Aviation experts commended the government’s decision to charter a wide-body aircraft from flag carrier Garuda Indonesia as a presidential aircraft for long-haul flights considering that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is not known to frequently visit foreign countries that require long-range aircraft.

Currently the presidential aircraft is a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) 2 which is based on a Boeing 737-800 commercial aircraft, and is currently undergoing routine maintenance.

A picture circulated recently on social media showing one of Garuda’s Boeing 777-300ER sporting the red and white presidential livery. The picture prompted speculation that President Jokowi would fly in a new presidential aircraft.

“The [Boeing 737-800] airplane could only fly for five to six hours, covering a distance similar to a Jakarta to Hong Kong commercial flight. A 14-hour flight from Jakarta to the United States would require two stopovers for refueling [if using the presidential aircraft],” Arista Atmadjati, the CEO of Arista Indonesia Aviation Center, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

“There are fees [incurred] in every transit such as landing fees, parking fees, navigation fees […] which makes it costly to fly long-haul flights [with a Boeing 737].”

Such inconveniences would be easily removed if the presidential entourage flew on a 777-300ER, which is currently used by Garuda on the Jakarta-Amsterdam route, Arista added.

Jokowi was scheduled to attend the US-ASEAN Special Summit in Las Vegas. However, the summit, which was previously set to be held on March 14, was postponed over fears of a coronavirus outbreak.

The flight from Jakarta to Las Vegas is about 19 hours at some 14,600 kilometers. The 777-300ER has a range of about 14,500 km so it would have to make a stopover. An ideal refueling spot would be Tokyo or Seoul, which would divide the trip into two segments of some seven and 12 hours respectively.

Meanwhile, aviation analyst Gerry Soejatman said the existing arrangement, in which the Presidential Palace charters an aircraft for long-haul flights, was ideal considering that Jokowi was not known as someone who frequently traveled long distances.

“The Boeing 737-800 airplane is ideal for the needs of the President and only faces difficulties for long-haul flights,” said Gerry. “Ideally the President should still use [the Boeing 737-800] except for flights to the American continent.”

The current presidential aircraft can land at airports in all provincial capitals, but outside Java, the 777-300ER can only land at major airports such as Batam, Bali, Medan and Makassar.

When the picture first appeared, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung rebuffed claims that the government was buying a new presidential aircraft, saying that it was chartered for Jokowi’s planned visit to the US, and that such a move was made to further drive down costs and cut short travel time.

He added that the current presidential aircraft had a limited range compared to the 777-300ER, therefore costing more time and money for long-haul flights due to frequent transits for refueling.

According to Garuda Indonesia’s website, its Boeing 737-800 has a range of some 5,700 km. The presidential aircraft has a range of up to 10,000 km by adding five auxiliary fuel tanks. The range could be boosted to some 12,000 km with nine auxiliary fuel tanks.

Pramono said the government was open to chartering an airplane only for long-haul flights, saying that the current presidential aircraft would still be used for shorter trips such as to Europe or the United Arab Emirates, which Jokowi visited in January.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Heru Budi Hartono, said in a statement on Friday that the decision to charter the 777-300ER was made because of time and budget efficiencies, because the 777-300ER could fly up to 14 hours.

He added the 777-300ER could also accommodate ministers on a single airplane, rather than having the ministers take commercial flights.

On Tuesday, he said the Presidential Palace had yet to sign any contracts with Garuda Indonesia when asked about the summit postponement. “No contracts [have been approved] over the lease [of Garuda’s Boeing 777-300ER],” Heru told the Post.

Then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono decided to buy the BBJ2 in 2012, claiming that the purchase could save Rp 114 billion (US$8.05 million) in annual expenses compared to a scheme under which the President used commercial chartered flights for overseas trips.

The plane, which can seat 67 passengers, cost the government Rp 847 billion. Meanwhile, the 777-300ER has eight seats in first class, 38 in business class and 268 in economy class.

Before buying the BBJ 2, Yudhoyono flew on a chartered Garuda Airbus A330, which has a range of some 11,000 km for trips abroad. The aircraft still used Garuda’s white and blue livery, but with the national Garuda emblem being placed by the cockpit windows to signify it was a presidential aircraft.

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