Danantara Managing Director Febriany Eddy told reporters during Danantara Asset Management’s Coffee Morning Session in Jakarta that the grounded aircraft have caused heavy losses for Garuda and its low-cost subsidiary Citilink.
“Our target is for all grounded aircraft to fly again next year. It will be gradual — fixing an aircraft is not a 24-hour job — but the aim is for the entire fleet to return to service,” she said.
The state-owned carrier still has dozens of planes out of service due to pending technical maintenance. The longer they remain grounded, she warned, the more financial pressure the airlines face.
“When an aircraft is grounded, the airline loses revenue while lease and other fixed costs continue. Every day maintenance is delayed, the financial hole grows,” she said.
Febriany said Danantara’s new capital injection must be tightly allocated for fleet repairs. She declined to give an exact number of grounded planes but said most belonged to Citilink.
She noted that global shortages in maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capacity have slowed progress as airlines worldwide rush to service fleets after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Garuda’s MRO unit GMF AeroAsia is working to accelerate repairs, although some engine overhauls still require overseas slots.
Once the fleet is airborne again, Danantara plans to help raise Garuda’s service standards.
“We want Garuda’s service to return to top-notch levels,” Febriany said.
An extraordinary shareholders’ meeting previously approved a 23.67 trillion rupiah ($1.5 billion) capital injection for Garuda through a private placement by Danantara.
Of that, 8.7 trillion rupiah will go to Garuda’s working capital and aircraft maintenance, while 14.9 trillion rupiah will support Citilink, including 11.2 trillion rupiah in working capital and 3.7 trillion rupiah to settle fuel purchase arrears owed to state energy company Pertamina from 2019 to 2021.
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Translator: Bayu S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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