Transindo's unique pilot perform many jobs

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)