The national airline Garuda Indonesia swung to a loss in its first nine month financial report due to soaring flight operation on the back of the rupiah depreciation.

The Jakarta-based carrier booked a net loss of $22.32 million in January-September period, compared to a profit of $56.06 million in the same period in 2012. That was despite it booked a 11 percent rise in revenue to $2.36 billion.

Garuda’s operating costs increased to $2.69 billion from $2.39 billion, as the airline had to bear higher cost of fuel and marketing (sales, ticketing and promotion).

Garuda also spends in dollar denomination for its maintenance, aircraft spareparts and the salary of its foreign pilots.

Garuda earns most of its revenue in rupiah from selling full-flight service tickets, while the bulk of its spending is in dollar.

The rupiah has depreciated 16 percent against the US dollar this year, piling up burdens for companies that have spendings in dollar.

Garuda serves 34 cities in the archipelago nation and flies to 19 international destinations, including countries in Asiaco, the Middle East and Europe.