Garuda Indonesia poised to trim losses with Idul Fitri traffic

After suffering US$89.49 million in losses during the first quarter of the year, PT Garuda Indonesia is poised to see a recovery in the second quarter, especially in the June and July months that encompass the Idul Fitri holiday.

Garuda Indonesia president director Pahala N. Mansury said the second quarter offered good prospects and the Idul Fitri exodus would help improve the company’s accumulative performance in the first semester.

In the first quarter of 2016, the state-owned flag carrier booked $74.48 million in profits, but still suffered $63.2 million, or around Rp 824 billion, in losses.

“Even if the losses have yet to be covered, hopefully we can at least push the losses down,” he said after accepting an award from TripAdvisor as one of the top 10 best airlines in the world on Friday.

He also denied accusations from Rizal Ramli about the company’s lavish spending and potential corruption in the purchase of an Airbus A350.

“We don’t have an Airbus A350 and thus the statement is not true,” he said, adding that the company was currently focused on optimizing efficiency.