Garuda Indonesia's chief executive Emirsyah Satar has stated that he will step down by the end of this year, after informing the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry to prepare his replacement by the end of this year. Satar said: "I have met with the company's major shareholders saying that my tenure is going to end soon. I want my successor to be someone who understands the problems in Garuda.
Satar did a great job keeping the airline out of serious financial trouble, but it could be argued that his airline is currently being overwhelmed by competition. The Lion Air Group is seriously denting Garuda’s revenue figures. Batik Air, a full-service carrier unit of Lion Air group, will have 19 aircraft in use by the end of this year with 13 new aircraft going into service during 2014, seven A320-200s and six Boeing 737-800s adding to the six 737-900ER aircraft already in service. Apart from domestic route expansion, Batik Air is in the process of setting up a Jakarta-Singapore route before the end of this year subject to regulatory approval from regulators of both countries.
Indonesia is often overlooked, but as we all know few other countries are better suited to low cost aviation, both in terms of geography and demographics, the population is predominantly young with a very large section of the population bracketed within the 16-40 years aspiring age bracket. The middle class population is growing rapidly and the economy should, we all hope, gain from elections later this year that look as though they will herald a business friendly government.
Also in the news: Several sources now independently confirm that IndiGo is importing far more jet fuel from Singapore than was first thought earlier this year. Various sources confirm that the airline now has significant storage facilities giving it a massive cost advantage over competitors that increases with time. Once again one must wonder how AirAsia India intends to take-on the might of the profitable 30% market share holder - IndiGo? Of course if IndiGo can import and store aviation fuel, then other airlines can and should also be doing the same in India.
Garuda and Indonesia; IndiGo’s fuel cache
