Garuda Indonesia chief executive Emirsyah Satar says there has so far been little impact from economic jitters in Europe on passenger numbers.
Mr Satar says Garuda's focus on regional flying, limited exposure to Europe and a growing domestic economy have all helped maintain good passenger numbers.
While there has been some weakness in the cargo market - figures showed the airline's cargo load factor fell 26 per cent in the three months to June 30, 2011 - Mr Satar said cargo only made up about 11 to 12 per cent of Garuda's business.
This compared with 40 per cent at other carriers around the world.
The latest woes in Europe have come up due to market fears about the ability of European banks to extend finance to companies, given their exposure to the sovereign debt of countries such as Greece, which may not be able to pay them back in full.
Of Garuda's 17 international destinations, only Amsterdam sits inside Europe.
The company has said previously it was keen to expand into Europe, with London, Paris, Rome and Frankfurt mooted as potential destinations, but not until the arrival of Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in 2013.
Garuda executive vice president finance Elisa Lumbantoruan said the airline's current target market was the 50 per cent of the world's population that resided within eight hours of its Jakarta and Denpasar hubs.
The airline was looking to add capacity to cities such as Shanghai, as well as start Perth-Jakarta non-stop flights.
Mr Satar added long-haul was not high on Garuda's agenda at the moment.
The main concern was fuel prices which made up 38 per cent of Garuda's operating cost in the first half of 2011, up by 6 per cent in the prior corresponding half.
Garuda has three Australian cities in its network and about 70 per cent of passengers on these flights are Australians.
The next step was to get a larger share of the corporate travel market and get more business class passengers, Mr Satar said.
*The reporter travelled to Jakarta courtesy of Garuda.
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