Garuda Indonesia Flies Direct to London Heathrow

Garuda Indonesia Boeing 777-300ER

Indonesian flag carrier,  Garuda Indonesia has begun its first flight five times a week to Heathrow Airport in London on Thursday.

The airline decided to move from its original destination from Gatwick Airport in order to increase the load factor for travel Indonesia, Britain, after the airline secured a slot at Heathrow in December last year.

"Heathrow is the sixth busiest in the world with a very high level of airport passenger traffic," the president director of Garuda Indonesia M. Arif Wibowo said. "We hope the flight to this airport would expand the connectivity of our passengers in the European market, especially in the UK, through the Skyteam network to other destinations in the world."

The airline offers nonstop flights from Heathrow to Jakarta five times a week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday using its aircraft Boeing 777-300ER. However, its route from Jakarta to Singapore will connect Heathrow.

Each aircraft is equipped to carry a total of 314 passengers and offers eight first class seats, 38 business class seats and 268 economy seats. The flight to Heathrow is part of the larger plan of the company to reduce unprofitable long-haul flights and redirect charter flights that cater to religious pilgrims flying to Saudi Arabia.

Reducing unnecessary expenses has made the return flag carrier book a profit last year. The airline booked USD 77.97 billion in net income last year, compared with a loss of USD 368.91 million last year.