Garuda Indonesia

Beginnings (1949–60s)

Garuda Indonesia succeeded KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, the KLM subsidiary that had operated in the Indonesian archipelago after the Second World War. Garuda was incorporated on 31 March 1950 as a joint venture between KLM and the Indonesian government. The government acquired KLM’s shares in 1954, while the replacement and training of Dutch personnel continued over subsequent years.

In its current institutional form, Garuda Indonesia had its beginnings in the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch in the late 1940s, when Garuda flew special transports with a Douglas DC-3. The first aircraft was a DC-3 known as Seulawah (Acehnese: "Gold Mountain") and was purchased for 120,000 Malayan dollars, which was provided by the people of Aceh (notably local merchants). The first commercial flight from Calcutta to Yangon (then, Rangoon) was on 26 January 1949, using a DC-3 Dakota aircraft with the tail number RI 001 and the name Indonesian Airways. 26 January 1949 is generally recognized as the airline's founding date.

The name Garuda, adopted at Sukarno’s suggestion, refers to the bird that serves as Vishnu’s mount in Hindu mythology. On 28 December 1949, a flight under the name Garuda Indonesian Airways travelled from Jakarta to Yogyakarta to collect Sukarno.

Initially, Garuda relied on KLM personnel, including pilots, technicians and managers, who also trained Indonesian staff. The transfer to Indonesian management formed part of the government’s wider policy of economic decolonisation.

In 1954, the airline had 41 aircraft: 15 Dakotas, eight Convair 240s, 13 de Havilland Herons, one Catalina and four Convair 340s. In 1956, the airline operated its first flight to Mecca with Convair aircraft, carrying 40 Indonesian pilgrims.

Garuda's fleet continued to grow throughout the 1960s, during which the airline continued its expansion. It acquired three Lockheed L-188 Electras in 1961, which supplemented its Convair CV-240 fleet, before taking delivery of its first jet aircraft, the Convair 990 Coronado, in 1963, which allowed it to launch flights to Hong Kong.

In the early 1960s, Qantas overhauled engines from Garuda’s Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft and transported them back to Jakarta.

In 1965, the airline took delivery of its first Douglas DC-8, and grew beyond the Asian market it was focused on, beginning scheduled flights from Kemayoran Airport to Amsterdam and Frankfurt via Colombo, Bombay, and Prague. Rome and Paris became the airline's third and fourth European destinations, with flights stopping in Bombay and Cairo to refuel. Flights to the People's Republic of China began that same year, with service to Guangzhou via Phnom Penh, the first Indonesian airline to do so.

Continued growth (1970s–90s)

During the early 1970s, Garuda Indonesian Airways took delivery of both the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 (first delivered in 1969) and Fokker F28 Fellowship (first delivered in 1971) for its short and medium-haul operations. The airline went on to take delivery of 62 F28s, holding the title of the largest operator of the F28 in the world. In 1976, Garuda took delivery of its first McDonnell Douglas DC-10, giving it the capability to carry more passengers and fly longer flights, and replacing the DC-8 and Convair 990 fleet on flights within Asia and to Europe. The DC-10 became an integral part of the Garuda fleet for the years to come, outlasting the newer McDonnell Douglas MD-11s, before the type was finally retired in 2004. In 1980, the airline took delivery of the first Boeing 747-200, complementing the DC-10 on high-capacity or long-range routes.

On 21 June 1982, Garuda became the launch customer of the Airbus A300 B4-220FFCC, the first variant of the A300 capable of being operated with two pilots instead of three. By 1984, nine of these were in service, supplemented by 8 McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, 24 DC-9s, 45 Fokker F-28s, and 6 Boeing 747-200s. In 1985, under Reyn Altin Johannes Lumenta, who had been CEO since 1984, Garuda Indonesian Airways hired Landor Associates to create a new logo, livery and brand.

Under Lumenta, Garuda Indonesia also increased the number of flight frequencies and destinations, reduced ticket prices and collaborated with Merpati Nusantara Airlines, introducing flexible tickets valid for both Indonesian airlines.

In 1991, Garuda took delivery of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11s, which gradually replaced the DC-10 on flights to Europe and allowed the airline to launch flights to Los Angeles via Honolulu. During this time, the airline operated a fleet of the aforementioned MD-11s, DC-10s, Boeing 747, Airbus A300 and Boeing 737-400, operating it to destinations throughout Asia, Europe and North America. In 1994, Garuda took delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which remained in its fleet until 2017, operating Hajj flights and high-density short-haul routes, while the delivery of the first Airbus A330-300 in 1996 allowed more flexibility, as it was more fuel-efficient than the three- and four-engine jets.