New, improved Garuda is safe, says CEO

[NickN]

From todays SMH.com.au

Indonesia's Garuda yesterday vowed to rigorously enforce safety measures as part of efforts to revitalise the struggling airline ahead of a planned public listing this year.

Company president and chief executive Emirsyah Satar said the flag carrier had been strictly complying with international standards since being taken off a European Union aviation blacklist after more than two years.

Company president and chief executive Emirsyah Satar said the flag carrier, dogged by a poor safety record, has been strictly complying with standards set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

"We've been very serious and we don't compromise on this," he said on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.

"There's always scepticism, so what we do is we have to promote and continue to tell the public about what we're doing. Perception and reality are not always the same."

He also said the airline was "continuously training" its personnel, including pilots and mechanics, with the help of foreign experts.

The EU put flag-carrier and a number of other Indonesian airlines on the blacklist following a string of fatal accidents, including the March 2007 crash-landing of a Garuda Boeing 737 that killed 21 people.

However, Brussels lifted the ban on Garuda and three other firms in July last year, saying "significant improvements" had been put in place by Indonesia's civil aviation authorities.

Following its removal from the blacklist, Garuda announced an aggressive expansion plan running through to 2014, including boosting its fleet and listing on the Indonesian stock exchange.

And in a news conference at the Singapore Airshow on Wednesday, Satar said Garuda will take delivery of 23 Boeing 737-800s and one A330-200s this year as part of its expansion.

The planes will feature a new interior, with individual touch-screen LCD screens in Economy and Business Class for inflight entertainment.

"We're planning to add 10 domestic routes this year, increase frequencies on regional services including Singapore and Hong Kong," Satar said.

Garuda also plans to fly to Los Angeles and launch direct flights from Jakarta to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, London and Rome this year.

The airline plans to nearly double its current fleet of 67 aircraft to 116 by 2014, and by mid-year list on the Jakarta stock market to raise $US300 million ($A340 million), Satar said.

Garuda, which made a net profit of one trillion rupiah ($A127 million) last year, is also planning to establish its own buget carrier to compete in the low-cost market, he said.

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-...0204-nepv.html

This is a positive direction for Garuda but one thing that sprung to mind as I was reading this article was "is this almost an admission that in the past they knowingly haven't adhered to IATA standards as strictly as they should?"

I sincerely hope they have turned a corner and enjoy an excellent air safety record for the future.