P

rivately owned Mandala Airlines expects to take to the skies again this year after being acquired by a local investment firm that teamed up with a Singaporean low-cost airline.

“We are undergoing a due diligence and targeting to fly again this year,” Saratoga Capital investment manager Devin Wirawan told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Sunday.

Separately, Saratoga Group cofounder Sandiaga Uno said there had been good progress in Mandala’s acquisition.

“The transaction’s progress has been good. We hope to finalize it soon,” he said in an SMS without elaborating further.

Early this year, Mandala announced that it would temporarily halt operations after revealing huge debts of Rp 2.45 trillion (US$286.65 million).

In May, Saratoga Group acquired 51 percent of the airline’s shares, while Singapore-based Tiger Airways acquired 33 percent. Other creditors, through a debt-to-equity swap, hold the remaining 16 percent.

Tiger stated that the restructured Mandala’s operation would use Airbus A320 aircraft and be based on Tiger’s business plan.

The May statement added that Mandala planned to offer low-fare travel to international and domestic destinations within a five-hour flying radius.

Both Devin and Sandiaga did not make any comments when asked about whether Tiger Airways Australia’s suspension by Australian authorities might affect the acquisition process.

Tiger Airways Australia, part-owned by Singapore Airlines Ltd., has been barred from flying until July 9 while the Civil Aviation Safety Authority investigates two operational incidents, Bloomberg reported Saturday quoting a statement from the carrier.

“CASA believes permitting the airline to continue to fly poses a serious and imminent risk to air safety,” the regulator said in the statement.

“CASA no longer has confidence in the ability of Tiger Airways Australia to satisfactorily address the safety issues that have been identified.”

The Transportation Ministry’s Air Transport Director General Herry Bhakti Singoyuda Gumay told the Post that the government would grant Mandala Airlines permission to resume its operations once the airline was ready.

“It depends on [Mandala Airlines], if they are ready, we will allow them to resume their operations. But they haven’t applied for their aircraft yet. There are no aircraft yet,” Herry said over the phone.

Herry said the government would evaluate Mandala’s air operator’s certificate (AOC), which had already expired.

He added that the government would also consider Tiger Airways’ suspension in Australia in its evaluation of the firm.

Tiger Airways, established in September 2004, currently serves 35 destinations in 12 countries and territories across Asia and Australia. It has announced it intends to increase its existing fleet of 26 Airbus A320 aircraft to 68 by December 2015.

Before Mandala ceased operation, it also used Airbus narrow-body aircraft after switching from the Boeing 737-400 in early 2009, and retiring its much older Boeing 737-200 in early 2008. (swd)