Garuda Unaffected by U.S. Aviation Warning

(5/12/2007)

As reported on balidiscovery.com, [U.S. Gov't Questions Safety of Indonesian Domestic Air Space] the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has issued a formal caution to U.S. citizens discouraging the use of Indonesian domestic flight services following findings by the Indonesian Government that no domestic carrier currently meets its highest standards of safety.

Garuda Domestic Loads Remain Unaffected by U.S. Caution

Speaking to the Indonesian-language Kompas, the President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Emirsyah Satar, said the U.S. warning would have no significant effect on Garuda's domestic and international services, quickly adding, however, that he hoped no other country would issue a similar cautions.

Speaking to the press in Bali, Emirsyah explained: "There will be no significant effect because the number of U.S. citizens flying Garuda is not more than 3 percent of all passengers carried. Nonetheless, we have to be careful that there is no impact on passengers from other countries, especially if those countries put out similar warnings."

Load Factors

Emirsyah told the press that overall load factors remain relatively stabile, even after the March crash of a Garuda flight in Yogyakarta. In fact, overall load factors for the first quarter of 2007 have increased to 77% from an average 70% just one year before. While load factors on international services vary widely, domestic loads are averaging above 90%.