Capital A, Garuda Group Enter Multi-Pronged Strategic Partnership

SINGAPORE—Capital A, the parent company of AirAsia, and Garuda Indonesia Group will enter a strategic partnership that will see enhanced cooperation in areas of airline interlining, logistic services, and MRO.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by Garuda Indonesia President and CEO Irfan Setiaputra and Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes in Jakarta, Indonesia.

AirAsia says the “cornerstone” of the partnership is the interlining agreement between AirAsia and Garuda’s low-cost arm Citilink. It is AirAsia’s first interlining collaboration. The plan is for inbound and outbound passengers to be checked—through baggage and issuance of boarding passes—from the point of origin, connecting from Citilink’s 50 destinations and AirAsia’s 150 international destinations. The first selected routes will take place starting in the first quarter of 2024. 

“Through the integration networks of both airlines, leveraging AirAsia’s strength in Asean routes and Citilink’s strength in domestic routes, it is hoped that the aviation industry can progress more effectively in the post-pandemic era,” Citilink CEO Dewa Kadek Rai said.

This collaboration will help Citilink in its capacity shortage, an issue the Garuda LCC subsidiary faced during the pandemic when some of its aircraft were grounded due to its inability to pay leases. 
Additionally, AirAsia logistics affiliate Teleport has signed a partnership agreement with Garuda Indonesia Cargo, leveraging Teleport’s strong network in Southeast Asia and Greater China with Garuda’s reach into high demand sectors like Singapore, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Capital A’s aircraft MRO provider Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) and its Garuda counterpart GMF AeroAsia are planning to collaborate on component MRO, to be based out of Jakarta.

AirAsia has its own air operator’s certificate (AOC) in Indonesia, operating 23 in-service Airbus A320ceos, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database.