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GARUDA Indonesia is considered to be in the most difficult situation. On the other hand, it is said that Pelita Air is being prepared to replace the national scheduled flight service.
According to flight observer from the Indonesian Aviation Network (Japri) Gerry Soedjatman said Garuda Indonesia seems to need competition, including competition between state-owned airlines. Even so, he assessed that Garuda Indonesia’s position was not easily replaced by other airlines, including Pelita Air, an airline owned by PT Pertamina.
“The government seems to see that Garuda needs competition, not just competition but also competition between state-owned airlines,” he said, Friday (11/5).
Gerry said that there was no way out, actually the presence of Pelita Air replaced the national flight schedule that had been served by Garuda Indonesia. This, he continued, was because the GIAA-coded airline had very large facilities and infrastructure, not comparable to other airlines.
“It is not easy to replace Garuda Indonesia. Although Garuda itself will shrink to around 50-75 aircraft, and Pelita will have around 20-40 aircraft for its short-term plan,” he noted.
Previously, the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) opened wide the option to close Garuda Indonesia if negotiations and the ongoing restructuring program did not produce results.
Special Staff to the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Arya Sinulingga explained that the ministry under Erick Thohir is currently making a number of improvements to unhealthy state-owned companies. As a follow-up, the Ministry of SOEs only requested the allocation of State Equity Participation (PMN) for state-owned companies carrying out assignment projects and not to cover their debts. [bisnis.com/photo special]
