There are several reasons for this: the high hourly rent, the tight regulations imposed on this particular business and the lack of regulation of its routes by the central government. One of the air transportation companies is PT Helizona. Another such company is Airpacific, whose base camp is located in Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang.
“As a residential settlement area and an office zone, Karawaci needs alternative transportation that links it with Jakarta,” said Budhi Achaddian, the director. Starting its operation in 1996, Airpacific now owns three Bell 407 helicopters, each of which can carry six passengers, excluding the pilot. Every day, Budhi said, there is always a passenger that hires their helicopter. Formerly belonging to the Lippo Group, Airpacific can take passengers for at least four to five trips a day.
When a foreign investor, for example, visits a company in Jakarta and can only stay in this city for a very short time, then hiring a chopper may be the best choice, especially if this guest needs to visit several places. If you hire a chopper, you can take him or her from the airport to the pick-up point of the Airpacific helicopter. From this pick-up point you can fly to anywhere you wish, going to four or five places before the investor returns home. While the air taxi business may be a potentially lucrative one, it is quite difficult to operate a helicopter rental company. It must be remembered that maintenance costs can eat up 90 percent of rental fees.
That is why air taxi operators in the capital have not booked any significant growth. And with little growth in the number of passengers, the air taxi business has failed to attract many investors. In addition, it is difficult to obtain an operational license as an air taxi provider. Companies cannot simply start operating helicopters as air taxis; there is a licensing process that must first be completed. Only companies with an Air Operation Certificate (AOC) are allowed to get into the business.
The international-standard AOC can be revoked at any time if the helicopter operator fails to fulfill the set standards, for example, if it fails to protect the safety of its passengers. That is why there are only a few air taxi companies in the country.
Besides Helizona and Airpacific, the other air taxi companies in Indonesia are Indonesia Air Transport, which owns eight helicopters, Derazona Air Service, which operates eight choppers, and Pelita Air Service, which owns 15 helicopters. Derazona Air Service and Pelita Air Service do not confine themselves to spot charters or ad-hoc charters, i.e. the sort of on-demand charters usually associated with air taxi services.
These two companies concentrate on scheduled flights on a long-term contract basis. In the case of Pelita Air Service, although it usually carries state officials, including the president and vice president, it also has oil and mining companies as regular clients. It is true that air taxi services have yet to take off in Jakarta.
In the meantime, special regulations governing the air taxi business, including technical provisions on the types of helicopters that can be used and their routes, have yet to be drafted. There is also the need to designate special flight lanes and establish open spaces for landing purposes, as you have in the United States. (Arif T. Syam)
The Jakarta Post, October 25, 2005
