Indonesian authorities said that divers have located the black box recorders of Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 on Sunday (11/01). Ships involved in the search operation picked up strong ping signals less than 0.6 miles from the location where the tail of the AirAsia aircraft was found. However, divers have not been able yet to collect the black box (which contains crucial flight data) due to the strong undercurrent. Moreover, the black box is stuck under debris at about 30 to 35 meters below sea level.

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Although Indonesian rescuers are still searching for the black boxes, casualties and other remains of Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 that crashed tragically in the Java Sea on 28 December 2014 en route from Surabaya (East Java) to Singapore, some preliminary findings have already been presented to the media. These findings do not involve the accident itself but rather involve massive violations that were exposed as a consequence of the AirAsia tragedy. Apparently, 61 flights (involving five Indonesian airlines) lack the necessary permits.

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Skytrax, the United Kingdom-based consultancy airline and airport review and ranking agency, named Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific as the world’s best airline in the World Airline Awards this week at the Farnborough International Airshow in England. Cathay Pacific snatched the title from Emirates that had to settle for a fourth place this year. The ranking is based on surveys involving 16 million air passengers, evaluating the products and services of full-service as well as budget airlines. Garuda Indonesia was ranked seventh.

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General Electric (GE), one of the largest American multinational conglomerates, has already started to show its commitment to invest in Indonesia. Over the course of three years, the company will invest USD $300 million in Southeast Asia's largest economy. CEO of General Electric Indonesia, Handry Satriago, stated that - although the year 2013 was a year full of challenges - the company managed to record revenues worth about USD $1 billion and aims to reach double-digit growth in 2014.

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The aviation industry in the Asia-Pacific region has shown robust growth in recent years. This region is one of the world's fastest growing regions in terms of air travel. In the next 20 years, an average annual seven percent growth of air traffic is expected. Indonesia, the current engine of economic growth in Southeast Asia and one of the largest economies in the Asia-Pacific, contains a burgeoning middle class that is increasingly using airplanes for domestic as well as international transport.

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Garuda Indonesia is the most renowned airline of Indonesia. The company, which received four stars from Skytrax, provides both domestic and international flights (passengers and cargo). In recent years, Garuda has experienced a remarkable transition from being banned to fly to the Eurozone towards becoming a world-class airline that is acknowledged by international critical acclaim. Although Garuda is Indonesia's top class airline, it taps the low-cost aviation sector through its subsidiary Citilink Indonesia.

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State-owned airline Merpati Nusantara Airlines will sell between 30 and 35 percent of its shares to domestic or foreign investors. The government feels the need to sell a stake as the airline has a debt of about IDR 6 trillion (USD $603 million). Most of this debt, about IDR 4 trillion, is held in Indonesia (government and state-owned enterprises). As such, the company is in need of new funds to restructure its business model. Last year, the airline carried 2.1 million passengers.

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Citilink Indonesia, the low-budget unit of Garuda Indonesia, announced its intention to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) in 2015 by offering 30 percent of its stocks to the public. The Indonesian budget airline also plans to expand its fleet-size to 50 airplanes. However, before an IPO can be conducted, the company said it should improve its (financial) performance first. In 2012, Citilink Indonesia recorded an USD $28.4 million loss on operating revenues of USD $73.4 million.

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Citilink Indonesia, the low budget carrier of national airline Garuda Indonesia, expects to transport around 7.8 million air passengers in 2013. This constitutes a sharp rise compared to last year's result of 3.8 million passengers. The airline, which handles 140 flights per day to 22 Indonesian cities, expects the increase to be in line with the growth of its armada to 29 aircrafts in 2013 (including 22 new Airbus A320 planes). These types of aircrafts are designed to serve short or middle-long distance flights.

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Fitch Ratings has awarded Indonesia's top-class airline Garuda Indonesia the national long-term 'A (idn)' rating with a stable outlook. This upgrade represents yet another example of foreign appreciation of the airline's good corporate performance. Garuda Indonesia has experienced a remarkable transition within the last decade as it transformed from a company that was banned to fly to the European Union into one of Indonesia's success stories.

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Governments’ social and business restrictions (imposed in the context of preventing the further spread of COVID-19 in society) and people’s concern over the virus have damaged both the tourism and transportation industry in an unprecedented way.

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Indonesia's air transport industry is about to see a big change as the nation's national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia said it will take over operational control of the rival Sriwijaya Group. This move seriously boosts the Garuda Group's share of the fast-growing domestic aviation market.

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In 2017 Indonesia's Transportation Ministry allowed the opening of 83 new flight routes (commercial civil flights), consisting of 58 domestic routes and 25 international routes. There are two reasons why the government encourages the opening of new routes: (1) to make the remote areas of Indonesia less isolated, and (2) to strengthen inter & intra regional transportation.

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Reportedly, Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia (GMF AeroAsia), the aircraft maintenance and repair unit of Indonesia's national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, raised only IDR 1.27 trillion (approx. USD $95 million) from its initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

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Indonesia's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, a state-controlled five-star airline that is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, requested to postpone the arrival of new airplanes in an attempt to improve the company's corporate earnings. Pahala M. Mansury, General Director of Garuda Indonesia, said the order (the number of airplanes) has not been revised, neither has the company's fleet plan (that runs to 2020) been changed. Only the timing of arrival of five planes has been altered.

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Indonesia's national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is ready to open a new flight route between the famous island of Bali and Chengdu (the provincial capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China) in order to cater Chinese passengers going to Bali. Arif Wibowo, General Director of Garuda Indonesia, informed that this new international route is scheduled to be opened in January 2017. He added that Chengdu has great potential in terms of boosting foreign tourist arrivals to Bali. Garuda Indonesia already flies passengers from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to Jakarta.

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Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the nation's top class airline, targets to fly 27.5 million people in 2016, up 10 percent year-on-year (y/y) from the airline's total number of air passengers last year. Passenger growth is supported by the arrival of five new wide-body airplanes in 2016. The company, listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange but majority-owned by the Indonesian government (60.6 percent), is particularly eager to boost the number of international passengers.

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The number of air passengers in Indonesia will most likely fail to meet its growth target in 2014. Based on government data, the number of air passengers in Southeast Asia’s largest economy reached 47.5 million in the first eight months of 2014, a 5.82 percentage point growth from the same period last year. However, the Indonesia National Air Carrier Association (INACA) initially targeted annual passenger growth in the range of 12-15 percent for 2014. Amid slowing economic growth, people’s purchasing power has declined.

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The mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on Saturday 7 March 2014 reminds us that flying does not go without risks. Although it is popularly said that flying in an airplane is safer than driving in a car - and despite the fact that Malaysia Airlines is a world-class airline - it is worth taking a closer look at the current state of aviation in the Asia Pacific, Indonesia in particular, as air traffic in the Asia Pacific has been booming (and budget airlines mushroomed) in recent years due to the expanding middle class.

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As companies' financial results of 2013 slowly start to be released, two reports - so far - have raised eyebrows due to significant declines in net profit. These are publicly listed, but majority state-owned, airline Garuda Indonesia and fully state-owned electricity firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN). Both companies felt the impact of the sharply depreciating Indonesia rupiah exchange rate. The currency fell over 21 percent against the US dollar in 2013 due to capital outflows amid looming US tapering and current account deficit concerns.

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