November 2024
On November 13, 2024, Indonesia’s national flag carrier – Garuda Indonesia held the Opening Ceremony of GATF (Garuda Travel Festival) in Shanghai to popularize Indonesia’s splendid tourist destinations, and simultaneously announce increasing regular flights between Shanghai and Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia as from the winter & spring flight season of 2024 to 2025, from 3 flights to 6 flights every week, with the flight schedule covering every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This will further increase Garuda Indonesia’s airline capacity between China and Indonesia, and promote further exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in economy & trade, culture, tourism, and so forth. Taking Jakarta as its main airport hub, Garuda Indonesia enables passengers to conveniently transfer to over 50 domestic destinations in Indonesia, and international destinations including Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.
According to the latest flight schedule, GA894 Jakarta-Shanghai departs from Jakarta Soekarno – Hatta International Airport (CKG) at 00:10 local time, and arrives at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) at 07:10 Beijing time, with the flight time expected to be six hours; GA895 Shanghai – Jakarta departs from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) at 10:05 Beijing time, and arrives at Jakarta Soekarno – Hatta International Airport (CKG) at 15:20 local time, with the flight time expected to be six hours and 35 minutes. The entire route will be operated by Airbus A330-300.
Berlianto Situngkir, Consul General of Indonesia in Shanghai, Bapak Jantra Patiwiri, General Manager of the Shanghai Office of Bank Mandiri, Raka Kristyanto, Chief representative of Garuda Indonesia Shanghai, as well as agents, travel agencies and media from Shanghai and eastern China, attended the event.
The national airline of Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia in collaboration with Bank Mandiri officially held the Garuda Indonesia Travel Festival (GATF) 2024, starting from 13 November to 19 November 2024 in three international cities namely Seoul, Shanghai, and Singapore. Aligning with the previous GATF in six major cities in Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia presents the “Unlock Your Next” theme to support people’s travel planning through various attractive offers presented during the GATF 2024 period.
President & CEO Garuda Indonesia Irfan Setiaputra said, “In continuing to fulfill the public’s enthusiasm towards travel fair, this year Garuda Indonesia has the opportunity to present attractive international offers by targeting foreign tourists to increase the attractiveness of visits to destinations in Indonesia, also for diasporas who plan their trip back to the homeland.”
“Furthermore, GATF International this year will let our prospective passengers have the opportunity to earn the best prices on several routes with prices ranging from Seoul-Jakarta roundtrip KRW 484,700, Shanghai-Jakarta roundtrip CNY 2,339, and Singapore-Jakarta roundtrip SGD 249 through direct purchases at travel agents within each country, along online purchases through the garuda-indonesia.com website, FlyGaruda mobile application, and online travel agents,” explained Irfan.
There are other exclusive deals presented for Bank Mandiri credit card customers through the transaction with the Livin’ Sukha application following as discounts of up to KRW 100,000 for ticket purchases from Seoul departures, up to CNY 500 for flights from Shanghai, and up to SGD 60 for flights from Singapore.
The prospective customers may receive other additional benefits from Garuda Indonesia, including Welcome Bonus 2024 miles for those who apply as GarudaMiles members during the GATF International period, award ticket redemption discounts of up to 25% off, and airline partner (SkyTeam) redemption discounts for GarudaMiles members.
“As we are approaching the peak season period of the upcoming Christmas 2024 and New Year 2025 holidays, indeed this GATF International program may provide wider preferences in the convenience of preparing travel plans to the leading tourist destinations in Indonesia which are directly connected to Garuda Indonesia’s domestic flight network, so it is hoped that the number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia will increase align with the projections of the Government of Indonesia,” concluded Irfan.
Mr. Raka Kristyanto, Chief Representative of Garuda Indonesia Shanghai, said, “Indonesia, as the place where the ‘21st Century Maritime Silk Road’ was first proposed, has maintained close cooperation, mutual coordination and combined efforts with China in advancing the high-quality co-building of the “Belt and Road”, and established increasingly close exchanges in economy & trade, tourism, and culture. As a national carrier, Garuda Indonesia will further intensify the route network layout in the Chinese market, improve the interconnection of air routes between the two countries, and facilitate further exchanges and cooperation. Garuda Indonesia is one of the global ‘Five-Star Airlines’. We will provide high-quality air services for air passengers with the ‘Five Senses Experience’ characterized by Indonesian culture, and strive to turn the flight frequency between Shanghai and Jakarta into a daily flight by 2025.”
Garuda Indonesia is the first Indonesian airline to join SkyTeam. In 2014, Garuda Indonesia was recognized as a “Five-Star Airline” by Skytrax, a world-renowned airline rating agency. In addition, Garuda Indonesia has won such awards as the “World’s Best Cabin Crew”, the “World’s Best Regional Airline” and the “World’s Best Economy Class” for several years in a row.
Since 2009, Garuda Indonesia has launched the world’s first “Garuda Indonesia Experience” service, which has become a unique corporate brand identity and a proud service feature. “Garuda Indonesia Experience” is a distinctive “experience” service created on the basis of five senses (sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch), which includes 24 customer touch points, from pre-journey to pre-flight, in-flight, post-flight, and post-journey services. For example, sight is embodied in crew uniforms and cabin design and ornaments; sound is embodied in Indonesian music and indigenous folk songs in the departure lounge, cabin and entertainment system; scent is embodied in the pleasant smell of Indonesian perfume and flowers in the airport lounge; taste is embodied in Indonesian food and beverages; touch is embodied in the comfort level of seats and supplies in the aircraft. Garuda Indonesia has integrated Indonesian culture and traditions into air service, demonstrating Indonesians’ hospitality and diversified cultures.
