Transindo's unique pilot perform many jobs

JAKARTA (JP): When the sultan from Malaysia crossed the red carpet to board the 12-seat airplane, pilot Captain Frederick C. Tumbelaka and the other crew members were a little more excited than usual about the hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bukittinggi in West Sumatra, where the sultan was expected to attend a royal ceremony.

"I have never piloted royalty before," said Captain Ricky, his nickname. The assignment went to a Gulfstream III from Transindo Air Charter, one of more than 10 air service companies in Indonesia.

The flight attendant was petite Susanna Sluiters. Memorizing the royal passenger's name was out of the question so she recited the royal address off a piece of paper. "There must have been at least 12 titles in one name," said Captain Ricky, throwing open his arms for illustration.

He couldn't remember the exact name but if he had been flying the crown prince, the correct address would have comprised more than 24 names and titles.

Instead of her regular light purple uniform, Sluiters, who once served former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on a flight, dressed up in a traditional kebaya.

A pilot from another company also flew the Malaysian sultan, who recently hired his airplane for a family trip.

"We think he intends to buy a similar aircraft," said the pilot who requested anonymity. The plane, a Gulfstream made in Longbeach, the United States, he said, can reach US$28 million.

Carrying these Very Very Important Persons, says Capt. Ricky, is more challenging than flying regular flights.

"I would like to be a presidential pilot," he says, but he knows the complicated procedures, including days of interrogation about your background, that the job entails.

Pilots like Captain Ricky are like private pilots but insist this is not entirely the case. Employed by air charter companies, they fly any party hiring their services.

Inevitable

But the "private" label is inevitable, as they frequently fly the owners of their companies.

"We're no longer treated like employees, but like family," says Transindo's Captain Nunun S. Harbani.

Sultans don't come aboard every day, but the other passengers are also ensured impeccable service. They also get familiar more easily.

Even if they are on business, ministers and executives come to the cockpit for a chat, take pictures and "pay much attention to the crew," said Captain Nunun. "They will remind their staff to take care of us," he said, and sometimes also request that air crew stay in hotel rooms near to theirs.

Once out of base, these pilots are porters, aircraft cleaners, entertainers and in charge of booking hotels.

"In large areas you can expect ground handling but in places like Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi we take care of things ourselves," says pilot Hari Sidarto of Nugra Santana, an air charter company owned by businessman Ponco Sutowo.

These pilots and stewardesses enjoy being around top corporate people and ministers, but familiarity doesn't mean smug; they know when to keep their distance.

"Their choice of privately arranged flights means they want privacy," says a pilot. Most also demand confidentiality.

"We don't have to know what goes on behind us," the pilot explains in a professional tone, but admits "weird things" are known to happen.

"I can tell the boss' wife about traveling companions if she is the understanding type," the pilot said.

Pilot Sidarto says a heavy entry tax of some 30 percent and complicated procedures discourage people from operating private planes.

The chairman of the Indonesian National Air Carrier Association, Soelarto Hadisumarto, says any person or company may own airplanes "as long as they don't lease the aircraft".

A number of companies apparently see the procedures and costs worth the risk. "The Borobudur (Inter.Continental) hotel has a chopper for its operations," said Soelarto.

The Bali Cliff resort reportedly also has at least one helicopter handy to transport distinguished guests.

But, in most cases, executives facing inflexible airline schedules hire air charters, like Hasjim Djojohadikusumo who needed such services for his business in Yemen.

Other executives, like Bambang Trihatmojo who has a stake in Indonesia Air Transport, also charter aircraft.

Costs

Such "commercial important persons", as air charter companies call their clients, pay US$4,400 per hour for a 12-seat Gulfstream exclusive of various costs like a waiting fee of US$500 for more than three hours overseas.

What kind of business is worth paying more than Rp 10 million an hour for transport, is, say the pilots, quite beyond them.

"But if a businessman can make more deals in more countries in one day than with a regular flight, why not?" asks Captain Ricky.

Why not, indeed, since profits obviously cover leisure trips, too.

"We fly to Christmas Island (gambling resort) any day of the week, not necessarily on weekends," says one pilot.

"It's just the bosses throwing around their money, we just take a look."

Martina Soedwikatmono, the president director of PT Aero Dwiguna Witama which in 1992 held the sole license of the British Aerospace jets, once told The Jakarta Post her private jet was waiting to take her home to Malibu, the United States.

No doubt there is also the added prestige for executives who own or lease such services.

"We're going to change this TV set soon," said a pilot. "The bapak-bapak want a bigger one." It will be put behind one of the swivel seats.

Air crew who have experienced the life of "fly anywhere, any time", say working the regular routes three times a week or more with hundreds of passengers is boring.

Captain Nunun says air charter crew rarely go back to work on regular flights. With higher demands, salaries reach Rp 7 million, almost twice as much as pilots get at national carriers.

Says stewardess Sluiters: "Working like this, you can be one day in Surabaya, the next in Hanoi and then in Paris."

She was recovering from a cold she caught in wintry Perth, but after one-day of rest was ready to fly any minute.

Her luggage, trained to be brief, contains clothing for warm and cool weather, high heeled shoes and pumps, and evening gowns for nights out on town.

Charter companies don't have the same requisites; Transindo, for example, requires at least 5,000 hours of flying time, about eight years of work.

Disappointment on the job comes when requested services can't be rendered. "Once we failed to give information on a certain airline schedule, and things like this bother us," Captain Nunun said.

On the tarmac of the Halim Perdanakusuma airport, pilots show off cockpits and compact, luxurious interiors of the airplanes with obvious fondness.

The Gulfstream IV owned by Nugra Santana comes with a fully computerized cockpit. However pilot Ari Singgih says he prefers the challenge of the less computerized Boeing 707.

Singgih was a Garuda pilot but was dismissed at 22 for demanding higher wages, "which were then the lowest in Southeast Asia." He then held a number of jobs before the flying fever called him back.

Captain Ricky says he is content piloting his company's Gulfstream III, while Captain Nunun recalls a favorite assignment.

"I led the test flight for the (eight-seat) British Aerospace HS-125," he said. This, he said, was an experience he had never come across in his 12 years as an instructor at Bouraq.

Choosing such a job comes with the knowledge that holidays are even more irregular than working for a regular airline. Pilot Sidarto knows exactly what he wants to do when he has the time.

"I'd love the to see the annual Paris air show," he says.

For all their familiarity with distinguished, discreet passengers, the planes and the flying itself is the source of joy for these special drivers of airborne limousines. (anr)