Garuda Indonesia Receives 5-Star Rating from Skytrax

Skytrax has awarded Garuda Indonesia with its top-tier 5-star rating.

Garuda Indonesia is the seventh airline to earn the prestigious award joining Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Hainan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines.

Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax said, "This is recognition of the major turnaround in quality standards at Garuda Indonesia, reflecting the hard work by the airline in recent years, and we delighted to confirm that they are now meeting the 5-Star Airline. This rating is based on an all-round assessment of the product and service, onboard and at the airport. We place a lot of importance on the fact that the majority of customers travel in Economy and it is the quality and consistency of those standards that contribute greatly to Garuda securing 5-Stars. Consistency of an airline's product and service is a major part of the 5-Star rating, with Garuda's long haul fleet now offering Business Class flat-bed seating and 32-34 inch seat pitch in Economy Class. Customers can also experience the new First and Business Class 5-Star service concept rolled out across the Boeing 777-300ER fleet."

The airline rating system assess the standard of an airline's product and service delivery quality, using more than 800 assessment categories, applied across both the onboard and airport environments. On the ground, airline website/online operations, ticketing, check-in, security, lounges, boarding, departures, transfer, arrivals, and branding are all assessed, with prime importance given to all "touch points" involved in final service delivery to the customer. Onboard assessment includes a detailed assessment across all areas of onboard product, staff service techniques and efficiency, and associated aspects of staff service.

This 5-Star Airline rating also takes account of planned airport and service changes in 2015, when Garuda will transfer to the new Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, it's home base hub. This will provide a new home for Garuda Indonesia and SkyTeam member airlines, improving the travel experience through enhanced transfers and airport service, together with improved and expanded premium passenger facilities.

President and CEO of Garuda Indonesia, Emirsyah Satar, said, "It is certainly an honor for all of us at Garuda Indonesia, and the achievement becomes even more meaningful as we are now reaching towards the completion of our "Quantum Leap" journey. For the past years, we have been striving persistently to provide a world-class travelling experience for our passengers and I believe that this accomplishment will serve as further inspiration for us to remain committed and improve even better. Furthermore, we take great pride in establishing our home country more firmly on the international stage by receiving this prestigious recognition."