Jakarta. National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia posted a revenue growth of approximately 40 percent to $2.94 billion (Rp 46.79 trillion) in 2023 compared to the previous year's revenue of US$2.1 billion.

This surge in business revenue was primarily driven by a 41 percent year-on-year increase in scheduled flight revenue, reaching $2.37 billion from the previous $1.68 billion. The rise reflects the ongoing recovery of air transportation usage in the post-pandemic phase, approaching pre-pandemic levels.

Additionally, non-scheduled flight revenue also witnessed significant growth, soaring by 65 percent to $288.03 million compared to the previous year's $174.81 million. Notably, revenue from Hajj flights in 2023 contributed significantly to this increase, rising by 145 percent to $235.17 million compared to the previous year's $92.48 million. 

After overcoming the challenging phases during the pandemic years and implementing various improvement measures, Garuda Indonesia successfully recorded a current-year profit of $252 million.

"The strategic corporate actions implemented to accelerate post-restructuring performance recovery, coupled with the growing passenger movements, are expected to further strengthen the business entity's foundation for optimizing business revenue and ensuring sustainable profitability," Garuda Indonesia's President Director, Irfan Setiaputra, said in a statement on Monday.

Throughout 2023, the number of passengers increased by 34 percent to 19.97 million passengers compared to the previous period's 14.85 million passengers. Garuda Indonesia transported 8.29 million passengers while its budget airline subsidiary Citilink carried 11.68 passengers.

Since late 2021, Garuda Indonesia has been working on restructuring its debt. This effort has been fruitful, as the company received approval from creditors in 2022 to reduce its debt by up to 50%, from $10.9 billion to $4.79 billion, helping the company recover.

Garuda Indonesia's short-term liabilities also recorded a decrease of approximately 30 percent from 2022, amounting from $1.68 billion to $1,16 billion. 

The Company continues to fulfill its debt payment obligations through several schemes, including gradual payments through operational cash flow, debt conversion into new equity, new debt securities, local debt claims, and new sukuk (Islamic bonds), as well as partial redemption of new bonds and new sukuk through tender offer.

Furthermore, in 2024, Garuda Indonesia plans to add 8 aircraft, including four narrow-body Boeing 737-800NG, two wide-body Boeing 777-300ER, and two Airbus 330-300 (2), gradually throughout 2024. This initiative aims to maximize passenger occupancy rates and support the expansion of both domestic and international flight networks.

With the projected addition of aircraft, Garuda Indonesia's main brand is expected to operate up to 80 aircraft by the end of 2024.