara was fired from his position for smuggling a classic Harley-Davidson motorcycle and Brompton folded bicycle. The motorcycle and bicycle were found by the Soekarno–Hatta International Airport's Customs and Excise team inside a recently delivered Airbus A330-900 aircraft. It was revealed that Ari Askhara and other directors had been implementing various policies that harmed Garuda flight attendants, such as mutation without explanation, additional flight hours, and discrimination between employees. These policies were subsequently revoked.
A year later in December 2020, it was revealed through Twitter that many Garuda flight attendants had been victims of sexual harassment and coercion to prostitution during Ari's leadership, with many attendants confirming that VP Cabin Attendant Roni Eka Mirsa was the pimp for the prostitution circle. Police responded by investigating the whistleblower in the case for defamation after a report was filed by an air hostess who was allegedly the mistress of various executives at state-owned enterprises. She later dropped the complaint. State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir said that he would consider dismissing executives of state-owned enterprises if their female employees have faced sexual harassment.
COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2023)
On 14 May 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the aviation industry, Garuda Indonesia furloughed 800 of its staff for at least three months. In June, it laid off 180 contracted pilots. The airline implemented face masks for crew members following health regulations to prevent the spread of the disease. On 16 June 2020, after some passengers complained that they could not see the flight attendants' faces, Garuda president director Irfan Setiaputra said the airline was planning to replace face masks with face shields for its cabin crew. Three days later, in response to public criticism of the plan, he said Garuda's flight attendants would not stop using face masks.
Financial trouble
Due to the prolonged pandemic, Garuda Indonesia experienced problems in operations, management, and funding. Its debt has arisen and is unpaid, and the corporation is currently on the verge of bankruptcy and future closure by the government. In the effort to save the airline, Garuda has cut around 30 percent of its workforce, reducing its staff to 5,400 from 7,861. Garuda claims that its board of directors and its commissioners have taken a pay cut as well.
At the end of 2021, Garuda reported a debt of $9.8 billion to more than 800 creditors, complicating efforts for out-of-court settlement attempts during the COVID-19 pandemic, where Garuda's income dropped by 70 percent. As the future replacement of Garuda Indonesia in case the corporation is deemed beyond saving, the government prepared Pelita Air Service, a cargo airline currently owned by Pertamina, to be the successor of Garuda Indonesia as the new flag carrier of Indonesia.
In May 2022, Garuda appeared in court for its attempts to reschedule its debts. Garuda filed for a 30-day delay in the proceedings, which is granted by the court. This was the second extension given by the court, as the original court date was in March 2022.
In April 2022, the Sixth Committee of Indonesia's People Representative Council and Erick Thohir, Indonesia's Minister of State Owned Enterprises, decided to execute a scheme to save the ailing airline.
In June 2022, during Garuda's attempt to delay payment of its debts, Garuda announced that its debt was $8.3 billion, where its biggest debtors were Airbus SE and Pertamina. If the delay to pay its debts was accepted by its creditors, Garuda promised that it would be profitable in three years. Garuda will also seek funding of $1.3 billion through global bonds and issuance of new stocks. On 17 June 2022, Garuda's creditors voted to accept Garuda's debt restructuring, saving the company from bankruptcy. Boeing did not join the debt restructuring process because Garuda stated that its amount of debt to Boeing was not verified yet, and Garuda stated that if Boeing did not confirm its debt to Boeing in 30 days after the debt restructuring, Garuda's debt to Boeing could be removed. On 20 June 2022, Garuda's debt restructuring was put on hold because two of the lessors did not agree with the debt restructuring, and a new court date was set on 27 June.
In September 2022, Garuda Indonesia filed for US Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection.
Corruption case
On 22 June 2022, the Attorney General's Office of Indonesia said it was finishing its investigation of corruption in the purchase of CRJ-1000 and ATR 72-600 aircraft. Setijo Awibowo, the Vice President of Strategic Management, Agus Wahjudo, the Executive Project Manager of Aircraft Delivery and ex-vice President of Treasury Management Albert Burhan are suspects in the case. Emirsyah Satar, the CEO during the alleged corruption, has been arrested for another corruption case. The loss for Indonesia is reported to be US$609 million.
Corporate affairs and identity
Presidents and CEOs
Branding and livery
Since its establishment, Garuda Indonesia has changed its branding and livery multiple times.
Original livery
During the airline's earliest years, Garuda's colour scheme was a simple "Indonesian Airways" logotype with blue lines running along the fuselage and the Indonesian flag on the horizontal stabilizer.
1950s livery
During the airline's early years, Garuda's colour scheme was a simple "Garuda Indonesian Airways" logotype with red lines running along the fuselage and the Indonesian flag on the horizontal stabilizer.
1960s rebranding
In the 1960s, Garuda introduced a red and white colour scheme following the Indonesian national identity and the Indonesian flag. Also during this period, the airline introduced a bird logo: a triangle-stylized eagle-like Garuda with a red and white shield. The logo was painted on the vertical stabiliser of Garuda's aircraft from 1961 to 1969.