Delta Air Lines Supports Garuda Indonesia's Application to Join SkyTeam

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Nov 23, 2010, 06:05 ET

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today issued the following statement in support of Garuda Indonesia's decision to join the SkyTeam global airline alliance in 2012.

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"We are honored that Garuda Indonesia has chosen to link its future growth and success with Delta and our SkyTeam partners, while bringing our alliance unique access to Indonesia," said Vinay Dube, Delta's senior vice president – Asia-Pacific. "Garuda's growing hubs in Jakarta and Denpasar, and extensive network throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific, will bring our customers greater access to destinations across one of the world's fastest-growing regions."

Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and a fast growing emerging market. SkyTeam is actively working to grow its presence in the region, with Garuda becoming the fifth Asian-based airline this year to join or announce its intentions to join SkyTeam. Vietnam Airlines joined the alliance in June while China Airlines , China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines are each slated to join by 2012.

Garuda has a broad Indonesian and regional network that will add 30 new destinations to the SkyTeam alliance network. The airline has implemented a financial and operational restructuring in recent years and was named the 'World's Most Improved Airline' at the Skytrax 2010 World Airline Awards.

More information on Garuda Indonesia and SkyTeam are available in the SkyTeam news release.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 348 destinations in 64 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs more than 75,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world's largest airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.