At its peak from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, Garuda operated an extensive network of flights all over the world, with regularly scheduled services to Adelaide, Cairo, Fukuoka, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, and other cities in Europe, Australia and Asia.

The first aircraft was a DC-3 known as Seulawah (Acehnese: "Gold Mountain", or from Arabic Shalawah, means praise/worship) and was purchased for 120,000 Malayan dollars, which was provided by the people of Aceh (notably local merchants).

During the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference at The Hague, from 23 August to 2 November 1949, Indonesian President Sukarno cited a Dutch poem by a renowned Javanese scholar and poet Raden Mas Noto Soeroto: "Ik ben Garuda, Vishnoe's vogel, die zijn vleugels uitslaat hoog boven uw eilanden", which means "I'm Garuda, Vishnu's Bird, that spreads its wings high above the Islands".

In 1965, the airline took delivery of its first Douglas DC-8, and grew beyond the Asian market it was focused on, beginning scheduled flights from Kemayoran Airport to Amsterdam and Frankfurt via Colombo, Bombay, and Prague.

The situation was exacerbated by the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., the Bali bombings, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and the SARS scare, all of which contributed to a downturn in air travel and Indonesian tourism.

Munir was reported to have felt unwell several hours after departure from Singapore, during which time he was checked on by a doctor who happened to be on board and moved to the business class cabin to sleep.

He died about two hours before arrival in Amsterdam, sparking an international controversy, during which time Priyanto, CEO Indra Setiawan, and deputy Rohainil Aini were all convicted of his murder, although it has been alleged it was under orders from the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency (Badan Intelijen Negara).

[23] In June 2007, the EU banned Garuda Indonesia and all other Indonesian airlines, from flying into any European countries,[24][25] following the crash of Flight 200 earlier that year.

[30] Following the lifting of the EU ban against Garuda Indonesia and three other Indonesian carriers which were Lion air etc, the airline announced in July 2009 an aggressive five-year expansion plan known as the Quantum Leap.

[39] In 2010, the airline placed a firm order for six additional Airbus A330s at the 2010 Farnborough Airshow,[40] while it opened a new hub at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport, Makassar, South Sulawesi to increase services to the eastern part of Indonesia on 1 June 2011, its third after Jakarta and Denpasar.

Following Wibowo's promotion, he began a "Quick Wins" cost-cutting drive to cut down on losses while boosting revenue through various measures, including cancelling unprofitable routes and increasing staff efficiency.

This was reaffirmed following the airline's announcement of its intent to order 90 new aircraft, from both Boeing and Airbus, worth $20 billion at list prices at the 2015 Paris Air Show.

Both Ministry of Finance and Financial Services Authority found various violations inside the report as both Independent Commissioners told the public, which led to both regulators imposing a penalty to the airline and auditors involved.

[58][61][62] Police responded by investigating the whistleblower in the case for defamation after a report was filed by an air hostess who was allegedly the mistress of various executives at state-owned enterprises.

In 1969, a logotype with a unique font replaced the triangular eagle as Garuda's corporate identity, along with a new color scheme consisting of a red and orange "hockey stick" line running along the aircraft's windows and vertical stabilizer.

[86] The bird symbol designed by Landor 24 years earlier is still maintained as Garuda Indonesia's logo, with minor changes, while the logotype now uses a font similar to Myriad Pro.

The Ministry of State-Owned Companies (Kementrian BUMN) had also announced a plan to privatize Garuda, which opened the possibility of offering its shares publicly.

[101] Garuda Indonesia operates flights to 96 airport destinations (72 domestic and 24 international) in 12 countries (including Indonesia), with approximately 500 daily departures from its hubs at Jakarta, Denpasar, Makassar and Medan The airline serves 3 continents (Asia, Australia and Europe) with its fleet of 140 aircraft, to destinations such as Singapore, Shanghai–Pudong, Tokyo–Haneda, Tokyo–Narita, Amsterdam, Sydney, Melbourne, Doha, Guangzhou, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Seoul–Incheon, Jeddah, Medina, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur–International.

On 25 November 2013, Garuda launched its new sub-brands "Explore" and "Explore-jet", for servicing perintis ("pioneer") lines traditionally served by (dormant) Merpati Nusantara Airlines and its competitor Wings Air.

[135] The inclusion of Garuda Indonesia adds 40 new destinations to SkyTeam's global network and strengthens the alliance presence in Southeast Asia and Australia.

[136] With the arrival of Garuda Indonesia to SkyTeam, a variety of facilities are given as including SkyPriority, as well as changing its current frequent flyer membership into GarudaMiles.

The ATR 72-600 turboprop entered service at the end of 2013, serving new inter-island routes to airports in the middle and eastern parts of Indonesia that cannot handle jet aircraft.

[138] At the Paris Air Show in 2015, Garuda Indonesia signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to purchase 80 new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus (30 737 MAX, 20 787 Dreamliner, 30 A350 XWB) worth $20 billion at list prices[139] Garuda also signed a LoI for 14 Airbus A330-900s aircraft (including seven cancellations from existing A330-300 order), first reported during the Singapore Airshow 2016, confirming the order on 19 April 2016.

The new Business Class cabin on Garuda's Boeing 777-300ERs is fitted with EADS Sogerma flat-bed seats arranged in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration; allowing all passengers direct aisle access.

[163] Premium Economy was the second onboard class service that Garuda Indonesia introduced in 2019 as it marks its maiden flight from London Heathrow to Denpasar, Bali.

Passengers in Premium Economy can also enjoy a 40 kg (88 lb) checked baggage allowance along with a business class meal and amenity kit.

Garuda Indonesia had cooperated with Visa and MasterCard to develop an online credit card payment system, allowing customers to use PayPal.

The new program allows members to earn miles on domestic and international flights and has four tiers of membership covering GFF Junior, Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum status levels.

Lounges are located at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport and throughout Indonesia, offering food and drinks, wireless internet, showers, meeting rooms and business services.

In addition, a six-minute advertisement video of Garuda Indonesia will be broadcast during matches held at the Liverpool FC home ground, Anfield, for the 2012–2014 season.