Pelita Air (IP, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) will add ten new aircraft to its fleet every year as it looks to become a major player in the Indonesian domestic market, President Director Dendy Kurniawan said during a recent media event. Owned by the Indonesian government's oil and gas concern, PT Pertamina, Pelita Air ventured into largescale Part 121 scheduled passenger operations in April using a pair of A320-200s. It connects its Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta hub with Denpasar, and as of this past week, Yogyakarta International as well.

Speaking to Kontan newspaper, Dendy said that by the end of this year, Pelita Air will add six new aircraft i.e. a third -presumably A320-200 - aircraft will arrive in the first week of July with another five due at the end of November 2022 and at the end of this year.

"We plan to add 10 new Airbus aircraft every year," he said adding that they will be leased from an unspecified lessor.

In terms of network, new high frequency routes to Surabaya, Balikpapan, and other big cities will be brought on line as older routes mature. At present, Pelita's load factor has grown from 46-47% to "almost" 60% with the aim being 70% by year-end.

"There are many routes not served by Indonesian airlines. Now solving this problem is not only the duty of the airline, but also other stakeholders who must collectively think about how to get airlines to fly to low density areas outside Surabaya, Medan, and Bali. So, there is huge potential there," he said.

Assuming no further local or global black swan events occur in the near term, Dendy is targeting 2023 for Pelita Air to turn modestly profitable. "According to our calculations, from the interest and response we have seen from the community, we are very optimistic that in 2023 we will have recorded a profit, although it is still very slight thin margin ," he said.