Just after Garuda pulled the plug on Denpasar to Brisbane flights, the Indonesian airline has now launched its new Denpasar to Beijing route to try and gain a China presence.
“China is one of the most important international markets for Garuda because the number of Chinese outbound travelers is around 100 million. With this big figure, China has become one of our network focuses,” said Garuda’s newly appointed president director M. Arif Wibowo in a statement published by the Jakarta Post.
The launch ceremony was held yesterday at Ngurah Rai and big figures in the industry were in attendance. Along with Wibowo were also Tourism Minister Arief Yahya and Bali deputy governor I Ketut Sudikerta.
The 222-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft will fly the Beijing route three times a week: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, according to the Jakarta Post.
We’ll just have to see how long this route will last and if the Year of the Sheep proves itself to be a fortuitous one for the airline or if the same reasons the Brisbane route got the axe will wind up being problematic for the Beijing route.
Garuda cited the following reasons for canceling the Brisbane route: weakening Indonesian Rupiah, rising fuel costs, and some “regulatory policies.”
