Citilink to expand internationally from 2012

Garuda Indonesia stated its low-cost carrier, Citilink, will commence operating international routes from 2012 (Bloomberg/Jakarta Globe, 03-Aug-2011). Garuda CFO Elisa Lumbantoruan stated Citilink plans to launch service to Singapore and destinations in Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia. The unit will be spun off into a fully owned company called PT Citilink Indonesia in 2012 to help differentiate it from Garuda's full-service operations, President Director Emirsyah Satar said. "We will strengthen domestic routes, and are looking to expand to regional destinations. We want to revive Citilink, which has been a part of Garuda for a long time. The potential in the low-cost carrier market is big," he said. Citlink board of directors adviser Con Koriatis stated Citilink, which operates five B737s, has 55 A320s and two more B737s on order. The carrier is scheduled to receive the first A320 in Sep-2011. It is expecting to handle 2 million passengers in 2011, after reporting 60% growth in traffic in 1H2011 to 731,000 passengers. Over the next four years, the carrier plans to more than quadruple its traffic to 8.3 million passengers in 2013. The carrier is then expected to contribute 30% of Garuda revenue, up from 5% at present, Elisa Lumbantoruan said.