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GARUDA Indonesia’s current ticket sales from Japan to Indonesia are down 90% or a sharp decline compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged.
According to Lutfi Bakhtiyar, SIP, MA, flight observer and executive of travel companies in Tokyo, Japan specifically, quotng from tribunnews.com Monday (1/24) said that at that time, Garuda was still departing from Narita, Haneda and Osaka. Now flights to Indonesia are only to Jakarta via Haneda airport. Who passed by Narita is still uncertain?
In addition, Lutfi also emphasized that Japanese citizens are currently reluctant to go to Indonesia. Japanese citizens don’t want to go to Indonesia because they have to take a single visa and its too time consuming to quarantine. Likewise, before going to other cities in Indonesia, you must quarantine in Jakarta.
“It’s like falling on a ladder, Garuda Indonesia, which has been sentenced to technical bankruptcy or is unable to pay its obligations, continues to be plagued with problems. Currently, it can only operate 35 of the 200 aircraft that have been flown,” he said.
He added that another disaster seemed to shatter the national carrier flag of Indonesia’s pride after the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Erick Thohir, did a clean-up by reporting the results of the investigation into the purchase of the ATR 72600 aircraft during the leadership of Emirsyah Satar.
“Without positive thinking, the problem will be more complicated, like the deadly corona virus due to complications with congenital diseases. After all, currently no commercial airline company is profitable. The difference is that Garuda has a very acute “historical burden of debt,” he said.
According to Lutfi, when referring to the ‘classical literature’ about the middle class in Indonesia, the middle class is apparently unable to bring about change as agents of change towards political democratization or economic equality. In the end, it definitely boils down to a rent-seeking mentality, where capitalists are hunting for rent.
“Certainly, the so-called capitalists are not only shareholders of Garuda but also executive level managers and even flight crews who can intervene in policies. In the ‘hedon’ lifestyle, Garuda employees are famous and have ended in law,” he noted.
The question is where does the cost of his lifestyle come from? It turns out that the company’s revenue, not profit, has undermined its assets, he stressed again.
“At this time, technically, Garuda has no problems because the government is committed to restructuring. So, there should be no confusion that is vulnerable to being politicized ahead of the general election. Then accuse the government of not being nationalist and so on,” Lutfi Bakhtiyar remarked.
What is really crucial and deserves attention is Garuda’s commitment to introspect, especially regarding human resources regarding the integrity and capability of Garuda’s employees, he continued.
“Garuda only needs a field general who knows the intricacies of aviation issues, knows exactly what his subordinates are capable of, how to deal with customers and is able to communicate with stakeholders amidst Garuda’s increasingly centralized policies so that they believe the airline has a bright future.”
According to Lutfi, the majority of Indonesians want Garuda to return to health. Discussions about traveling to Japan were also busy with Japanese lovers’ groups.
“But it is also possible that the government is not treating or restructuring Garuda who is sick, but Garuda itself has become a zombie because there is no longer a leadership that has a reliable entrepreneurial spirit. Like the rent seeker mentality which actually describes the characteristics of entrepreneurs. Indonesia in the New Order era is still inherited until now,” concluded Lutfi. [tribunnews.com/photo special]
