=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2005/09/16/financial/= f074255D94.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, September 16, 2005 (AP) Indonesian Airline Garuda Signs $2B Deal (09-16) 07:42 PDT JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesia's ailing airline PT Garuda Indonesia and aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. signed a $2 billion deal to upgrade the company's fleet, Garuda said in a statement Friday. Under the deal, the flag carrier Garuda will operate 18 Boeing 737-800s = by 2006 to replace its five 737-400s. It will also operate 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners by 2013, the statement said. The statement did not say whether Garuda intended to buy or lease the aircraft from the Chicago-based aircraft maker. Garuda said operating the Dreamliner would make its fleet more competiti= ve and cost-efficient. Boeing says the Dreamliner will use 20 percent less fuel than comparable aircraft, while providing up to 45 percent more cargo revenue capacity. Garuda has been running at a loss since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis sent the value of the local currency plummeting and passenger numbers fell off. In recent years it has struggled against an explosion of budget carriers serving the Indonesian domestic and regional market. The carrier currently operates 57 Boeing aircraft of various models. ---= ------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 AP