Garuda Indonesia kicks off Jakarta-London direct flight

Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia kicked off its direct route from Jakarta to London when one of its Boeing 777-300 ER planes took off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday to Heathrow International Airport.

The inaugural flight was witnessed, among others, by British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik, the Tourism Ministry's official in charge for overseas market development I Gde Pitana and Garuda Indonesia president director Pahala Nugraha Mansury.

"With this, Garuda Indonesia becomes the only airline that has nonstop, fast, convenient and efficient flights from Indonesia to the UK and Europe," said Pahala when attending the event, as quoted in a press statement.

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Garuda Indonesia operates Jakarta-London direct flights three times a week with a flight duration of about 15 hours. The Boeing 777-300 ER has a capacity of 314 seats, with eight for first class, 38 for business class and 268 for economy class.

Pahala said the nonstop route had become a high priority for Garuda, following the opening of Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which recently became the main hub for Garuda Indonesia's international service.

"The nonstop flight is expected to facilitate frequent flyers, who joined SkyTeam to get connections to more destinations," he added, saying that it would allow passengers from the UK to fly onward to Australian cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. (bbn)

Source: Garuda Indonesia kicks off Jakarta-London direct flight