Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia. It's named after the mythical giant bird of Hinduism and Buddhist mythology Garuda. Its headquarter is located at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The airline flies to a number of destinations in Southeast Asia, East Asia, Middle East, Europe and Australia.
The name Garuda was derived from a Dutch poem written by renowned scholar and poet Raden Mas Noto Soeroto "ik ben Garuda, Vishnoe's vogel, die zijn vleugels uitslaat hoog boven uw eilanden" which means "i'm a Garuda, Vishnu's bird, spreads its wings high above the islands". The line was mentioned by Sukarno during the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference at The Hague from 23 August to 2 November 1949.
The Beginning
Garuda Indonesia had its beginnings in the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch in the late 1940s when Garuda flew special transports with a Douglas DC-3. 28 January 1949 is generally recognized as the airline's founding date, at that time the airline was known as Garuda Indonesia Airways. The first aircraft was a DC-3 known as Seulawah which means Gold Mountain in Acehnese and was purchased for a sum of 120.000 Malayan dollars which was provided by the people of Aceh (notably local merchants). During the revolution, the airline supported Indonesian interests, such as carrying Indonesian leaders for diplomatic missions. Now, a chartered Garuda Indonesia Airbus A330-300 is used by the President of Indonesia for presidential travels.
The Branding
Since its establishment, Garuda Indonesia has changed its branding and livery a few times. During the early years Garuda introduced a red and white color scheme in accordance to the Indonesian national identity and the Indonesian flag. In the 1950s Garuda Indonesia Airways introduced a bird logo, a triangle stylized eagle-like Garuda with red and white shield. The logo was painted on the vertical stabilizer of Garuda's fleet from the year 1960 to 1969. In the 1970s a logotype with a unique font replaced the triangular eagle as Garuda's corporate identity, along with a new color scheme consisting of a red and orange hockey stick line running along the aircraft's windows and vertical stabilizer.
In 1985 Garuda undergoes a complete branding makeover, changing its name into Garuda Indonesia along with its color scheme, logo and logotype. The new branding and livery was created by Landor Associates who also created the new iconic bird logo, the Garuda symbol with five bended lines forming its wings. The color scheme was changed completely to a deep royal blue and aqua color, said to be inspired by the nature of Indonesia that was dominated by the sky and tropical seas when viewed from the air. The nationalistic red and white color scheme was no longer used ever since.
In 2009, a new branding initiative was launched through a new image, developed one again by brand consultant Landor Associates, a new spin of the idea called Nature's Wing. Garuda has since replaced the old logo painted on its fleet vertical stabilizer with this new nature's wing graphic of blue and aqua shades. The nature's wing graphic was inspired by the wings of tropical birds as well as the ripples of waves upon the water. The iconic bird symbol designed by Landor 24 years earlier is still maintained as Garuda Indonesia's logo, however the logotype is changed completely. The new look is expected to be able to capture the spirit of friendliness and professionalism of Indonesia. To celebrate its 62 years on 26 January 2011, Garuda Indonesia painted two of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft with the retro liveries the airline used in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Uniform
The Food
In July 2011 Garuda Indonesia launched the Indonesian Rijsttafel service in Executive Class as part of its signature in-flight services. This signature dining service introduces the passengers to a wide array of Indonesian cuisine in a single setting, as part of the Garuda Indonesia experience. This in-flight Indonesia Rijsttafel includes varieties of Indonesian signature dishes, choices of Nasi Kuning or regular steamed rice, accompanied with choices of dishes such as Satay, Rendang, Gado-Gado, Grilled Chicken Rica, Red Snapper with Acar, Fried Shrimp Sambal, Perkedel and Tempe, along with Kerupuk or Rempeyek crackers.
The Awards
Having received The World's Most Improved Airline Awards, Garuda Indonesia was also noted as Asia's leading service quality airline by Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in 2010. In 2012, based on Roy Morgan research company, Garuda Indonesia has been recognized as The Best International Airline among all major airlines throughout the world and toppled Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Air New Zealand with a 91% of the respondents being 'very satisfied'. In addition, League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) awarded Garuda Indonesia with a Platinum on the Vision Awards Annual Report. In July 2012, Garuda Indonesia was recognized as The World's Best Regional Airline and won The Best Regional Airline in Asia by the global airline review and ranking consultancy Skytrax for delivering the best service to its customers and also Garuda awarded The Long-Haul Asia Pacific Airline Food Award 2012 by Skyscanner.
The Partnership
In July 2012, Garuda Indonesia signed a 3 years sponsorship deal with Premier League club Liverpool FC. The agreement gives Garuda Indonesia the right to be The Official Partner of Liverpool Football Club and The Official Global Airline Partner of Liverpool Football Club. In addition, a six-minutes advertisement video of Garuda Indonesia will be broadcasted during matches held at Liverpool's home ground Anfield for the 2012-2013 season.
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