KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has said it decided to reschedule the delivery of 25 new planes that were initially expected this year to 2020, as the company is now focusing on internal consolidation to improve financial performance.

“[The postponement] gives Garuda room for consolidation and for the improvement of performance, because we have to assure that the delivery of the new planes will increase the company's revenue,” said Garuda finance and risk management director Helmi Satriyono during a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday as reported by tribunnews.com.

Hemi said Garuda had coordinated with the aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus about the postponement.

“We have negotiated with Boeing and Airbus. They agreed to postpone delivering the planes from this year to the next two or three years,” he added.

Among the aircraft that were postponed include the Boeing 737 Max 8 Aircraft.

Meanwhile, Garuda operational director Triyanto Moeharsono explained that the postponement would not affect the airline's operation because Garuda's fleet was still relatively new. “The age of our aircraft is 10 years old on average,” he added.

However, he said this year, two ATR planes would arrive to join the Garuda Indonesia fleet, which was currently consisted of 102 planes.

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie