An overhaul of the airline staff’s business and service mentality, together with financial and operational restructuring, has seen the airline return to profit and pay down debt under CEO Emirsyah Satar, who joined Garuda as finance chief in 1998.
In an interview with the International Herald Tribune, Satar said, “When I came in, no audit had been done for three years. The company was running on negative cash flow – it was funding itself by issuing debt.
“The first thing we had to do was to get out of the state of denial.
“And we had to remind ourselves that we are not a transportation company but a travel company – that means the customer comes first.”
Satar said he is confident he can prepare the company for an IPO next year.
Garuda recently received approval from the European Union to resume services to Europe.
It had been among several Indonesian airlines banned from flying to Europe because of safety concerns which focused on the Indonesia’s aviation watchdog and its failure to oversee airline safety standards in line with EU requirements.
by Phil Davies
