The relaunches ceremony was located at the Changi International Airport, and proudly unveiled by Indonesian Minister of Tourism Mr Arief Yahya, President & CEO Garuda Indonesia M. Arif Wibowo, Indonesian Ambassador for Singapore H.E. Ngurah Swanjaya, VP Airline Development Changi Airport Group Damon Wong, along with other officials of Garuda Indonesia Board of Director and Tourism Ministry of Indonesia.
President & CEO Garuda Indonesia M. Arif Wibowo stated that aside from the airline's expansion program, the reoperation of the flight is also a commitment to support Indonesian government program in boosting the Top 10 Priority Destinations in which one of them is Lake Toba.
"We believe this new service will stimulate growth of business and trade in the region, more so as Medan is strategically located as the gateway to Sumatera and the rest of Indonesia's western regions. The new service will offer passengers a wider choice of destinations as well as greater flexibility and convenience when travelling between Singapore and cities in Sumatera, such as Palembang, Banda Aceh, Sabang, Lheuksmawe, Gunung Sitoli, and Pinangsori," he added.
Apart from business and leisure travel, many visitors from Singapore come to Medan as the city is quite well known for its vibrant mix of cultures and reputation as a culinary paradise as well as popular tourism attractions.
Commenting on the airline's strategic initiative, Indonesian Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya explained that Singapore is considered as an international transportation hub, as well as the tourism hub for Indonesia. Furthermore, the Minister also promotes Lake Toba, one of the Top 10 Priority Destinations in Indonesia.
"Toba is the largest and deepest volcanic lake in the world. Lake Toba is a giant caldera, with crater formed by the eruption of a super volcano 74,000 years ago. Experts believe that huge explosion of Toba volcano was the largest in the last 2 million years, and had triggered a dramatic volcanic storm. As an attraction, Lake Toba is a very distinctive, world-class natural landscape," he added.
The Medan-bound service will run daily and will be operated by Garuda's Boeing 738 aircraft with a two-class cabin configuration featuring its globally praised Business Class service concept and the World's Best Economy Class (Skytrax Global Airline Awards 2013).
The service will depart from Changi Airport at 11.15am and arrive at Kualanamu International Airport at 11.45am local time. The return flights to Singapore will depart Kualanamu International Airport at 13.30pm and arrive at Changi Airport at 16.00pm local time.
Garuda Indonesia had also launched the Wonderful Indonesia Travel Pass last January in an effort to promote Indonesia's tourist destinations beyond its main hub, as well as to boost travel, by making travelling within Indonesia a truly affordable and seamless experience.
The launch of this service is part of Garuda Indonesia's 50th Anniversary in Singapore. The airline's presence in Singapore, for over 50 years, marks Singapore not only as one of the airline's most important markets, but also as a symbol of an even better relationship between the two countries in the next fifty years. Ever since the first day of its consecutive operations in Singapore 50 years ago, the airline has grown considerably and transformed into one of Asia's most successful airlines.
To celebrate this launch, Garuda Indonesia is running a promotion on all-in economy fares from Singapore to Medan from S$108 for one way trips and S$188 for return flights. Business class tickets will also be on sale from S$328 one-way and S$538 for return. Valid for travel from 14 June until 06 July 2016 and fares will be on sale from now up until 06 July 2016.
The fares are available for purchase online from www.garuda-indonesia.com or the Garuda Indonesia sales office from 9am - 5pm at United Square, 101 Thomson Road, #12-03. Terms and conditions apply. Please call the reservation department at +65 6250 2888 for more details.
About PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk.
Garuda Indonesia currently operates over 90 weekly direct flights from Singapore to three Indonesian destinations including Bali, Jakarta and Surabaya and 2 European destinations namely Amsterdam and London. The Indonesian carrier was recently awarded a five-star rating by Skytrax, making it the seventh airline to earn this prestigious award. After winning the title "World's Best Regional Airline" in 2012, Garuda Indonesia was named "World's Best Economy Class" in 2013 and 'World's Best Airline Cabin Crew' by Skytrax in 2014 and 2015 for the second year running. Garuda Indonesia officially became the 20th member of the SkyTeam alliance in March 2014.
Garuda Indonesia is listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange [IDX:GIAA]. For further information, please log on to www.garuda-indonesia.com, follow @IndonesiaGaruda on Twitter, like our Facebook page at PT.GarudaIndonesia, or subscribe to youtube.com/GarudaIndonesia1949.
Contact:
Corporate Communications Dept
Tel: +62 21 2560 1069
Fax: +62 21 2560 1068
Email: corpcomm@garuda-indonesia.com
Reporter: PR Wire
Editor: PR Wire
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
