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PT GARUDA Indonesia Tbk (GIAA) has appointed Thomas Sugiarto Oentoro as President Director, succeeding Glenny H. Kairupan. Glenny now serves as President Commissioner.
The leadership change was ratified during Garuda Indonesia’s Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGMS) on Thursday (10/08), 2026. Thomas had previously served as Deputy President Director since October 2025. The EGMS decision also included changes to the board of directors and the board of commissioners.
“This leadership transition is part of efforts to strengthen the momentum of Garuda’s performance improvement, alongside revenue growth, fleet recovery, and loss reduction,” Garuda’s management stated on Friday (10/09), 2026.
Alongside Thomas’s appointment, Garuda’s leadership team has been bolstered by professionals with international experience across both the board of directors and the board of commissioners. The new structure eliminates the position of Deputy President Director and introduces the role of Commercial Director.
The Commercial Director position is filled by Alan McIntyre, whose background includes serving as Executive Manager of Strategy at Qantas Group and Chief Customer and Commercial Officer at Jetstar. This experience is highly relevant for strengthening network strategy, revenue management, and customer experience.
On the Board of Commissioners, Jaan Albrecht and Trey Urbahn have been appointed as Independent Commissioners. Jaan has a track record as CEO of Saudia Airlines, Austrian Airlines, and Star Alliance. Meanwhile, Trey’s experience includes advisory and oversight roles at several airlines, including Spirit Airlines, Etihad Airways, and TAP Air Portugal.
The composition of the board of directors following the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders is as follows: (1). President Director: Thomas Sugiarto Oentoro, (2). Director of Finance and Risk Management: Balagopal Kunduvara, (3). Operations Director: Eric Ferdinand Sofyal (4); Technical Director: Mukhtaris (5); Commercial Director: Alan McIntyre (6); Human Capital & Corporate Services Director: Dina Sandri Fani (7); Transformation Director: Neil Raymond Mills.
Meanwhile, the composition of the Board of Commissioners following the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGMS) is as follows: (1) President Commissioner: Glenny H. Kairupan; (2) Commissioner: Sugito Anjasmoro; (3) Commissioner: Chairal Tanjung; (4) Independent Commissioner: Mawardi Yahya; (5) Independent Commissioner: Jaan Albrecht; (6) Independent Commissioner: Trey Urbahn.
The management reshuffle at GIAA comes amidst plans to secure additional bank debt financing to meet working capital needs. This move follows a surge in fuel and aircraft maintenance costs, which have exacerbated losses.
According to Bloomberg reports, Garuda is also considering hedging its fuel costs. The company intends to utilize remaining financing funds—amounting to US$1.4 billion (IDR25.05 trillion)—over the next six months to cover aircraft maintenance requirements. These funds were obtained from the sovereign wealth fund, Danantara.
Garuda is taking this step because, according to its financial report for the first half of the year, the company’s cash position stood at US$624 million (IDR11.17 trillion), whereas its current liabilities amounted to US$1.6 billion (IDR28.6 trillion).
Meanwhile Harry Su, Managing Director of Research at PT Samuel Sekuritas Indonesia, stated that for an airline of Garuda’s scale, the global industry benchmark is to maintain liquid reserves equivalent to 20% to 25% of annual revenue. “Ideally, Garuda should hold unrestricted cash of US$720 million to US$900 million (IDR12.5 trillion to IDR16.1 trillion) to withstand potential shocks,” said Harry, as quoted by Bloomberg on Thursday (10/08), 2026.
According to Harry, the airline needs to secure additional funding within the next three to six months, as high fuel costs and ongoing losses will accelerate the depletion of its cash reserves.
Bloomberg noted that rescuing Garuda is considered crucial given that the airline employs 10,000 people. President Prabowo Subianto’s administration had previously transferred the government’s 65% stake in Garuda to Danantara in March of last year.
This move was taken to assist the airline. Danantara’s ownership stake subsequently rose to 91% following a capital injection of US$1.4 billion (IDR25.05 trillion).
Garuda had previously grounded 40% of its fleet starting in 2025 due to funding constraints and rising maintenance costs. The situation was further exacerbated by a surge in fuel prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East, making the airline’s recovery process increasingly expensive.
Garuda recorded a loss of US$120.7 million (IDR2.16 trillion) in the first half of the year, despite a 16% increase in revenue to US$1.80 billion (IDR32.2 trillion). This loss resulted in an equity deficit of US$52.2 million (IDR934.14 billion), a reversal from the previous surplus of US$44.4 million.
As of the first half of 2026, the Garuda Group is operating 104 aircraft, an increase of six units from the previous year’s total of 98. The company spent US$232 million (IDR4.15 trillion) on aircraft maintenance during the first half of this year—more than triple the expenditure for the same period the previous year.
Amid these pressures, President Prabowo Subianto predicts that the state-owned airline, Garuda Indonesia, will begin turning a profit in 2027. Prabowo noted that Garuda has suffered losses for years.
Nevertheless, he stated that as of June 2026, 20 additional Garuda aircraft had been reactivated, bringing the total operational fleet to 140 units. He even remarked that, had it not been for the war in the Middle East, Garuda would have already become profitable by July of this year.
“We now hope they will start making a profit by early 2027,” said Prabowo during the Annual Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) and the Joint Session of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) and the Regional Representative Council (DPD RI) on Friday (08/14), 2026. (katadata.co.id/special photo)
