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Charter flights soar in popularity
Halim Perdanakusuma airport was busier than usual after the death of Indonesia's second president with Pelita Air, Transwisata, Indonesia Air Transport and other charter flight providers plying the route back and forth to Surakarta, Central Java, where Soeharto was buried
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Halim Perdanakusuma airport was busier than usual after the death of Indonesia's second president with Pelita Air, Transwisata, Indonesia Air Transport and other charter flight providers plying the route back and forth to Surakarta, Central Java, where Soeharto was buried.
Small and medium-sized planes ferried family members, diplomats and those simply wishing to pay last respects to the former president.
Charter flight operators have traditionally served mining and other mineral companies. But booking air charters for personal use, as the Soeharto family did, is nothing new, especially for wealthy families, business society and political figures.
"Not many charter flight operators focus their business on spot charters," Rudiana Syamsuddin, chairman at the Indonesia Air Charter Association (IACA), told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
"Most of us prefer to do conventional business, for the most part with mining and oil and gas firms. With them, it usually involves long-term business contracts."
Still, the emergence of spot charters underscores the significant potential that the air charter business has, said Rudiana, who is also operation manager at one of the top charter flight operators in the country, PT Travira Air.
He added that Travira didn't do spot charters as all its 20 aircraft were tied-up in long-term deals with major mineral companies. ExxonMobil, West Natuna Consortium, and several mining companies in Sumbawa and East Kalimantan are among Travira's customers.
Another promising direction the charter flight industry might take -- said Rudiana -- is tourism, especially as the government has designated 2008 "visit Indonesia" year and is gearing up to cooperate with the private sector to boost foreign tourist arrivals this year.
IACA was established in August last year and has 23 members.
Data from the Transportation Ministry shows there are over 36 charter flight operators and a total of 266 registered aircraft in the country.
Hemi Pamuraharjo, head of the ministry's domestic flight affairs, said he was optimistic about the prospects for the industry with large corporations now friendlier.
"I do not think we can expect much from the public due to low purchasing power -- except for a privileged few."
Tengku Burhanuddin, Secretary General of the Indonesia Air Carrier Association (INACA) said the charter flight business would benefit from the government's plan to boost oil production this year.
"More oil and gas exploitation will trigger (air charter) demand" he said, adding that oil and gas companies currently accounted for half of charter flight clientele.
Tengku said charter operations should enter the regular flight sector. In particular, they might profitably pioneer routes connecting major cities in sparsely-populated eastern Indonesia, he said.
Publicly listed PT Indonesia Air Transport (IATA) is trying to do just that.
Last year it submitted an application to the transportation ministry for permits to fly some 80 new routes, including in Manado, Bali, Lombok, Kalimantan and Nusa Tenggara.
The company booked total revenue of Rp 219 billion and a net profit of Rp 4.4 billion in 2007. The company's finance director, Krisman Tarigan, said regular flight service would boost the company's revenue to Rp 400 billion.
