(21/05/24) Garuda Indonesia (GA) and Singapore Airlines
(SIA) have signed an agreement to offer reciprocal benefits for their frequent flyer
programme members and to explore revenue sharing opportunities on
flights between Indonesia and Singapore, subject to regulatory
approvals.
Once implemented, the frequent flyer partnership will
allow GarudaMiles and KrisFlyer members to earn and redeem miles
on codeshare flights operated by both airlines.
The revenue sharing agreement
will support joint capacity growth and would mark a significant step
towards a proposed commercial joint venture arrangement that
covers Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines’ flights between
Singapore and Indonesia.
Both carriers will also continue their joint marketing
activities to promote tourism, including familiarisation trips for travel trade and media.
Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines’ aircraft at CGK. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com
“Having the same mission in optimising the potential of
the aviation business ecosystem in South East Asia after the
pandemic, this initiative is certainly an important manifestation
of both airlines’ commitment to continue strengthening our
well-established cooperation,” said Irfan Setiaputra, President
and CEO of Garuda Indonesia.
“This partnership is a special moment for us,
which also marks the 58 years of Garuda Indonesia’s journey in
connecting Indonesia and Singapore. In the future, we hope that
this partnership will continue to enhance social, cultural, and
tourism relations between Indonesia and Singapore whilst offering
seamless access for customers to enjoy various destinations served
by both airlines,” said Irfan Setiaputra, President and CEO of
Garuda Indonesia. “Furthermore, this collaboration is also
expected to not only provide added value for both airlines’
customers, especially through the ease of earning and redeeming
miles for tickets and other exclusive benefits, but the hope is
that it will strengthen Garuda Indonesia’s support for national
tourism by providing more access to points in Indonesia for
foreign tourists who will visit Indonesia via Singapore in the
future.”
Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia have a
strong codeshare partnership that has expanded in recent months.
Today, Garuda Indonesia codeshares on Singapore Airlines flights
between Singapore and the Indonesian cities of Bali, Jakarta,
Medan, and Surabaya, as well as long-haul routes between Singapore
and Johannesburg, London (Heathrow) and Mumbai.
SIA codeshares on
Garuda Indonesia flights between Singapore and Bali, Jakarta and
Surabaya.
“Our win-win partnership with Garuda
Indonesia will improve the connectivity between Indonesia and
Singapore for our customers,” said Goh Choon Phong, Chief
Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines. “This will help to meet the increasing
demand for air travel between the two countries and beyond, as
well as facilitate the growth of tourism and economic activities.
Furthermore, by deepening the synergies between our frequent flyer programmes, we can enhance the benefits for our loyal customers,
offering them more opportunities to earn and redeem miles when
travelling with both airlines.”