Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.
Today's Headlines Aviation
Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) confirmed that Lion Air Flight JT 610 has crashed into the sea near Karawang (West Java). The plane was en route from the nation's capital city of Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang, the capital of the Bangka Belitung Islands province.
Back in 2007 most Indonesian airlines were banned from flying into the European Union (EU)'s airspace; a decision that was made out of safety concerns. On Thursday (15/06), however, the European Commission announced that it had removed all Indonesian airlines from its EU Air Safety list following further improvements in Indonesia's safety standards.
Despite posting a net loss in full-year 2017, Indonesia's national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is optimistic that it will see net profit in 2018. Last year the airline's net loss reached USD $213.4 million, dropping dramatically from a net profit of USD $9.4 million in the preceding year. What strategy will Garuda Indonesia apply to turn the loss into a profit in 2018?
Asman Abnur, Indonesian Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister, said a total of 654 foreign airplane pilots currently work in Indonesia. This is a relatively high figure compared to the 7,150 Indonesian pilots as it implies that 8.4 percent of all pilots in Indonesia are foreign. The use of foreign pilots is allowed by the Indonesian government since 2008.
Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia (GMF AeroAsia), the aircraft maintenance and repair unit of Indonesia's national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, allotted USD $100 million to its capital expenditure budget in 2018. This includes the funds that are required for the company's expansion plans to the Middle East. GMF AeroAsia raised IDR 1.13 trillion (approx. USD $84 million) through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2017.
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia targets to see the arrival of 50 new airplanes up to 2024 in an effort to revitalize the airline's fleet and improve its on-time performance. Pahala Mansury, President Director of Garuda Indonesia, explained that the airline has already been making these orders since 2014. One Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft arrived on 26 December 2017. Between 2020 and 2024 more planes will follow, between 5-10 per year.
Tony Fernandes, Chief Executive of Airasia, said the Malaysian group plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) for its Indonesia AirAsia unit on the Indonesia Stock Exchange before the end of 2017. By selling a stake of between 25-30 percent to the public, the low-cost airline aims to generate funds required for further business expansion (specifically for the purchase of new airplanes and opening of new flight routes).
The Indonesian government may soon revise its negative investment list (in Indonesian: dafter negatif investasi) to attract more foreign investment into Indonesia. The government is specifically seeking to allow bigger foreign stakes in the management of airports across the Archipelago.
Airport Councils International, the only worldwide trade representative of the world's airports, considers Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport the world's third-best airport in the category "airports with an annual passenger capacity of 15-25 million people in 2016". The airport's score improved from 4.74 in the 2015 edition to 4.92 in the latest edition. To continue improving its performance, the airport operator will continue to invest in airport facilities as well as supporting infrastructure.
Sriwijaya Air, the third-largest airline in Indonesia, decided to postpone its initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange - by one or two months - to April or May 2017 (initially the company targeted to conduct this corporate action in March 2017). Chandra Lie, President Director of Sriwijaya Air, said the airline needs more time to prepare the IPO. Lie added that it may also revise the number of shares that are offered to the public. Earlier, Sriwijaya Air planned to release 25 percent of its total outstanding capital stock.
Latest Columns Aviation
Angkasa Pura I, the state-owned firm that provides airport management services in the central and eastern region of Indonesia, offers foreign and domestic private investors the opportunity to operate and develop several airports (in cooperation with Angkasa Pura I) across Indonesia: the Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport in Sepinggan (Balikpapan, Kalimantan), Lombok Praya Airport on Lombok, and - in the pipeline - Kulon Progo Airport in Yogyakarta (Java).
Good news for Indonesia's aviation industry and Indonesian airlines. After a nearly decade-long ban, the US aviation regulator (Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA) finally allows Indonesian airlines to enter US airspace again. The ban was imposed in 2007 due to safety concerns. The FAA announced on Monday (15/08) that the safety status of Indonesia's aviation industry was upgraded by one notch to category 1. This opens doors for Indonesian airlines to serve flight routes to the USA as well as code shares with US airlines.
The spotlights are again turned on low-cost carrier Lion Air, Indonesia's largest privately-held airline that controls about 40 percent of the air passenger market in Indonesia. The airline, owned by Rusdi Kirana (one of the richest Indonesians), has again disappointed thousands of passengers due to delayed flights. This time flight delays were caused by Lion Air pilots going on strike. It is worth to zoom in on this case and to take a look at which Indonesian airlines are most reliable in terms of departure punctuality.
Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the nation's top class airline, targets to fly 27.5 million people in 2016, up 10 percent year-on-year (y/y) from the airline's total number of air passengers last year. Passenger growth is supported by the arrival of five new wide-body airplanes in 2016. The company, listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange but majority-owned by the Indonesian government (60.6 percent), is particularly eager to boost the number of international passengers.
On Monday (21/12) the government of Indonesia unveiled its eight economic stimulus package. This latest edition of the series of packages - all aimed at boosting economic growth - involves three policies. Firstly, the scrapping of import taxes on 21 categories of airplane spare parts. Secondly, fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for the development of oil refineries. Thirdly, the central government will streamline and harmonize land-acquisition for infrastructure development across the country through the new "one-map policy".
In line with the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of the year, the ASEAN Open Skies policy (also known as the ASEAN Single Aviation Market) should become fully effective later this year. The ASEAN Open Skies policy, a key component of the AEC, involves the multilateral agreement of all ten ASEAN countries to unite their skies into a single aviation market (hence liberalizing rules and regulations to a large degree) in a bid to boost the region’s economic growth.
While Indonesia is still mourning for the lives that were lost in the military plane crash in Medan (North Sumatra) on Tuesday (30/06), the Indonesian Transportation Ministry threatens to suspend operating permits of 13 Indonesian airlines that are being plagued by negative equity, raising concerns about these airlines’ safety practices. The Transportation Ministry reviewed audited financial reports of 60 local carriers. These airlines will have time until 31 July 2015 to adjust their balance sheets.
The number of air passengers in Indonesia will most likely fail to meet its growth target in 2014. Based on government data, the number of air passengers in Southeast Asia’s largest economy reached 47.5 million in the first eight months of 2014, a 5.82 percentage point growth from the same period last year. However, the Indonesia National Air Carrier Association (INACA) initially targeted annual passenger growth in the range of 12-15 percent for 2014. Amid slowing economic growth, people’s purchasing power has declined.
The mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on Saturday 7 March 2014 reminds us that flying does not go without risks. Although it is popularly said that flying in an airplane is safer than driving in a car - and despite the fact that Malaysia Airlines is a world-class airline - it is worth taking a closer look at the current state of aviation in the Asia Pacific, Indonesia in particular, as air traffic in the Asia Pacific has been booming (and budget airlines mushroomed) in recent years due to the expanding middle class.
Airport Council International (ACI), the only global trade representative of the world's airports, stated that Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, located just outside the capital city of Jakarta, has climbed one spot and is now ranked the world’s 8th busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers (over the year 2013) and was the 4th busiest airport in the Asia Pacific after Beijing Capital International Airport, Haneda International Airport (Tokyo), and Dubai International Airport.
Associated businesses Aviation
