Hard work pays off for five-star Garuda

Garuda Indonesia has seen its recent modernisation programme pay dividends, after it was awarded the coveted five-star rating from Skytrax.

The national carrier becomes only the seventh airline in the world to be awarded five stars, joining Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Hainan Airlines, ANA, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines.

Garuda has embarked on a major fleet modernisation programme
Garuda has embarked on a major fleet modernisation programme
The award comes just five years after Garuda embarked on its ‘Quantum Leap’ strategy, through which aimed to shed its chequered reputation with a focus on expanding and modernising its fleet and rolling out new cabin products.

“It is certainly an honour for all of us at Garuda Indonesia, and the achievement becomes even more meaningful as we are now reaching towards the completion of our ‘Quantum Leap’ journey,” said Garuda’s president & CEO, Emirsyah Satar.

“For the past years, we have been striving persistently to provide a world-class travelling experience for our passengers and I believe that this accomplishment will serve as further inspiration for us to remain committed and improve even better. Furthermore, we take great pride in establishing our home country more firmly on the international stage by receiving this prestigious recognition,” he added.

Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, confirmed that the award was “recognition of the major turnaround in quality standards at Garuda Indonesia”.

Garuda’s move in the elite group of five-star airlines places it ahead of a large group of four-star international carriers, including Emirates, Air New Zealand, JAL, British Airways, Qantas, SWISS and EVA Air.

Earlier this year, Etihad Airways – which had been rated as a four-star airline – pulled out of Skytrax, after expressing doubts about the classification criteria.

North Korean national carrier Air Koryo is the world’s only one-star airline.

sourced:traveldailymedia.com