Capital A, Garuda Indonesia ink strategic partnership MoU

KUALA LUMPUR: Capital A Bhd (formerly AirAsia Group) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Garuda Indonesia Group, Indonesia’s national flag carrier, to cooperate strategically across several business lines.

In a joint statement today, the aviation companies said the MoU would see the two entities explore network expansion across various business lines, including commercial airline services between AirAsia and Citilink, logistics services with Teleport and Garuda Indonesia Cargo, as well as maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) services with Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), owned by Capital A, and Garuda Indonesia Group’s subsidiary, GMF AeroAsia.

Capital A chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the collaboration strengthens the existing relationship between the aviation groups.

“Hopefully, in years to come, this will be remembered as the day that we changed Asean aviation forever, not just in airlines, but also MRO and logistics.

“I never thought AirAsia and Garuda logos would be on the same table. This is a dream, and this dream can go very, very far,” he said at the MoU signing ceremony in Jakarta today.

Fernandes further said that although the potential in terms of numbers of passengers, revenue and cargo has not been quantified or measured following the collaboration, he believed the impact would be big for both groups as listed companies and the nation.

Meanwhile, Garuda Indonesia president and CEO Irfan Setiaputra said the strategic partnership is a manifestation of the company’s commitment to continue growing together, creating a more agile and adaptive aviation industry ecosystem that responds to the challenges of the global aviation industry’s performance.

The companies said the cornerstone of the partnership is an interlining MoU between AirAsia and Citilink, signed by AirAsia group CEO Bo Lingam and Citilink CEO Dewa Kadek Rai.

“This marks the first interlining for the AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd. The partnership would leverage the depth of close to 50 domestic destinations in Indonesia covered by Citilink with the breadth of AirAsia’s Asean 150 international destinations.

“Initial launch of selected routes by first quarter 2024 would provide seamless transfer experience for both inbound and outbound travellers, with checked-through baggage service and issuance of boarding passes from the point of origin,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Capital A’s logistics venture, Teleport, and Garuda Indonesia Cargo signed a partnership agreement which would combine their air logistics networks.

The partnership would enable both companies to move goods across Teleport’s network of 160 destinations across the Asia Pacific and Garuda’s connectivity of over 90 destinations worldwide more seamlessly under a single airway bill.

The statement added that discussions are also underway between ADE and GMF AeroAsia to further explore opportunities for another strategic partnership that would leverage mutual strengths and efficiencies as well as Asean’s strategic location to deliver greater value-driven, low-cost MRO services to third-party airlines seeking maintenance support. – BK