JAKARTA ~ Garuda Indonesia has bought 35 new jets from Boeing that will start arriving from 2009, the flag carrier’s spokesman Pujobroto said.

“This involves a package of 25 Boeing 737-800 Next Generation and 10 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners,” Broto said on Tuesday. A Garuda jet crash-landed on March 7 in the central Java city of Yogyakarta and erupted in flames, killing 21 people and highlighting Indonesia’s blighted transport safety record.

Broto said the deal was struck long before the crash. He declined to specify a value for the aircraft order but said an initial US$23 million had been paid.

The Next Generation aircraft are to be used for domestic travel and are due by late 2009. The Dreamliners, expected from 2011, are earmarked for international routes.

A string of deadly transport disasters has shaken confidence in the air and sea links that bind Indonesia, an archipelago nation of 17,000 islands.

The government said last week that none of Indonesia’s domestic airlines offered high safety levels and is trying to boost passenger protection.

Experts have blamed recent accidents on lax safety standards, old planes and ferries and insufficient investment in infrastructure despite booming passenger numbers.