Trigana airline survives rough conditions of Papua

Trigana airline survives rough conditions of Papua

Its harsh geographical conditions -- full of mountains and dense
forests -- means that Papua province is heavily reliant on air
transportation. However, the same geographical conditions, plus
unpredictable weather, also make it less than ideal for flying,
posing serious challenges to surviving airlines. The Jakarta
Post's Nethy Dharma Somba looks into the mater and filed the
following report.

One by one, airline companies in Papua are going out of business
-- some due to the loss of their planes in crashes, but most
simply unable to cover their costs.

Air Regional, a joint venture with the Puncak Jaya regental
administration, stopped operating several years ago after losing
three of its aircraft in crashes. Air Mark, a Russian airline
company working together with the Jayawijaya regental
administration, stopped serving the Jayapura-Wamena route after
incurring heavy losses.

The only private airline company still surviving in Jayapura
now is PT Trigana Air Service.

Relying on its fleet of nine aircraft, Trigana, which has been
operating since 1973 in Papua, has dominated the northern and
central parts of the province, while the southern part is
controlled by Merpati Airlines.

Its two Fokker F27s serve the Jayapura-Wamena route, two
Caribous have their base of operations in Sentani and Nabire,
three Twin Otters in Sentani, Nabire and Sorong respectively, and
an ATR 72 in Sentani.

The people of Papua have relied on this airline company as
their main choice for air transportation to remote areas.

Trigana Air started operating in Papua in 1973, when it was
first assigned by the U.S.-owned mining company PT Freeport to
transport supplies from Timika to Panaia, Sugapa.

"We noticed the potential, and from then on we were determined
to start the airline business in Papua," said Triguna's Jayapura
branch manager, Bustomi Eka Prayitno.

So why is Trigana still going in Papua, even though massive
amounts of funds are needed to stay afloat?

Bustomi related that from the beginning, the company did not
just seek profits, but also worked on building a reliable image,
such as grounding an airplane due to bad weather or when the
pilot felt that flying was unsafe, even if the plane was full of
passengers.

"We have never carried things or people beyond the plane's
load capacity because experience has shown that accidents usually
happen due to planes' overload factor," he said.

According to Bustomi, the public as well as government
officials and business people in Papua have recognized the
reputation the company has built up over years.

Its reputation, gained from the trust from the people of
Papua, has shown results. The company has been entrusted by the
local logistics agency to transport rice for civil servants from
Jayapura to remote areas since 1993. It won a Pertamina tender to
carry fuel from Jayapura to Wamena, and it has been assigned by
the Irian Bhakti trading company to transport rice-for-the-poor
supplies to the mountainous regions in central Papua.

"We have a fixed job of transporting rice, fuel and basic
necessities to remote areas. Carrying people is an additional job
for us," he explained.

Trigana is also trusted by traders to transport their
merchandise. Bustomi expressed praise for small-scale traders who
had to charter his planes to carry basic necessities to outlying
areas. "The freight tariffs are high, but the traders are bold
enough to take the chance and trust Trigana to dispatch their
goods," he said.

Trigana charges Rp 18,000 (US$1.80) for a kilogram for
freight, while it costs $1,400 an hour to charter a plane.

Although Trigana relies on its cargo planes for carrying
freight, it also serves passengers on the Jayapura-Wamena route.

"We can fly five times a day from Jayapura to Wamena,
depending on the weather," said Bustomi.

Trigana is not only used by local passengers, but also by
foreign tourists, who charter the plane for excursions into the
province's hinterlands.

"We usually get three charter orders from tourists in a month,
and even more in certain months, like August, when many tourists
visit Wamena for the Baliem Valley Festival. Many tourists from
Japan visit the Japanese war memorial in Sarmi twice a year," he
explained.

The only scheduled flight serving Jayapura-Wamena is by
Trigana. Merpati Airlines served the route previously, but
stopped running it in 2004.

Trigana has 80 employees in several towns; Sentani, Wamena,
Nabire, Biak and Sorong.

"Before working in Papua, pilots are briefed about the
geographical and natural conditions of the areas in which they
will operate. They will be transferred to other areas once every
three weeks, so it's understandable that most of them know the
region by heart," said Bustomi.