JAKARTA - National flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia has moved quickly to keep its fleet busy following the cancellation of flights to China and the reduction of frequencies to Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore.
Garuda is reported to be launching new international flights from Bali: Denpasar-Mumbai, Denpasar-Delhi, Denpasar-Brisbane, Denpasar-Kuala Lumpur, Denpasar-Bangkok, Denpasar-Dili, and Denpasar-Taipei.
Speaking recently, Irfan Setiaputra, CEO of Garuda Indonesia, said the novel coronavirus Covid-19 was having a significant negative impact on Garuda Indonesia’s income which would be further exacerbated by the revocation of visas for religious pilgrims by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, making Garuda's two daily wide-body flights to Madinah and two daily flights to Jeddah non-viable.
In an effort to stimulate the leisure market Garuda Indonesia will be discounting fares to 10 domestic destinations by up to 30%.
These 10 tourist locations are Batam, Bali, Yogyakarta, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, Malang in East Jaba, Manado in North Sulawesi, Toba in north Sumatra, Tanjung Pandan in Bangka Belitung and Tanjung Pinang in Riau Islands.