Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia’s flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and United Arab Emirates’ Emirates have agreed to cooperate in expanding the flight networks on 18 routes connecting Indonesia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

The cooperation was stated in a memorandum of understanding signed by Garuda Indonesia’s President Director Irfan Setiaputra and Emirates' Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim in Dubai on Thursday (Nov. 4).

"From this cooperation, Garuda Indonesia’s passengers will have easy access to various destinations operated by Emirates, including Dubai, Bahrain, Moscow, Johannesburg, Cairo, London and Manchester," Irfan Setiaputra said in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, Emirates’ passengers who will travel to Indonesia via Jakarta can enjoy connecting flight services to various priority destinations in the archipelagic country such as Denpasar in Bali, Surabaya in East Java, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Manado in North Sulawesi, Medan in North Sumatra, Padang in West Sumatra and Solo in Central Java.

Irfan hoped that the cooperation, which is effective by January 2, 2022, will boost tourism and trade activities in order to restore the national economy.

"Having the same commitment to provide safe, healthy and comfortable flight services by implementing strict health protocols, we hope this partnership will provide a wide choice of destinations with the best flight services for passengers," he said.

In addition, passengers will also enjoy the convenience of end-to-end flight services, starting from ticket reservations, to baggage check-through policy that allows them to pick up at the final destinations.

Furthermore, the two airlines will also explore opportunities for cooperation in managing frequent flyer programs that allow passengers to earn and exchange points they have earned into flight tickets and other exclusive benefits.

Irfan added that as an effort to strengthen the international network, until October 2021, Garuda Indonesia had a codeshare partnership with at least 24 airline partners around the world that connects Garuda Indonesia’s passengers to various destinations.

Meanwhile, Adnan Kazim, said that Emirates was pleased to establish a partnership with Garuda Indonesia.

"This collaboration will provide access to more destinations in Indonesia as well as seamless and convenient connectivity to eight domestic destinations in Indonesia to and from Dubai, and to our global network via Jakarta, and three destinations via Denpasar," said Kazim.

According to him, Indonesia is an important market for Emirates, and the collaboration with Garuda Indonesia is a proof that the company is committed to continuing to strengthen its networks and increase services to people.

"Through the combined expanded network of the two airlines, we are offering our passengers a more seamless experience at check-in, baggage checks and boarding at every step of their journey with just one ticket," said Kazim.

Reporting by Indonesia Window