Island Seaplanes offers special sightseeing flights
Island Seaplanes offers special sightseeing flights
JAKARTA (JP): Island Seaplanes, a local chartered airline
operator, launched on Tuesday a service offering sightseers a
different view of Jakarta and surrounding areas from a 1952
Beaver DHC-2 seaplane.
The airline's president, Moehamad Soeparno, said in a media
conference that the service was mainly targeted at tourists on
adventure tours who may enjoy an island-hopping experience around
the Seribu Islands.
"(The service) is also targeted at provincial administration
officials, and those working in the fisheries and plantation
sectors," said the former president of Garuda Airlines.
He added that, for the moment, the service was limited to
destinations with an adequate area of water for landing, however,
in the future the company will also operate planes capable of
landing on both water and land.
The company charges either an hourly rate for chartered
flights or fixed rates for specific tourist destinations, he
said.
Chartered flights are charged US$570 an hour for a maximum of
seven passengers, each permitted 12 kilograms of baggage, to any
destination with a suitable water landing area.
The fixed rates are $23.10 a person or $80 for a family of
four, for joy flights around Ancol and Tanjung Priok, and $46.20
a person or $150 for a family of four, for flights taking in
Ancol, Pantai Mutiara and Tanjung Priok.
Island Seaplanes also provides 25-minute flights around the
Seribu Islands at $44 a person for five to seven passengers, and
a tour of Krakatau at $190 a person for six to seven passengers,
including lunch and two hours at Krakatau.
Flights to resorts in Anyer, Carita, Tanjung Lesung, and Pulau
Peutjang in Ujung Kulon cost between $81 to $107 a person for
seven passengers.
"We also provide individual flights to wherever you want to
go," Chief Pilot and Engineer John Way said.
Island Seaplanes is a joint venture company between PT Sayap
Garuda Indah and Australia Seaplanes. It was established with a
total investment of $1 million.
"Currently Australia Seaplanes owns 60 percent of the company,
but once we are firmly established here I hope to buy out their
shares," Soeparno said.
He said that he is currently eying Bali for the immediate
expansion of its services, and is targeting the establishment of
services within 18 provinces over the next three years.
"We had originally wanted to start off with Bali but had
trouble with the local administration concerning the location of
the service," Soeparno said.
The company, which at present operates a seven-seat Beaver
DHC-2 seaplane, is expecting four more aircraft to arrive between
now and April, one more to service Jakarta and three for Bali, he
said. The new planes will include an eight-seat Turbo Beaver, a
16-seat Turbo Otter and a 20-seat Twin Otter. (tnt)