REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Garuda Indonesia, the airline of Indonesia, today celebrated the golden jubilee of its operations to 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.

These remarks were made by the Director of Commercial of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk., Handayani during the commemoration of the airline's 50th Anniversary in Singapore, which was marked at the GA50 Carnival event this afternoon at Terminal 3 Singapore Changi Airport. The event was attended also by Senior Advisor Changi Airport Group, Wong Woon Liong, as well as industry experts and the media.

Garuda Indonesia's 50th year of operations in Singapore marks an important milestone for the airline, which is now known as one of the world's five star airlines. 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. Garuda Indonesia is now ready to soar into the Sky Beyond program, with expansion on its drawing board.

Director of Commercial of Garuda Indonesia, Handayani, explained, "Southeast Asia is a very important region for Garuda Indonesia, while Singapore in particular is a key growth market. Garuda Indonesia's flights in the Jakarta-Singapore route have played an important role in improving economic ties as well as cultural exchanges between the two countries. Today, just as half a century ago, Singapore remains a partner in growth as well as an important market for Garuda Indonesia."

The Jakarta-Singapore route is one of the most important and busiest routes in Garuda Indonesia's network. Over the last 50 years, Garuda Indonesia has carried 32 million passengers, with around 8.2 million passengers over the last 10 years. Overall, passenger traffic between Singapore and Jakarta grew by 9.4 percent last year.

To embrace the increasing demand, in December 2014, Garuda Indonesia introduced the addition of a tenth daily flight between Singapore and Jakarta, making the airline the frequency leader for the route, and now the Singapore-Jakarta service is one of our fastest growing routes. With these developments, Garuda Indonesia currently operates over 90 weekly direct flights from Singapore to four destinations; namely Bali, Jakarta, Surabaya and Amsterdam.

In line with the Sky Beyond development program, as part of its mission to become the airline that focuses on the needs and desires of its customers and strives to provide the best possible services across its network through human-to-human caring service, the airline is constantly investing to offer passengers unparalleled comfort and convenience.

The dedicated Singapore service localizes elements of the signature on-board experience such as meal options and offers preferred baggage handling service and a dedicated belt in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta for passengers arriving from Singapore, which guarantees them a seamless travel experience.

Garuda Indonesia Announces London Heathrow as the New Home in the UK

As part of the airline's efforts to further strengthen its international network, especially in Europe, Garuda Indonesia marked its 50th anniversary of services to Singapore by announcing a one way non-stop direct flight from Singapore to London Heathrow starting from March 31, onwards.

The five-star airline will move its UK home to London Heathrow from where it will operate non-stop flights from London to Jakarta for the first time and one-stop flights from Jakarta to London. In tandem with the move, the Indonesian flag carrier will increase its service frequency to five times per week, departing every other day except on Mondays and Fridays.

The change will allow the airline and passengers to take full advantage of the SkyTeam facilities available at Heathrow, including the SkyTeam Lounge housed at Terminal 4. Heathrow's pivotal role in servicing the alliance's 1,052 destinations makes it an ideal departure airport for Garuda Indonesia's passengers. Flying directly to Jakarta means the airline will truly be the most efficient way of travelling to Indonesia from the UK.

The Wonderful Indonesia Travel Pass

In addition to the announcement of the airline's services to London Heathrow, Garuda Indonesia today also launched the Wonderful Indonesia Travel Pass in an effort to promote Indonesia's tourist destinations beyond Bali, as well as to boost travel, by making traveling within Indonesia a truly seamless experience.

The Wonderful Indonesia Travel Pass is a travel pass product that provides simplicity and affordable prices to travel around Indonesia. The pass is another innovation that the airline has put in place and is aimed at making flying more efficient and enjoyable for passengers. The Wonderful Indonesia Travel Pass will be available in three themes:

- Underwater Pass that offers the most beautiful underwater destinations such as: Denpasar, Lombok, Semarang, Labuan Bajo, Manado, Sorong, Berau, Ambon, Ternate, Bau-bau, Saumlaki, and Sabang.

- Heritage Pass that offers the most culturally rich destinations such as Jogjakarta, Solo, Semarang, Surabaya, Banyuwangi, Bandung, Denpasar, Tambolaka, Padang, Gunung Sitoli, and Makassar.

- Adventure Pass that offers the most adventurous yet beautiful destinations such as Denpasar, Lombok, Labuan Bajo, Gunung Sitoli, Ternate, Surabaya, Banyuwangi, Sumbawa, Medan, Padang, Sorong, and Bandung.

The Wonderful Indonesia Travel Pass is available from today onwards and can be issued at Garuda Indonesia Sales Offices, appointed Travel Agents and General Sales Agents (GSA) representatives. The pass can only be purchased from outside Indonesia and must be combined with a Garuda Indonesia international return ticket.

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