Garuda Indonesia to open route from Chengdu to Bali

Garuda Indonesia plans to open a route from Chengdu in Sichuan province to the resort island of Bali.

"Discussions are under way and if things go smoothly, the new route will open in the middle of next year," said I Wayan Subagia, vice-president of Garuda Indonesia China.

Emirsyah Satar, president and chief executive officer of Garuda Indonesia, said the move is one of the airline's measures to expand business in the Chinese market.

"We have been setting great store in the Chinese market which has great potential," Satar said.

The airline set up its China headquarters in Shanghai, which governs subsidiaries in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Taipei.

"We have made efforts to seek suitable cities in China for new air destinations," Satar said. The airline now has flights to Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Indonesia saw 800,000 Chinese travelers arrive last year and the number will be about 1 million next year, he said, adding that "the airline will increase flights to contribute to the target."

To reach that goal, the airline has signed $1.7 billion worth of aircraft leasing contracts with the ICBC Financial Leasing Co Ltd to enlarge its fleet.

According to the contracts, Garuda Indonesia will lease three Boeing 777 aircraft, six Boeing 737 planes and three Airbus planes in the next decade.

The airline had added 27 airplanes to its fleet by the third quarter of this year in 2013 to support its flight network expansion. It operates 131 aircraft.