Garuda Indonesia (GA) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have agreed to strengthen their commercial partnership with a goal to provide mutual benefits for their frequent flyer programme members. They also plan to investigate revenue sharing agreements for flights between Indonesia and Singapore, pending regulatory approvals.
The frequent flyer programme agreement was signed by Irfan Setiaputra, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Garuda Indonesia, and Goh Choon Phong, CEO, SIA, in Jakarta today. Additionally, the joint venture revenue share agreement was signed by Ade R. Susardi, Director of Service and Commercial, Garuda Indonesia, and Lee Lik Hsin, Chief Commercial Officer, SIA.
The frequent flyer partnership, once launched, will enable members of GarudaMiles and KrisFlyer to earn and redeem miles on codeshare flights operated by both airlines. Once implemented, the revenue sharing agreement will facilitate joint capacity growth. This marks a significant advancement in the proposed commercial joint venture arrangement that includes flights of Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Indonesia.
Both airlines are working together on marketing activities to boost tourism. These activities may involve promoting tourist visits to Indonesia, such as organising familiarization trips for the travel industry and media.
Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia have a strong codeshare partnership that has grown in recent months. Currently, Garuda Indonesia has codeshare agreements with Singapore Airlines for flights connecting Singapore to Indonesian cities such as Bali, Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya, as well as long-haul routes to Johannesburg, London (Heathrow), and Mumbai. Singapore Airlines also has codeshare agreements with Garuda Indonesia for flights between Singapore and Bali, Jakarta, and Surabaya.
Commenting on the development, Setiaputra, who is also the President of Garuda Indonesia, mentioned that this collaboration is a key aspect of the company’s strategy to enhance its performance by forming a strategic commercial partnership, with a focus on delivering additional value to customers. “Having the same mission in optimising the potential of the aviation business ecosystem in South East Asia after the pandemic, this initiative is certainly an important manifestation of both airlines’ commitment to continue strengthening our well-established cooperation,” he explained.
“The Club Vistara program will continue to exist until the integration is complete. Upon completion of the integration process, your Club Vistara account will be migrated to Air India’s Flying Returns,” said Vistara in an official statement. The airline added that details regarding co-brand cards will be shared in the coming weeks.
He added, “This partnership is a special moment for us, which also marks the 58 years of Garuda Indonesia’s journey in connecting Indonesia and Singapore. In the future, they hope that this partnership will continue to enhance social, cultural, and tourism relations between Indonesia and Singapore. This will offer seamless access for customers to enjoy various destinations served by both airlines. Furthermore, this collaboration is also expected to not only provide added value for both airlines’ customers, especially through the ease of earning and redeeming miles for tickets and other exclusive benefits, but the hope is that it will strengthen Garuda Indonesia’s support for national tourism by providing more access to points in Indonesia for foreign tourists who will visit Indonesia via Singapore in the future.”
Whereas, the CEO of Singapore Airlines said, “Our win-win partnership with Garuda Indonesia will improve the connectivity between Indonesia and Singapore for our customers. This collaboration will address the rising need for air travel between Indonesia and Singapore, and also support the growth of tourism and economic activities. Furthermore, by deepening the synergies between our frequent flyer programmes, we can enhance the benefits for our loyal customers, offering them more opportunities to earn and redeem miles when travelling with both airlines.”
