Garuda still targets $3.1 billion in revenue

GARUDA INDONESIA - JAKARTA. National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia still appears confident it can collect between US$3.1 billion and $3.2 billion in revenue this year, despite having canceled about 100 flights because of the eruption of Mount Agung in Bali.

"I think the flight cancellations during the four days [of the volcanic eruption] did not significantly affect [our revenue]. So I hope in this peak season, we can reach our sales target," Garuda Indonesia president director Pahala N. Mansury said at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Friday.

The eruption of Mount Agung prompted the temporary closure of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, and of Lombok International Airport in West Nusa Tenggara last week.

Pahala said the airport closures affected the schedules of 700 Garuda crew members, because 30 percent of Garuda’s flights were from or to the airport in Denpasar. He declined to reveal the financial losses due to the flight cancellations.

He said flight operations at the airline had nearly returned to normal, with an on-time-performance (OTP) rate of 97 percent as of Tuesday, after the OTP rate had dropped to only 60 percent last week.

"We see that today operations are starting to normalize, so I hope last week’s event won't affect our financial performance significantly." he said.

Garuda Indonesia spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said the occupancy rate usually rose 10 to 15 percent in the peak holiday season.