Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 06/17/2008 10:04 AM | Headlines
Eagle Air has been forced to delay its debut into the airline industry because one of its shareholders is embroiled in an unresolved financial dispute related to defunct airline Adam Air.
Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said his ministry would not issue an Airline Operating Certificate (AOC) to Eagle Air until its shareholder, PT Global Transport Service (GTS), resolved its internal problems with Adam Air.
The move to delay issuing the AOC for Eagle Air follows pressure from the House of Representatives, which has demanded the government blacklist owners of troubled airlines.
"At this stage we cannot comment on the government's decision, but we respect it," GTS finance director Erwin Andersen told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
But he acknowledged his company's dispute with the other shareholders in Adam Air, Suherman and Sandra Ang, was far from being resolved.
GTS reported the executives of Adam Air to the police for their alleged involvement in the mismanagement of company funds amounting to more than Rp 157 billion (about US$16.9 million). The case is still under police investigation.
GTS also accused Adam Air's managers of violating the minimum flight safety standards, which it said resulted in several accidents, including the Boeing 737-400 crash off the coast of South Sulawesi on Jan. 1, 2007, in which all 102 passengers were lost.
Adam Air's financial troubles combined with concerns over the airline's flight safety forced the Transportation Ministry's director general for air transportation Budhi Mulyawan Suyitno to revoke its AOC, announced on March 18.
GTS asked the government not to compare Adam Air and Eagle Air as the two were under different management teams.
"Eagle Air has nothing to do with the Adam Air management. GTS was only a shareholder in Adam Air, not the operator," Erwin said.
Moreover, he said, Eagle Air had obtained an operating permit from the Transportation Ministry last year, before the internal dispute in Adam Air arose.
GTS is a subsidiary of a listed investment company, PT Bhakti Investama, which holds shares in various industries including telecommunications with PT Mobile-8 Telecom, television broadcasting with PT MNC Sky Vision and financial services with PT Bhakti Capital Indonesia.
A Bhakti Investama commissioner, Hartono Tanoesoedibjo, said Eagle Air would be a premium-class carrier, providing flights in areas not yet served by regular airlines.
He said Eagle Air would begin by serving areas mostly in eastern Indonesia, including Bali, Lombok, Sulawesi and Kalimantan.
The Suherman family has also applied for a permit for a new carrier, King and Queen Airline, according to Jusman.
The Post was unable to contact a representative of Adam Air for comment, but president director Adam Aditya Suherman previously denied that any misappropriation of funds occurred under his management.
Eagle Air has been forced to delay its debut into the airline industry because one of its shareholders is embroiled in an unresolved financial dispute related to defunct airline Adam Air.
Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said his ministry would not issue an Airline Operating Certificate (AOC) to Eagle Air until its shareholder, PT Global Transport Service (GTS), resolved its internal problems with Adam Air.
The move to delay issuing the AOC for Eagle Air follows pressure from the House of Representatives, which has demanded the government blacklist owners of troubled airlines.
"At this stage we cannot comment on the government's decision, but we respect it," GTS finance director Erwin Andersen told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
But he acknowledged his company's dispute with the other shareholders in Adam Air, Suherman and Sandra Ang, was far from being resolved.
GTS reported the executives of Adam Air to the police for their alleged involvement in the mismanagement of company funds amounting to more than Rp 157 billion (about US$16.9 million). The case is still under police investigation.
GTS also accused Adam Air's managers of violating the minimum flight safety standards, which it said resulted in several accidents, including the Boeing 737-400 crash off the coast of South Sulawesi on Jan. 1, 2007, in which all 102 passengers were lost.
Adam Air's financial troubles combined with concerns over the airline's flight safety forced the Transportation Ministry's director general for air transportation Budhi Mulyawan Suyitno to revoke its AOC, announced on March 18.
GTS asked the government not to compare Adam Air and Eagle Air as the two were under different management teams.
"Eagle Air has nothing to do with the Adam Air management. GTS was only a shareholder in Adam Air, not the operator," Erwin said.
Moreover, he said, Eagle Air had obtained an operating permit from the Transportation Ministry last year, before the internal dispute in Adam Air arose.
GTS is a subsidiary of a listed investment company, PT Bhakti Investama, which holds shares in various industries including telecommunications with PT Mobile-8 Telecom, television broadcasting with PT MNC Sky Vision and financial services with PT Bhakti Capital Indonesia.
A Bhakti Investama commissioner, Hartono Tanoesoedibjo, said Eagle Air would be a premium-class carrier, providing flights in areas not yet served by regular airlines.
He said Eagle Air would begin by serving areas mostly in eastern Indonesia, including Bali, Lombok, Sulawesi and Kalimantan.
The Suherman family has also applied for a permit for a new carrier, King and Queen Airline, according to Jusman.
The Post was unable to contact a representative of Adam Air for comment, but president director Adam Aditya Suherman previously denied that any misappropriation of funds occurred under his management.
