Garuda Indonesia LCC subsidiary Citilink will focus on the domestic market as fleet growth slows

Garuda Indonesia budget subsidiary Citilink is focusing on further expanding in the domestic market, particularly at the capital as slots open up at both Jakarta airports. Citilink is adding seven A320s in 2H2014 but only five aircraft in 2015, nearly all of which will be allocated for domestic expansion.

Citilink is currently entirely a domestic carrier as its initial foray into the international market in Mar-2014, with a route from Surabaya to Johor Bahru in southern Malaysia, was pulled after only one month. Citilink still plans to pursue international expansion, including to Singapore and Australia, but the focus over at least the next year will be on capitalising on domestic opportunities brought about by consolidation in the dynamic Indonesian airline sector.

Citilink also has slowed fleet expansion by deferring 11 A320 deliveries that were originally slated for 2014 and 2015. This is a sensible move given the market conditions but makes it more difficult to pursue meaningful international expansion.