History of Garuda Indonesia Airline

PT (Persero) Garuda Indonesia at is the national airline of Indonesia. It is named after the mythical bird Garuda. In Indian Vedic tradition, Garuda is the carrier of the Hindu god Vishnu; a representation of Garuda appears in the coat of arms of Indonesia. The airline is based in JakartaSoekarno-Hatta International Airport, with hubs at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Polonia International Airport, Medan, Sepinggan International Airport, Balikpapan, and Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore.^{[citation needed]} The airline flies to a number of destinations in South-East,East Asia, the Middle East and Australia. It also previously flew to several destinations in Europe and North America. However, as of June 2008, Garuda, along with all Indonesian airlines, is banned from flying to the EU^[1]. It is wholly owned by the Indonesian Government and employs 6,285 staff (as of March 2007).

Garuda Indonesia had its beginnings in the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch in the late 1940s, when Garuda flew special transports with Douglas DC-3 aircraft. 26 January 1949 is generally recognized as the airline's founding date, at which time the airline was known as "Garuda Indonesian Airways." The first aircraft was a DC-3 known as Seulawah (Acehnese: "Gold Mountain") and was purchased for a sum of 120,000 Malayan dollars, which was provided by the Acehnese people (notably local merchants). During the revolution, the airline supported Indonesian interests, such as carrying Indonesian leaders for diplomatic missions.

The 1960s were times of growth for the airline; the fleet in 1960 included eight Convair 240s, eight Convair 340s, and three Convair 440s. In 1961 and late 1965, three Convair 990 jet aircraft and three Lockheed L-188 Electras were introduced, and a route was opened to Kai Tak International Airport in Hong Kong. After concentrating on domestic and regional services, the first flights to Europe were added on 28 September 1963, to Amsterdam and Frankfurt. In 1965, flights to Europe were expanded to include Rome and Paris via Bombay and Cairo, with the exclusive use of Convair 990 aircraft. That year, flights to China started, with Garuda flying to Canton via Phnom Penh. Also in 1965, the jet age arrived for Garuda, with a Douglas DC-8 that flew to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

The East Asian Economic Crisis of 1998 hit Indonesia and Garuda hard but the airline has recovered favorably from its economic problems and seems to be in good economic shape entering the middle 2000s.

In 2001, a low-cost airline subsidiary, CitiLink, was established to provide shuttle services between Indonesian cities.

Garuda may expand its route map again before the end of the decade, possibly after the scheduled completion of the new Medan airport, Kuala Namu International Airport, in 2009. This could include routes to major European hubs such as Paris, London, and Frankfurt, pending clearance by the European Union.