Garuda Indonesia opens two new routes to China

Garuda Indonesia opened two new routes to China Tuesday in an effort to tap into the country’s burgeoning tourist market, which in 2017 sent more than 130m tourists across the globe. The first route connects Xi’an—a historic city famous for Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Terracotta Army sculptures—to Denpasar with direct flights twice a week. The second route connects Zhengzhou—a major transportation hub for Central China—to Denpasar three times a week. Both routes are served by the carrier’s Airbus A330-300, which has a 360-seat capacity. The inaugural Xi’an-Denpasar direct flight landed at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport Tuesday. Garuda Indonesia cargo director Sigit Muhartono, who flew from Xi’an in the inaugural flight, expressed optimism over the new routes. “Of the 360 available seats, 346 were filled in. China is a very promising market and we are currently considering opening routes to Kunming and Zhenjiang,” he said.<br/>