Garuda Indonesia has appointed bank executive Pahala Mansury as its new chief executive, in a management shake-up following a major plunge in its 2016 net profit.

Mansury, formerly chief financial officer at Bank Mandiri, replaces Arif Wibowo, who was appointed as president and chief executive in December 2014. Prior to that, he was chief executive at low-cost unit Citilink, before taking on the top job at the mainline carrier.

Together with Arif, director of operations Novianto Herupratomo, director of engineering and information technology Iwan Joeniarto and commercial director Toni Soetirto were also dismissed.

The Garuda board now comprises seven members, including Mansury. The others are: Helmi Satriyono as director of finance and risk management, Nicodemus Lampe as director of services, Puji Nur Handayani as director of production, Nina Sulistyowati as director of marketing and information technology, Linggarsari Suharo as director of human resources, and Sigit Muhartono as cargo director.

In a statement, Arif said that his tenure as Garuda's chief had not been easy, given the global challenges surrounding the airline industry.

"I hope and firmly believe that the appointment of the new directors will bring Garuda flying higher," he adds.

The state-owned carrier's operating profit fell 41% to $99.1 million in 2016, as expenses outpaced revenue growth. The carrier faced intense yield pressure on both domestic and international routes, which led net profit to fall 89% to $8.07 million.

Source: Cirium Dashboard