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AS A BUMN Holding for the Aviation and Tourism Industry, namely PT Aviasi Wisata Indonesia or what is often known as Injourney, it still does not have a sub-holding airline operator. In the aviation industry, only PT Angkasa Pura (AP) I and II are under the auspices of Injourney.
BUMN Minister Erick Thohir has previously been outspoken about his plans to merge Pelita Air into Garuda Indonesia. Because currently Indonesia has state-owned airlines Garuda Indonesia, Citilink and Pelita Air. However, Pelita Air is still a subsidiary of PT Pertamina.
However, it turns out, there is a possibility that the final result will be that Pelita Air will not join the Garuda Indonesia Group. Discussions are getting closer, the three of them will merge under the Injourney sub-holding which will focus on the national aviation industry.
“So Pelita Air will be under the auspices of Injourney in the future. So, all (Garuda Indonesia, Citilink and Pelita Air) will be under the auspices of Injourney,” said Citilink President Director Dewa Rai, Thursday (11/2), 2023.
Dewa explained that later there would be an inclusion of the merger in the Injourney aviation holding forum. Because currently, Injourney has several sub holdings, namely airports, airlines, destinations, and so on. The airlines under this BUMN will be incorporated into the aviation sub-holding.
“The three airlines will continue to operate according to their respective classes. Garuda Indonesia will be in the full-service market segment, Pelita Air in medium service, and Citilink will remain in the low-cost carrier segment,” he said.
He added, what the Ministry of BUMN is concerned about is how these three brands can truly determine their respective market segments. So, it is hoped that it can cover all existing market segments.
Dewa explained that the Ministry of BUMN is currently targeting by the end of this year or the first quarter of 2024 the merger process can be completed. Because currently the entry of the Garuda Indonesia Group into Injourney is still in process.
“We as an airline fully support it. Now the discussions are very serious at the Injourney level and the Ministry of BUMN. Hopefully it will be completed on the specified timeline,” Dewa noted.
Meanwhile, Garuda Indonesia President Director Irfan Setiaputra confirmed that the merger process was still in progress. For this reason, Irfan cannot talk much about the important stages of joining Pelita Air, Citilink, etc. Garuda Indonesia under Injourney.
Irfan pointed out that until now the discussion had not yet entered the finalization stage. This is still in the discussion stage and what form it will take is still a matter of possibility. Hopefully it can be completed in the not-too-distant future or by the end of this year.
Previously, State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Minister Erick Thohir conveyed plans to merge Pelita Air with Garuda Indonesia in connection with the condition of the aviation industry in the country. As an illustration, Erick said that the United States (US) with 303 million people has 7,200 planes, while Indonesia with 280 million people only has around 500 planes.
“It should be noted, we are an archipelagic country, if 10% (the US) means we have to have 720 aircraft. The current condition is that the total number of aircraft in Indonesia is around 500, it has not returned to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Erick during a working meeting with Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the DPR Building, Jakarta, Thursday (10/31), 2023.
Erick said that Pelita Air’s presence at that time was a form of anticipation for the failure of Garuda Indonesia’s restructuring. Erick said that Pelita Air only has 12 aircraft and is being pushed to increase to 20 aircraft.
Meanwhile, Garuda currently has 60 aircraft, and Citilink has 50 aircraft. The total number of state-owned airlines when combined is only 140 aircraft or still less than the pre-pandemic condition of 170 aircraft or 35% of the total aircraft in Indonesia, the other 65% comes from the private sector.
“This means that even though we are combined, we will still be at 35 percent. Why did we have to merge the initiative because earlier, Pelita Air was born because there was a fear that Garuda’s restructuring would fail,” concluded Erick. [sources/photo special]
