Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia receive green light for commercial joint venture

Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia have received the approval of the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) for a commercial joint venture agreement. 

With CCCS' approval, the airlines will be able to deepen its strategic partnership on a wider range of commercial activities such as operating joint revenue sharing flights between Singapore and Indonesia, coordinating flight schedules to offer travellers more options and seamless connectivity, and exploring joint sales and marketing initiatives. 

In addition, the carriers have also been working on initiatives including giving KrisFlyer and GarudaMiles members the option to earn and redeem miles on codeshare routes. Currently, the airlines codeshare on flights between Singapore and Indonesian cities of Bali, Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya. They also codeshare on long-haul routes between Singapore and Johannesburg, London (Heathrow) and Mumbai. 

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“The robust strategic partnership between Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines has enabled us to broaden our codeshare services over the last few years, offering our customers more choices on flights. With the CCCS’s approval, we are poised to deepen our collaboration across a wider scope of commercial activities," said Goh Choon Phong, chief executive officer, Singapore Airlines. 

"Along with the ongoing work to strengthen the links between our frequent flyer membership programmes, this will provide our customers with even more options and enhanced value. This partnership underscores both airlines’ commitment to improving connectivity between Indonesia and Singapore and beyond, boosting both business and leisure travel, and contributing to economic growth," added Goh. 

Both airlines have also embarked on joint marketing initiatives to promote tourism activities. 

“We are very pleased to receive this approval, as it marks significant progress towards our commitment to enhance service quality as well as broaden both Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines’ networks through a deepening partnership," said Irfan Setiaputra, president and chief executive officer, Garuda Indonesia. 

Setiaputra added that the joint venture initiative that it is preparing today has been one of the strategies to ensure extensive value creation for its loyal customers. "Having regulatory approval as the first step in a commercial agreement will provide more opportunity for developing well-executed strategic ideas," said Setiaputra.

“Moreover, we hope that this joint venture agreement can provide seamless services for passengers with more flight schedule options and ease in earning and redeeming mileage. Also, this collaboration may deliver concrete action to contribute to boosting Indonesian tourism activities, which will support the post-pandemic economic recovery progress,” explained Setiaputra. 

Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia first announced plans to enter into a joint venture arrangement in May last year. The arrangement was subject to regulatory approvals and would expand on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that the two airlines signed in November 2021. 

Back then, the proposed joint venture covered routes between Singapore and Denpasar, Jakarta and Surabaya and allowed Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia to coordinate schedules, explore the implementation of new initiatives and more. 

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