Garuda in Talks to Order 50 Turboprop Planes for Citilink

Garuda Indonesia, the nation’s largest carrier, is in talks to order 50 turboprop planes for low-cost unit Citilink due to rising travel in Asia’s third-most populous nation.

The airline is considering Bombardier Inc. Q400s and Avions de Transport Regional ATR 72s, chief executive Emirsyah Satar said today at a conference in Singapore. A decision will be made by year-end and the first planes will enter service in the third quarter of 2013, he said.

Garuda plans to more than double its group fleet to 194 planes by 2015, Satar said, as economic growth of about 6 percent spurs Indonesian travel. Lion Mentari Airlines, the nation’s biggest budget carrier, also ordered 230 Boeing planes in February.

“Indonesia will continue to get more tourists and more foreign investments,” Satar said. “Traffic will continue to grow.”

The carrier is also in talks about ordering three Airbus SAS A330 freighters to use on regional trade routes, he said. Intra-Asia air-cargo shipments may grow 6.9 percent a year through 2031, according to Boeing.

Garuda expects to carry 45.6 million passengers in 2015, Satar said. The first-half number rose 22 percent to 9.6 million, according to a statement on the carrier’s website.

The airline had outstanding orders for 18 passenger A330-300s at the end of last month, according to Airbus’s website.

Citilink operates eight Airbus SAS A320s and seven Boeing Co. 737s, according to its website.

Bloomberg