Struggling flag carrier Garuda Indonesia plans to double its passenger aircraft fleet by 2029 with strategic backing from the Danantara sovereign wealth fund, championed by President Prabowo Subianto.
The ambitious expansion involves adding 121 planes and increasing routes by 2029, as PT Danantara Asset Management has already extended a US$405 million shareholder loan to accelerate the airline's long-term transformation and performance recovery strategy.
Garuda Indonesia President Director Wamildan Tsani described the financing as a comprehensive support mechanism encompassing business optimization, long-term funding, and structured governance-based restructuring, positioning the carrier to scale its fleet to around 120 aircraft by 2030.
The US$405 million disbursement represents part of a broader US$1 billion funding commitment from Danantara, with Chief Operating Officer Dony Oskaria emphasizing that the investment goes beyond financial backing through an institutional model of transformation with periodic evaluations based on clear performance indicators.
The expansion comes amid projections indicating an average air traffic growth of 8 percent over the next four years in Indonesia, supporting both Garuda Indonesia as a full-service carrier and its low-cost subsidiary Citilink in their operational readiness and service quality enhancement efforts.
