Asian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has confirmed that it will expand its flights to Europe with the resumption of air services to the UK, following its successful reintroduction of flights to Amsterdam in June 2010. The carrier is to offer a six times weekly service between Jakarta and London from the final quarter of this year, the first non-stop scheduled air link between Indonesia and the UK. The flights will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER configured with more than 300 seats.

Indonesia is an increasingly important market for the UK. Bilateral trade is growing and in April 2012, during UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to Indonesia, a partnership commitment to double trade (goods & services) by 2015 to £4.4 billion was announced. This new direct route will boost business activities between the two countries and help towards meeting that bi-lateral trade commitment.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We want to link Britain up with the world's fastest growing economies. And good air links are vital to achieving that. This new route from London to Jakarta is good for British business and will help them to compete in the global race."

According to forecasts Indonesia is projected to be the world’s 5th largest economy by 2030 and the UK sees great potential in Indonesia and is keen to build on existing trade and investment, according to UK Trade and Industry (UKTI) literature. The UK is ranked 20th largest exporter to Indonesia and the 3rd largest among EU member states and in 2011 exports of goods and services to Indonesia were worth £0.97 billion, an increase of 28 per cent, while total trade 2011 was £2.4 billion (up 10 per cent year-on-year). The UK’s largest exports to Indonesia include power generation equipment; general industrial machinery, road vehicles, pulp & waste paper and specialised machinery.

UK companies are interested in new infrastructure opportunities in Indonesia, according to UKTI, and the lack of direct air services up until now have now deterred travellers between the two countries. The UK is now one of the largest markets to Indonesia, the largest economy in South East Asia with 160,000 people currently travelling to the region on business and leisure.

Garuda Indonesia first started serving the UK market in the mid-1980s as the terminus point on existing services to other points in Europe. A dedicated London operation was introduced from Jakarta in October 1992, via Abu Dhabi while a Bangkok stop was added to the itinerary in subsequent years and flights were also offered from Denpasar. In October 1997 the London operation was suspended for a two year period but resumed from November 1999 on the Denpasar – Bangkok – London routing and latterly via Singapore. The airline departed the UK market in May 2003, leaving Amsterdam as its only European destination, a route which was eventually closed in October 2004.

During its former operation to the UK, Garuda Indonesia utilised Gatwick Airport as its London gateway and it is no real surprise it has selected the airport for its return to this market given the current capacity constraints and limited slot availability at London Heathrow Airport.

“We are delighted that Garuda Indonesia has chosen Gatwick to operate this vital direct route. Despite being a crucial high growth business market for the UK, Indonesia has been underserved with no direct routes to the region from the UK – until now. Jakarta is also a major hub airport for South East Asia, giving UK passengers even more access and choice to the region,” said Stewart Wingate, Chief Executive Officer, Gatwick Airport.

“Whilst the UK is one of the best connected countries in the world, we do need more direct links to key markets such as Indonesia. At Gatwick, we’re playing our part by investing in the airport and, with our airlines, opening new routes to growing economies such as China, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam and now Indonesia. We look forward to welcoming Garuda Indonesia later this year,” he added.

Garuda Indonesia’s President and CEO, Emirsyah Satar, said the new Jakarta-London direct flight will complement the carrier’s existing Jakarta – Abu Dhabi – Amsterdam route, as part of the airline's Quantum Leap 2011-2015 programme to develop the international network and become a ‘global player’.

“This flight will be more convenient since it will be serving passengers - non-stop - from Jakarta to London with the brand new B777-300ER, which will be equipped with Wi-Fi and a chef on board for First Class passengers. We chose Gatwick, London as the UK airport because of its convenience and good network and accessibility options into Europe and beyond," he added.

The Jakarta – London direct flight is also expected to open up direct access from South East Asia to Europe and vice versa. In addition to the new London route, this year the airline will also open new Auckland and Brisbane routes. Garuda Indonesia has also expanded its flight network to Europe through codeshare agreements with other international airlines, including Etihad Airways, which enables passengers to fly into seven major cities across Europe.

In the table above we highlight O&D demand between Jakarta and London over the past five years. As the analysis shows, bi-directional O&D demand grew at double-digit rates during 2009, 2010 and 2011. For the first eleven months of 2012 the growth figure stood at 11.7 per cent. A major reason of this growth has been the increased connectivity between the two cities via other global hubs. Emirates Airline is the largest operator on the route accounting for around 43.6 per cent of these passengers in 2011 via Dubai International Airport. Other notable traffic flows are recorded for Singapore Airlines via Singapore Changi (27.8 per cent) and Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi (8.5 per cent).

According to the analysis, London Heathrow is the main O&D gateway for passengers travelling to or from Jakarta accounting for around 89.2 per cent of all traffic between the two cities. This is due to the better connectivity options for London’s main international gateway, but this dominance will be significantly reduced when Grauda Indonesia introduces its non-stop flights at Gatwick Airport towards the end of this year.